Local birding report

In the past few years scientists have unlocked an unprecedented window into the phenomenon of nocturnal migration which has led to a new golden-age of bird observation. On September 10 (as predicted by the Cornell BirdCast models) the starry sky above Cape became an avian super-highway of inconceivable proportions. Setting out under a waxing crescent moon I made my way up to the high school. The light coming from the stadium and the parking lots around 10:45 p.m. was enough to reveal huge waves of neotropical birds moving overhead. Moments passed like seconds and I felt completely immersed in the timeless stream of life passing overhead. Of note, while I am just beginning to be able to recognize a few Nocturnal Flight Calls (NFC’s) from songbirds, the time I had spent listening to audio recordings of flight calls of Tanagers along with certain Warblers and Thrushes paid off. Birds like the Scarlet Tanager that had largely eluded me this past season were clearly heard in flight as were thousands of thrushes, warblers, sparrows and shorebirds. The more I could see and hear what was going on the more thrilling the experience became.

Observations over the first two weeks of September include, on the 5th within Robinson Woods, six American Redstarts, three Wood Duck youths, a Belted Kingfisher, two Eastern Wood-Peewees, one female Black-throated Blue Warbler and several Cedar Waxwings hawking insects over Pond Cove. Also, in Pond Cove on the 8th there was a small flock of Semipalmated Sandpipers working the rocks below the fresh-water outlet. Scanning the ocean, I spotted four Northern Gannets a ways offshore. These goose sized seabirds spend most of their lives on the open ocean plunge-diving in pursuit of fish. The gannets in our Atlantic waters are snowy white with black wingtips and a sun bleached golden crown.

Despite the shorebird migration having already peaked across our parts, plovers and sandpipers were still quite common across the Spurwink Marsh and places like Kettle Cove, Dyer and Trundy Points. On September 8 a Stilt Sandpiper accompanied a small flock of Lesser Yellowlegs foraging along the Rachael Carson Reserve on Sawyer Road. Stilt Sandpipers are uncommon but regular fall migrants that may be seen as late as early October. Slightly smaller than a Lesser Yellowlegs, the differentiations most noticeable to me are that Lesser Yellowlegs have brighter yellow legs and a slightly upturned bill versus the Stilt’s which appears to droop slightly.

Also, on September 8 a male Blackpoll Warbler appeared at our birdbath, and on September 10 a bright male Yellow Warbler dropped in and shared a drink alongside a rather drab male Goldfinch. Interestingly, male Blackpoll Warblers change their appearance come autumn while male Yellow Warblers remain bright yellow. Consequently, Yellow Warblers maintain their breeding look to defend winter territories while Blackpoll males rely on acoustics (call notes) to defend their off season haunts. Imagining that this Blackpoll may be taking its last drink of fresh water (from my birdbath) before flying an eighty-eight hour nonstop mission to Northern South America is simply out of this world. As a side note, one of the best ways to attract birds to your own yard patch (and at any time of year) is to install a birdbath. Rather than spend money on one that I was not wild about I decided to make my own this past spring. There are a number of good DIY concrete bird bath videos available on YouTube.

On the morning of September 11 following the big night I found three Northern Parulas, five American Redstarts and twelve Red-eyed Vireos along Shore Road and a single Great-crested Flycatcher along the field borders of Runaway Farm. Additionally, a single Alder Flycatcher was found foraging above a small stream along the fringes of Robinson Woods III. More abundant and widespread than the Willow Flycatcher, Alder Flycatchers are in Maine for a short window of time. Arriving in late May this bird is on its way back south starting in mid-August. Later that same morning I discovered my first Warbling Vireo of the season. Uncommon and never abundant in spring or fall, the Warbling Vireo peaks in migration through cape in the first and second weeks of September. Of note, Peter Vickery’s sites a study in Birds of Maine that for every forty Red-eyed Vireos in a defined tract there is typically only one Warbling Vireo. That said Red-eyed Vireos are the most widespread and abundant breeding vireos in Maine.

On a final note, years ago I acquired a collection of bird-related books from a family friend. One in particular is called “Bird Neighbors,” published in 1897 by Neltje Blanchan De Graff Doubleday. A late blooming nature writer and birder, Neltje was an important figure in conservation, birding and the female reform movements that converged in the early 1900s to radically alter how we study avian life today.