Local birding report

With a change of season upon us my mind often drifts to birds I hope to come across this spring in Cape Elizabeth such as the Blue-winged and Golden- Winged Warbler, the Connecticut Warber and the elusive Wilson’s Snipe. As for the three warblers, I’ve seen each of them only once in Cape over the last seven years. The previous spring I came across my first Connecticut Warbler singing within the deepest tangles of Gull Crest. Because of this bird’s stealthy ways and skulking behavior, the Connecticut is among the least studied of all American songbirds.

To date only one study of a nesting pair has been published and this was back in 1961. During the spring of 2022 I happened upon a lemon-yellow colored Blue-winged Warbler below the Spurwink Church Cemetery, foraging where the forest edge meets the marsh. As for the Golden Winged Warber, this bird showed up on the fringes of my neighbor’s property in May of 2021. The second I heard this warbler’s buzzy melody I knew it was something extra special. And then there is the Wilson’s Snipe. Despite the fact that this medium-sized shorebird breeds in Cumberland County and is thought of as somewhat common, I have still yet to lay eyes on one in Cape. Snipes are very secretive and cryptically colored. When compared to an American Woodcock, snipes have longer necks and legs and a white belly, not cinnamon.

A harbinger of the coming spring, I am thankful for the Song Sparrows that arrive in greater numbers every day now. This shy but not retiring, medium-sized sparrow with a particular fondness for moist woodland thickets can be found just about everywhere, from backyard bird feeders to our tidal marshes. Over the next month Song Sparrows will be carving out territories before engaging in the pleasantries of courtship. The male uses its song to attract mates as well as defend its turf. And what this streaky brown sparrow lacks in beauty it abundantly makes up with in song. Its three short, undulating phrases followed by a varied trilling is described by Neljtje Blanchan in her 1899 publication, “Bird Neighbors” as “irrepressible vivacity”...“delicious and ecstatic, a simple, homely, sweet melody.”

Other limited notes from the last several weeks in the yard and field include, on March 1 a Raven was croaking from atop the Gull Crest telecommunications tower as my first of season Turkey Vulture soared northward overhead. On March 8 around dusk my son and I heard our first American Woodcock’s nasal peent call from behind the turf field.

And on March 9 along the section of Sawyer Road that crosses the Spurwink River, I spotted one female Hooded Merganser and a pair of Common Mergansers feeding in a shallow salt-water pool as the rattling calling from a nearby Pileated Woodpecker carried across the marsh. It has been said more than once that few New England ducks are handsomer than the male Common Merganser. In breeding plumage males have crisp white bodies, an iridescent green shiny head and a narrow orange-red, serrated bill which is used for catching fish. The female dons a noticeably shaggy rusty-colored crest and a white chin patch to boot. These adaptable mergansers are mainly found on freshwater rivers and lakes or during migration in saltwater estuaries and backwaters where the tide runs in and out.

Additionally on March 13 northbound travelers visiting our backyard included a Red-winged Blackbird, a Common Grackle and four Brown-headed Cowbirds. Later in the afternoon two Pine Siskins stopped in and joined seventeen molting Goldfinches on the finch tube.

And one final note about owls. March through May is the “calling season” for Great-horned, Barred and Northern Saw-whet Owls. In most cases only the wind and precipitation will inhibit owls from vocalizing. Specific to the smallest of these three owls, Aegolius acadicus, I’ve heard more squawks, high-pitched barks and me-ows from Northern Saw-whets during this past, largely snowless winter than the last several including from my own backyard, Two Lights State Park, Robinson Woods and Cresent Beach State Park. Consequently, Eastern U.S. populations show a population cycle in which Saw-whet numbers generally peak every four years. This peak is closely tied to the small rodent populations which also peak in high mast years such as this past year. The milder winter may have kept more saw-whet owls from migrating further south as well; however, the population density at various times of the year is still virtually unknown.

Of note, just before sunset on February 19 and March 12 a male saw-whet was calling in the woods behind my house. Typical singing of males occurs at its peak, two hours after sunset and can continue throughout the night. In both occurrences it was not quite dark out when I heard the saw-whet’s whistles and that made me wonder whether this tiny owl was purposely trying to stay under the radar of surrounding Great-horned and Barred Owls by calling earlier rather than later.

Upon further research I came across Ann B. Swengel’s published extract, “Detecting Northern Saw-Whet Owls” (1986) where the author notes that “through pellet collection, sightings and vocalization of the various owls, we have noted a fair amount of overlap in land use between Saw-whet’s and larger owls like Great-horned and Barred,” leading to her theory that “larger owls do not repel Saw-whet Owls strongly despite the fact that they may on occasion prey on them.” I also came across two other studies where Saw-whets have continued to call after a Great-horned Owls vocalized and saw-whets reported singing just after Barred Owls had called in the immediate vicinity.