Cape Elizabeth birding report

As the dog days of July set in, the Baltimore Orioles returned to our yard in impressive numbers. Many moments were spent observing busy parents and begging youngsters. It ceases to amaze me how long distance neotropical migrants like Orioles choose to give birth and raise their young (albeit briefly) in Cape.

Earlier in the summer I watched the female gather nesting materials while the male looked on. The male seemed to be quite adept at supervision. The morning after a fierce rainstorm passed through Cape I found one of the two fledglings on our front stoop and a second one in a nearby bush. The pair of fledglings explored their new surroundings by hoping, flying and constantly calling out to their parents. The first couple days had me a little on edge because the two youngsters, although fully feathered, had stubby tails and wings and could only fly short distances.

Another moment in time I was watching the mom feed one of her young when I happened to look up into the tree canopy and see the father teaching the other youngster how to hunt for insects. The parents will feed the young for two weeks or more and females leave their brood first, leaving the male to feed the young for a few more days. Amazingly winter migration to the South can begin as early as July for some male Baltimore Orioles which is much earlier than most songbird species. In the fall when these special birds are long gone and the leaves have fallen, I will see if I can find their sock-like hanging nest.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks have made a good showing across Cape through July and although harder to see this time of year, one can definitely hear them singing high above in the canopy. On July 13 a male and female grosbeak visited our seed feeders with one recently fledged female. Great crested Flycatchers are still making their presence known as well - with loud, whistled, buzzy weeps echoing through our woods.

So far July has yielded some rather oppressive days to be deep in the woods. Alas from the depths of Gull Crest there are still singing warblers including - American Redstarts, Black-throated Green, Chestnut-sided and Ovenbirds. The breezy ethereal call notes of the Veery continue to add to the chorus. On one outing I caught a glimpse of a Wood Thrush and heard the wavering pitch and prominent overtones of a Hermit Thrush. On two occasions I was startled by woodcocks flying from their shadowy hiding places. Adding to the mix was a pair of Brown Thrashers seen comingling along the fringes of the bordering soccer fields where overgrown masses of shrubbery afford excellent nesting places for these sulking slinkers.

One very elusive bird that I have been on the hunt for and had been reported in the Gull Crest area is the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Slightly larger than a Robin, the cuckoo bird is a bellwether of summer. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a rare to uncommon summer resident of Cape and a prized bird for any birdwatchers list. Although more frequently recorded in more southern locales, it is possible to see one in Cape. Doing so requires a bit of luck and the ability to recognize its call notes (song). The most common call of this shy creature is a long series of notes beginning fast and slowing towards the end. The call sounds something like kakakakakakaka ka kow and is often times followed by a “joint note” sounding like c-rick-k-k-k-k. The best places to listen and look for this elegant creature are along the brush-grown lanes and lowland thickets within Gull Crest. With a bit of determination, one may spy a cuckoo before the bird slips quietly away - vanishing into some leafy cool retreat where it may resume its solitude and silence dear to this woodland hermit.