Cape Elizabeth birding report

On these last days of winter, the most northern, and last arriving of the winter finches from this past season’s noteworthy irruption (i.e., Redpolls, Pine Siskins, Pine Grosbeaks) are pushing back northwards to their boreal breeding grounds. There could still be meandering winter finches about so keep an eye out. Early spring migrants like the Song Sparrow and Red-winged Blackbird are arriving in greater numbers every day now.

Additionally, the Ring-billed Gulls are more numerous now than their larger, look alike cousins the Herring Gull. In late March, this medium sized gull migrates in large flocks, following memorized freshwater riverways back to the inland colonies where they first hatched. Long distance migrants like the American Redstart may still be flitting about ancient Mayan temples in Mexico. However in six weeks these tiny wood-warblers will be darting about our backyards and forests.

On March 10 my wife reported seeing and hearing the tumbled trill of two male Red-winged blackbirds in Pond Cove. Juxtaposed to the flashy scarlet and yellow wing patch donned by the males, the females look sparrow-like (too big though) and are far more subtle, with brown streaking throughout.

On March 11 around dusk my son and I heard the far-carrying cry of Killdeer coming from town center. Of the plover family, these robin-sized birds are one of the least water-associated of all shorebirds. Killdeer are considered partial migrators because the more southerly populations stay put year round.

The Killdeer that arrive this far north are known as leap-frog migrants because rather than compete for food and space with the year-round residents inhabiting the southern half of the U.S., they will use the earth’s magnetic field, practically flying straight from Mexico and Central America to Cape and beyond.

On March 13 the Carolina Wren couple that stayed with us over the winter were singing a duet as they explored nesting locations (including our overturned canoe) around the house. Interestingly, only the male Carolina Wren sings the loud songs. The female will add her own unique chatter vocalizations to the male’s song – this by the way is the easiest way to identify male from female, only the female does the chatter. Later this same evening I heard two rather brief cackles from a Barred Owl deep in Robinson Woods.

In other bird related news, the Biden Administration reversed a Trump-era policy that served to weaken the federal law protecting many bird species in North America.

First passed in 1918 in response to the exponential increase in hunting and poaching of birds mostly for feathered women’s hats, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects migratory birds between the U.S. and Britain. The former president had halted enforcement of this law claiming that it was being taken advantage of to penalize companies that caused accidental bird deaths.

Of particular note, the long lost Black-browed Babbler was rediscovered on the Indonesian side of Borneo. The last species collected was in 1848. For Indonesian ornithology this is “as shocking as rediscovering the passenger pigeon or the Carolina parakeet” said one local expert. Across the globe there are over 150 bird species that are currently ‘lost’ with no confirmed observations in the last decade.

Finally, now is a particularly good time of year to think about window strikes and how we all can prevent the death of one spring migrant such as a Black-throated Blue Warbler. Consider putting up bird collision deterrent decals or make your own migration friendly window decorations.