Cape Elizabeth birding report

Winter residents like Buffleheads, Scoters and Red-breasted Mergansers are now starting to depart for breeding grounds far north and west of here. Other winter birds like White-throated Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos also retreat northward each spring in significant numbers, however not all of them depart.

The White-throated Sparrow is an irregularly common year rounder in Cape. Interestingly, the birds that tend to leave (migrate) in fall are replaced by wintering White-throated Sparrows that have bred slightly further north. Late March is a wonderful time to enjoy the subtly sweet song of the slate colored, Dark-eye Junco, which I recently re-learned is “locally common” year round as well. Locally common is a term used by birders to describe a species that is more or less expected to be present at a given time of year and/or location. As this bird is locally common to Cumberland County, one could find it breeding in certain local areas, such as the massive stands of stately white pine and hemlock trees deep within Robinson Woods.

Other noteworthy mentioning’s: On March 18 I spotted an unusually early male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker perched upright on an old red maple tree. Sapsuckers are slightly smaller than Hairy Woodpeckers but noticeably larger than a Downy Woodpecker. On March 18 towards dusk, Robinson Woods III was filled with the sounds of just one bird, the Brown Creeper. Only the male sings, and typically only when he is on the breeding grounds or during migration. For such a tiny creature, their delicate, high pitch song carries well through the forest. Both the male and female make wavering call notes likened to a small chain being dropped in a heap.

On the late afternoon of March 24 I was walking along the banks of the perennial pond that feeds into Pond Cove when I came across two small brownish ducks with cinnamon colored crests that look slicked back. The two birds were noticeably smaller than the surrounding cast of dabbling ducks which led me to conclude that they were female Hooded Mergansers! This splendid little duck is Maine’s smallest merganser and has seen its population increase in lockstep with Maine’s recovering beaver populations. I also recently learned that Hooded Mergansers and Common Goldeneyes sometimes compete for tree nest cavities. Interestingly they both share many courtship behaviors and calls, and there are cases of hybridization. Additionally, while I was spying on the two Hooded Mergansers a Barred Owl called twice loudly from the woods across the pond. Because Barred Owls typically spend their entire lives within the same territory, it is not uncommon for a male to call out during daylight hours in order to let other potentially encroaching owls know whose turf it is.

On the morning of March 25 and right on schedule, three Fox Sparrow appeared in our yard. This is the first year in five that I have seen three birds arrive at the same time. These skittish sparrows are common to uncommon migrants that arrive every spring for a short period across Cape. Characteristically found in Canadian boreal forests, its range appears to be expanding south. Amazingly it was not until recently (1983) that Fox Sparrows were first confirmed to be nesting in Northwest Maine. On this same day I saw a pair of adult Bald Eagles travelling north and a single Common Raven flying high above the marshes along the Spurwink River.

On the afternoon of March 26 within the tangles boarding Gull Crest and Runaway Farm, I came upon a male Ruffed Grouse. Locally common to uncommon in Cape and known colloquially as “partridge,” this upland bird is about the same size as a crow. One good reason that a Ruffed Grouse would be in this particular neck of the woods is that there are stands of young Aspen trees (between five and 20 years old) nearby that provide dense cover for protection, good visibility for predator detection and food. Once an Aspen tree reaches a certain age, it begins to produce catkins (dormant male flowers) which the Grouse depends on for food during the early spring.

Finally, in my last birding report I had mentioned that there could still be meandering winter finches about. That said, on March 27 I flushed a single bird from the ground along the Willow Brook Trail that turned out to be a Pine Grosbeak. The finch made a short leap up to a branch no more than five feet away from me and proceeded to cleverly unshell a nut with its tongue. The bright golden-orange head and rump contrasting with its smoke-gray body seemed almost mythical.