Cape Elizabeth birding report

During the last days of August across the upper canopies of our forests one could still here the faint whistling song of the Baltimore Oriole.

On August 25 two adult male Baltimore Orioles lingered in our backyard. Their fiery orange plumage and the rather late in the season Cape spotting leads me to believe that these birds were closer to three years of age or older. First year and even second year Baltimore Orioles typically leave for their winter grounds by mid to late July. It is interesting to imagine that these particular birds might have started their southbound run in New Brunswick or Quebec, yet still have plenty of ground to cover before arriving in the tropics.

On August 27 I heard separate Barred owls calling and/or caterwauling in oak trees above our house, and within Robinson II, Maxwell and Stonegate woods.

The following morning my son and I found a nice sized owl pellet in the yard. Earlier that same day I spotted an American Redstart (warbler) and a Red-eyed Vireo in a crab apple tree on our property.

I also came across mother and daughter Common yellowthroat’s (warblers) along the Canter Lane Trail easement.

On August 28 I found a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher deep within Robinson Woods III. Spotting this bird can be devilishly difficult. The damp northern forests and dark, green and cool spruce bogs is where this bird has journeyed from. The Yellow-bellied does not linger long on its summer breeding grounds of boreal Canada. Its summer stay is one of the shortest of the Neotropical birds that visit the northern part of the continent for nesting, often less than 70 days.

As of the last days of August our “hummer summer” was still going strong with Ruby-throated Hummingbirds visiting our four feeders. On the rainy and windy day of August 29 I had left the garage door open while I organized my workshop and on two separate occasions, I was startled by the loud buzz of hummingbirds who had ventured into the depths of my garage to do a little exploring. Typically, we can expect hummers well into September (stragglers through mid-October) as birds from farther north slowly move south.

On a related note - if you have ever wondered how many hummers are actually visiting your backyard feeders there is a formula developed by hummingbird banders. Simply count the most hummingbirds you can see at any one moment and multiply by five. So, if you count three hummers at your feeders simultaneously, the chances are that you’ve got at least 10, possibly 15 hummers visiting throughout the day. Later in the morning a Norther Flicker made its presence known and a male Belted Kingfisher was spotted and heard along the fringes of the upper pond area within Robinson Woods II.

On the last day of August while sauntering along the Spurwink’s Town Farm Trail (Greenbelt) I spotted a Northern Harrier and a young Peregrine Falcon hunting. Northern Harriers are relatively easy to identify because of their tendency to glide low over our marshes and grasslands. Also known as the “Great Gray Ghost” these unique hawks have disk-shaped faces which aid in hearing mice and other small creatures beneath the vegetation.

Adding to the backdrop, seven Great Egrets and two Great Blue Herons dotted the estuary while four tiny prancers with golden boots (Snowy Egrets) herded their prey.