Cape Elizabeth birding report

Favorable southerly winds in late April brought a torrent of migrants to the lower states. Unfortunately, many of the northbound songbirds that follow insects have been slowed by a wave of cold fronts that are expected to continue through early May. From my perspective the migration has been rather slow-moving and deliberately unhurried. At this time last year migrants like the Eastern Towhee and Black-throated Green warbler were already here, and in decent numbers. There have been some definite rays of sunlight over the last two weeks however, with pockets of migrants here and there, and our Robins and Cardinals are singing right through dusk most every day now. Additionally, we have already had an Eastern Phoebe build a nest in a canoe beside our house.

On April 20 I caught my first two Great Egrets of this year foraging along the Spurwink River and on the same day saw a handful of Yellow-rumped warblers in the Oak trees along Belfield road. Although I have not been able to verify just yet, Yellow rumped’s (known as Myrtle warblers in these parts) do breed in Cape, arriving on the early side each spring and leaving later in the Fall. With a splashy yellow rump patch and side stripes, this warbler is rather unique in that they live on berries in addition to insects. Being less picky means that this warbler does not have to migrate all the way to the tropics. Some brave souls even stick it out through New England winters. Also seen in the Pond cove area was a single Nelson’s Sparrow. A very secretive bird with an orangey wash to the face and with a gray cheek patch, the Nelson’s sparrow has an unusual distribution - breeding either along the eastern coastline (Maine and points north) or far inland (think northern great plains of eastern Montana or north eastern Wyoming).

On April 21 my wife and I saw three Blue gray Gnatcatchers in Pond Cove. A very small, steely blue-gray, long-tailed denizen of the deep forests, these little gems are widespread this time of year but rarely if ever abundant. Seeing more than one at a time is quite a treat. Despite the damp day, when you see this little bird scaring up insects by flicking its white-edged tail from side to side, you know life is good. On this day there were Ruby-crowned kinglets about as well.

On the evening of April 24 I heard a Barred owl calling along the Canter Lane Trail easement. On April 25 our first of the season Brown Thrasher was spotted feasting on a suet cake. The Thrasher is a wonderfully shy and retiring bird that prefers bushy pastures, brier patches and woodland edges.

Lastly, on April 29 along the “honey pot” that is Pond cove I was delighted to find a handsome male Palm warbler flaunting its rusty cap and bobbing its tail amongst the company of ten Yellow-rumped warblers. Palm warblers are another species of warbler that don’t migrate further than Florida and these passerines are passing through Cape, heading to the boreal forests of the far north to breed.