Local birding report

Up until this point, there has been a steady trickle of northbound avian traffic through Cape Elizabeth.

By the second week of April, early nesters like Killdeers and Woodcocks may already have paired off and established nests. Migratory woodpeckers such as the Northern Flicker and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker numbers peak in April as do Brown Creepers, Eastern Phoebes, Winter Wrens, Brown Thrashers, White-throated Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, and fleeting pass through migrants like Fox Sparrows and “Ipswich” Savanah Sparrows. Tree Swallows arriving in the first two weeks of April are soon to be joined by Barn and Northern rough-winged Swallows.

April also marks the arrival of egrets, herons, Osprey and other birds of prey. Noticeable waves of northbound migrants will arrive towards the end of April including Gray Catbirds, House Wrens, Eastern Kingbirds along with Least and Great-Crested Flycatchers.

As for my notes from the field, in the last days of March, one could still find good numbers of Long-tailed Ducks and Common Goldeneyes off Pond Cove and Dyer Point. On March 30 along the Pond Cove Brook corridor, my wife and son reported seeing their first Eastern Phoebe of the year.

Even more exciting were the two adult Bald Eagles who flew down and landed on a submerged stump in one of the upper ponds and proceeded to drink the water. Apparently, it is rare to see a Bald Eagle drinking water as they acquire most of their daily water from the food they eat. A third adult eagle soon showed up overhead and the other two eagles took to the wing in pursuit.

On April 1 along the Sawyer Road section of the Spurwink Marsh I noted my first Great Egret of the season. The first thrush to come and the last thrush to go is the Hermit Thrush. On April 4 I came upon a single Hermit Thrush deep within the bog bridge section of Gull Crest.

Hermit Thrushes rarely sing while migrating, perhaps because they reserve their haunting hymns for the summertime. Cordelia Stanwood, a self-taught ornithologist from Maine in the early 1900s remarked, “ To know and love the hermit thrush – the Voice of the Northern Woods – and to receive his benediction in the twilight is one of the privileges Nature con-fers on those who worship at her shrine.” Also known by the name Swamp Angel, these medium sized songbirds are common summer residents in our forests but with considerable annual variation.

On the late afternoon of April 6, the bewildering warble of a Winter Wren caught my ear while wandering Robinson Woods. Few sounds bring as much joy to my heart as the melodious song of this little forest dweller. In our latitudes Winter Wrens first start arriving in early to mid-April through mid-May. Slightly smaller than a House wren and less hardy than its cousin the Carolina Wren, this absurd little creature habitually holds its stubby tail straight up while bouncing to and fro.

As I crept closer with hopes of laying eyes on the bird, its nearly constant kimpkimp chatter seemed to echo through the swampy tangled piles of fallen trees. A common breeder in moist coniferous forests throughout most of Maine, I have had the best luck locating Winter Wrens during the first few weeks of April along wooded streams and wetlands.

On April 9 I noted a Fox Sparrow and many singing Dark-eyed Juncos and White Throated Sparrows in my backyard. Lastly, on April 10 along a separate section of the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, I observed a male Belted Kingfisher, three Snowy Egrets and a single Tree Swallow.

Later in the afternoon (5:07 p.m.) the full eight notes from a Barred Owl call was heard coming from somewhere within Robinson Woods III. Unlike many owls that limit their hooting to the evening hours, the Barred Owl hoots at any time of the day.