Cape Elizabeth birding report

As our days grow shorter and neotropical migrants return to their wintering haunts, birders begin to eagerly anticipate a report issued every autumn for the last twenty one years called the Winter Finch Forecast. As of last year, this report has grown to include detailed forecasts for eight irruptive finch species, including Purple Finches, Pine Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, Hoary Redpolls Red Crossbills, White-winged Crossbills, Pine Siskins and Evening Grosbeaks.

The report now also includes three non-finch passerines whose populations intensify periodically as well - Blue Jays, Bohemian Waxwings and Red-breasted Nuthatches. These three species are included in the forecast because their food-dependent circulations match up well with those of the boreal finches. Both the boreal finches and the non-finch species mentioned depend on berry and cone crops of the forests far north of Cape. In years where the crops fail or are insufficient, these birds may irrupt south into New England, and beyond. Up until two decades ago when this report first was issued, the sudden appearances of winter finches were long a mystery for birders. Much of the data that goes into developing the finch forecast is gathered through teams of volunteers assigned to quadrants across the boreal forest that monitor and rate the seed crop yields in trees like White Pine, Spruce, Hemlock, Swamp Birch and Mountain Ash. The actual report can be found here - https://finch-network.org/winter-finch-forecast-2020g .

That said, this year looks to be a promising flight year for several species in the east including Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red and White-winged Crossbills, Common and Hoary Redpolls, Pine Siskins and my person favorite, the remarkable and ever elusive Evening Grosbeak. The late Ornithologist Dr. Elliot Coues once wrote, “in full plumage this a bird of distinguished appearance, whose very name suggests the far-away land of the dipping sun, and the tuneful romance which the wild bird throws around the fading light of day.” Needless to say, I am keeping a close eye out for these birds in my yard this fall and winter! On a related note, I have yet to record an Evening Grosbeak sighting in Cape Elizabeth and look forward to the prospects of doing so over the coming months.

Additional, noteworthy mentionings from the last two weeks across Cape Elizabeth include – several Yellow bellied Sapsuckers (woodpeckers) in orchard trees and maple trees. This nifty bird excavates neat rows of shallow holes called sap wells and laps up the leaking sap and any trapped insects with its crafty, brush-tipped tongue. These woodpeckers are the only fully migratory woodpecker in eastern North America. Interestingly, in boreal forests north of here the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds rely so much on woodpecker’s sap wells that they time their spring migration with the arrival of sapsuckers.

On October 3, I saw a Tennessee Warbler and a Nashville Warbler traveling south together somewhere around the fringes of Crescent Beach State Park. Nonbreeding adult and immature Tennessee Warblers can be tricky to identify however the distinct lack of wing bars and rather striking white undertail coverts contrasted with their yellowish green plumage is a give-away. Adding to the count there were hundreds of Yellow-rumped Warblers travelling together across Cape during the first two weeks of October. The Yellow-rumped has two distinct subspecies, the “Myrtle” Warbler of the eastern U.S. and Canada and the “Audubon’s” Warbler of the mountainous West. I ran into several significant flocks of these little gems across the backside of Crescent Beach State Park and along the Greenbelt swath of land and small pond area just up from the boat rack area at Great Pond (both dynamite birding hot spots). Dressed in smart gray with flashes of streaking white in the wings and bright yellow on their sides, face and rump. On this same day I noted a small flock of Cedar Waxwings, a Swainson’s Thrush, a Savannah Sparrow, and a single Field Sparrow in our yard.

On the evening of October 9 I heard two Great-horned Owls calling to each other along Shore Road and on October 11 while biking in Gull Crest I practically ran over a Woodcock who did not seem the least bit concerned with my presence. Lastly, on October 13 from the Spurwink trail I spied two Great Egrets pursuing prey within the tidal dog legs, a single Eastern Phoebe (flycatcher) and a Palm Warbler meandering between the trail and thickets.