Cape Elizabeth birding report

Several weather fronts in late April brought a torrent of migrants to the lower states. Unfortunately, many of the north bound songbirds that follow insects have been slowed by a wave of cold fronts expected to continue through the last days of the month. Similar to last spring, migration has felt rather slow-moving and deliberately unhurried. There have been some definite rays of sunlight over the last two weeks with pockets of migrants here and there. Pine warblers are settling into our wooded areas and at dusk the hauntingly beautiful song of the Hermit Thrush can be heard.

On April 13 I spotted a Glossy Ibis fly over the house. Amazingly, one year ago (to the day) I noted a Glossy Ibis flyover - quite a coincidence! The following day my wife spotted her first of year male Belted Kingfisher along the fringes of Robinson Woods III / Pond Cove.

On April 16 my son and I were returning home from a late afternoon walk in the woods when we spotted our first Sharp-shinned Hawk in a backyard crab apple tree. Not only is this mighty little raptor the smallest hawk in the Unites States but it’s also an acrobatic aerialist, built for pursuing prey (typically songbirds and mice) at high-speeds through dense cover. After watching the bird sit transfixed for a moment, it darted off across the yard in pursuit of a female cardinal. Following the action, we cautiously approached the area where we last saw the “sharpie” disappear into the tangles and noticed that the bird was itself caught in the dense thorn-bush. Dangling upside down with the cardinal still in one talon, the bird dropped its prey and worked to get out of the bush for a solid five minutes. Eventually the sharpie was able to disentangle and make its way to the ground floor to collect supper. All of this action apparently caught the attention of our local, all seeing Red-tailed hawk couple (who just happened to be tending to a nest not far off). The live action continued as a Red-tailed swooped in, flushed the Sharpie off its well-earned catch and flew right over our heads with its prize in tow. Landing on a snag fifteen feet above our heads, the raptor took a nip at its new prize and looked back down at us, cardinal feathers floated to our feet and with another blink the raptor was back on the wing en-route to its nest or plucking post.

On April 17 the first Osprey of the year flew over the house as did a boisterous flock of eight Cedar Waxwings. On April 18 while poking around Trundy Point my wife spotted our first of spring Brown Thrasher. This wonderfully shy and retiring bird prefers bushy pastures, brier patches and woodland edges however during migration you never know where you might catch a glimpse of one. On April 19 the first Tree Swallows were spotted along with a Great Egret (Sawyer Road crossing the Rachel Carson Nature Preserve). And on the 24th I worked hard to record my first Ruby-crowned Kinglet of the spring.

Saving the best spotting for last, on April 21 in addition to the Yellow-rumped (myrtle) and Palm warblers about, I was able to catch a glimpse of the male Prothonotary Warbler being seen at Hinkley Park in South Portland. With a brilliantly glowing yellow chest and cap this gem is widely accepted as one of the handsomest warbler species. A denizen of the southern wooded swamps, Prothonotary warblers are very rarely spotted in Maine, perhaps one or two every spring. The earliest recorded mentioning of this bird in the state was in 1862. Although there are periodic reports of sightings, and on rare occasions nest building, most are false starts. Thus, the bird has seemingly been only a straggler and never been known to breed in our great state. Perhaps Prothonotary warblers are sending vanguards from the swampy lands down south to scope out Maine?

Lastly, I wanted to make mention of something that John Fitzpatrick, Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s President recently wrote: “Our planet is alive with birds, and there is nothing more fulfilling and potentially life-changing than observing birds and nature. As we watch and listen, birds help us understand the living world. The challenges to the natural world are bigger than they’ve ever been before. Birds have the power to help us inform and inspire the global changes needed for humans and nature to live side by side.”