Local birding report

The third and fourth weeks of September saw many summer bird residents starting to depart for their winter homes while other southbound migrants were stopping in briefly to rest and refuel before carrying on. On 9/22 and 9/23 Cornell’s BirdCast Migration Dashboard forecasted close to a million nocturnal birds passing along the Atlantic Flyway and through Cumberland County.

What I particularly enjoy about this web-based data visualization tool is that it provides a window to deepen one’s connection with nature. On several nights when forecasted weather conditions were more favorable for travelling at lower altitudes, just as predicted, warblers, thrushes and sparrows brief flight calls were right above the treetops. Standing out from the peeps and chirps a more distinct, slightly rising, bell-like “pwee” caught my ear. Reviewing the Migration Dashboard’s expected nocturnal migrants section I noticed that Swainson’s Thrushes were listed as a species most likely passing overhead and I was able to match the flight song I was hearing to a pre-recorded version I had found online. And while I cannot say with full confidence that I was hearing Swainson’s Thrushes calling, there is a good chance that they were.

My notes from the yard and field over the last two weeks include, on 9/16 after dusk along Charles Jordan Road I heard the soft hooting of a Great Horned Owl. Later that same evening a Barred Owl call from the fringes of my property spooked three Wild Turkeys roosting high up in the thick limbs of an Oak Tree. Over the next twenty or so seconds I could hear branches breaking and wings furiously beating. On 9/18 I came across three Blue-headed Vireos along the northern entrance to Runaway Farm and on 9/20 in my backyard I noted eight, first of season White-throated Sparrows, three lingering Gray Catbirds and from my bedroom window, two Red-eye Vireos and one Philadelphia Vireo.

Far less widespread and abundant in Maine, the Philadelphia Vireo can usually be distinguished from the Red-eyed Vireo by their yellow washed underparts and distinct line above the eye that typically contrasts with their darkish gray helmet. And while the Red-eyed Vireo does breed in Cape, the Philadelphia only breeds in the more north westerly sections of Maine and beyond.

The leisurely pace of fall migration continued on 9/23 with a single male Rose-Breasted Grosbeak showing up at our backyard feeder along with two Red-breasted Nuthatches. Also, a young male Pileated Woodpecker has been dropping into our yard daily, announcing his arrival with a series of loud, escalating shrieks. Consequently, about a month ago I had also upgraded my decade old suet cage to a “tail prop” hanging suet feeder specifically built for these large carpenters of the forest.

Additionally on 9/24 along the Gull Crest trails I came across five Eastern Phoebes, several Black-and-White Warblers and a single male Blue-throated Black Warbler. The Black-throated Blue Warblers colors are so unlike any other warbler that the male may be identified after little more than a glance. While the male is conspicuous, wearing the same plumage throughout the year, the female is more obscure, and in the fall a white spot at the base of her primary wings is the only prominent distinguishing mark. Soon, this stately little visitor would be off on its dangerous journey to wintering grounds of The Greater Antilles, Bahamas or even farther south to Central America.

Lastly, on the afternoon of 9/25 along Spurwink Marsh section of Sawyer Road, my son brought to my attention “two black birds” out on the salt pannes. Upon closer inspection I almost couldn’t believe what I was seeing, but there they were, two female Rusty Blackbirds. In the broad light of early autumn I could clearly make out the birds rusty coloring and pale eyes. Slightly smaller than a robin but of similar shape, these “Rusties” typically depart northern boreal forests where they breed by early-mid September, spending about a month resting and feeding at stopover sites before arriving on their wintering grounds in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley and the southeastern Coastal Plain of the Carolinas and Georgia by late November. Rusty Blackbirds are uncommon breeders in bogs and other wetlands in deeply wooded areas of Northern Maine. Over the last four decades this boreal blackbird’s population has decreased faster than almost any other bird in North America and scientists are still not sure exactly why. According to several studies, the greatest threat to Rusty Blackbirds may be habitat loss and degradation on their stopover sites and on wintering grounds. From my own records in Cape, I last spotted a single female Rusty Blackbird in my backyard in the fall of 2018 and before that a single male in 2016.