Pond Cove
“Overwintering Gray Catbirds were spied in Delano Park, Pond Cove, Kettle Cove and Prout’s Neck.”
Through the year
Columns that mention it, by the month they were published.
Year by year
Columns that mention it each year.
In his words
Ten of the 54 passages, oldest first.
Overwintering Gray Catbirds were spied in Delano Park, Pond Cove, Kettle Cove and Prout’s Neck.
Turkey vultures have also arrived, spotted in pairs or individually along the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Preserve, Pond Cove and Delano Park.
There was an early female Scarlet Tanager first seen on April 18 (Pond Cove tangles and coastline) along with an unexpected Red-eyed Vireo, and good numbers of Pine Warblers.
Additional and previously mentioned warblers seen and heard within Cape so far this spring include a Yellow-throated Warbler on May 4 along Pond Cove Beach (This is a rather uncommon bird to see this far north, a bobby dazzler indeed).
A young female Carolina wren briefly made herself known within the thickets of Pond Cove.
I also found Ovenbirds hiding in the Pond Cove tangles above the rocky beach.
On November 2nd my wife spotted a Belted Kingfisher flying over the Jordan family pastures as you approach Pond Cove.
Also on January 6 an American Raven was spotted over the Pond Cove area being mobbed by a gang of crows.
On February 10, Three Common Goldeneyes and a couple Common Eider hens were spotted off Pond Cove.
On March 3 I was certainly surprised to come across a contemplative adult male Bald eagle perched high upon a snag along the banks of a very frozen upper Pond Cove area along what is to be Robinson Woods III.
Show all 54 passages
Also, on March 29 I spotted two first of season Ruby Crowned kinglets flittering about the pines in Pond Cove.
I noticed that one-by-one the waxwings would disappear down to the ground area where I knew there was a seasonal creek (which ultimately feeds into Pond Cove).
On April 21 my wife and I saw three Blue gray Gnatcatchers in Pond Cove.
Other first of season birds on this day include Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (male and female) and a single Purple Sandpiper (Pond Cove).
On May 16 Pond Cove saw the arrival of the largest tyrant flycatcher in North America, the fearless Eastern Kingbird.
On the evening of June 4 I spotted a Yellow-crowned Night Heron flying over the house and later noticed that there had been mentionings of what was probably the same bird at Pond Cove.
On June 14 there were 52 Common Eiders in Pond Cove including a dozen ducklings each accompanied by several adult females.
Amidst the whining masses of mosquitoes, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the song of Pine Warblers along the banks of Pond Cove, high within the stands of old white pines.
During the first two weeks of September, I found an Ovenbird (warbler) hiding in the Pond Cove tangles above the rocky beach.
On Nov. 2, a solitary Spotted Sandpiper was popping around the far end of Pond Cove’s rocky beach.
Other mentionables include, nomadic flocks of 50 or more Robins, Common Ravens, Carolina wrens, Eastern bluebirds, a single Northern mockingbird (Pond Cove) and daily yard visits from Coopers hawks.
On the 26th of February my wife reported hearing the first of the season Red-winged Blackbird in Pond Cove.
A few noteworthy observations from the first two weeks of March include a single Golden-crowned Kinglet spied within the tangles just above the intertidal zone along Pond Cove on March 5 (birders designate this as first of year “FOY”) and an American Woodcock was heard in the marshlands behind the high school on March…
Eastern Phoebes are increasing in abundance as well, with a total of six flycatchers spotted at Pond Cove working the wrack line on April 12.
The following day my wife spotted her first of year male Belted Kingfisher along the fringes of Robinson Woods III / Pond Cove.
Additional birds worth mentioning - three Savannah (Northeastern “Ipswich”) Sparrows hunkered down and a Northern Mockingbird scolded any passerby’s along Pond Cove on the morning of the 9th.
On May 18 a Solitary Sandpiper was seen foraging along freshwater stream running into the ocean along Pond Cove.
Later that day my wife arrived and quickly proclaimed “There is a King Eider down in Pond Cove!”
One of the most active place to be before dusk is definitely where the deep woods meets the upper wetland fringes of Pond Cove.
On March 10 my wife reported seeing and hearing the tumbled trill of two male Red-winged blackbirds in Pond Cove.
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.
Additionally, on April 9 a Peregrine Falcon zipped past me heading west as I was standing on the footbridge in Pond Cove – perhaps headed for the crags surrounding the Androscoggin River valley.
On April 21 within the one remaining shrub along Pond Cove I discovered a foraging Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher.
On May 8, my wife reported the first Yellow Warblers singing within Pond Cove.
Also, on May 14 I spotted an elusive Lincoln’s Sparrow singing its wren like song below the Pond Cove pedestrian bridge.
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.
Other noteworthy observations for the last couple weeks of October include, on the 16th three adult Bald Eagles and one Red-tailed Hawk put on a show high above Pond Cove.
On this same day I spotted six Surf Scoters off of Crescent Beach State Park and a solo Orange Crowned Warbler along Pond Cove.
In the last days of February off of Dyer Point, Trundy Point, Pond Cove and Fort Williams I saw the following - Common Loons, Common Eiders, Harlequin Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Black and Surf Scoters and Red-breasted Mergansers.
On March 24 along Pond Cove my son flushed his first Great Blue Heron of the spring.
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 the late afternoon of May 7 along Pond Cove I was listening to the pleasant cooing calls coming from a gathering of Common Eiders just offshore when I noticed two rather small birds hunkered down on a nearby rock.
Over the last two weeks one of the most active places to be before dusk is where the woods meet the upper wetland sections of Pond Cove.
Additional mentionings from across town include a male Belted Kingfisher and many Cedar Waxwings sallying and gleaning over the Pond Cove brook corridor in Robinson Woods III, Seven Piping Plovers along Kettle Cove Beach on July 29 and an Artic Tern…
The following day, January 23, in Robinson Woods I counted six Golden-crowned Kinglets and was surprised to find two Swamp Sparrows along the Pond Cove brook corridor.
On March 31 along Pond Cove, I came across my first of the year Eastern Phoebe working the wrack line and a Merlin headed north.
The following day November 5 I came across a Merlin perched on a streetlamp just outside Pond Cove Elementary School.
May 24 - At dusk four Common Nighthawks gracefully foraging over the Pond Cove brook corridor section of Robinson Woods.
I also noticed that one-by-one the Waxwings would disappear down to the ground area where I knew there was a seasonal creek (which ultimately feeds into Pond Cove).
Later that morning I also discovered my first Blue-headed Vireo within Pond Cove.
On May 13 a Solitary Sandpiper along Pond Cove and along the fringes of Robinson Woods III a female Magnolia Warbler bathing, a Canada Warbler energetically foraging, and a Scarlet Tanager calling.
On June 6 I spotted a gathering of Least Terns just off the shore of Pond Cove.
While sitting on the rocky shoreline of Pond Cove, I watched flocks of Lesser Yellowlegs working the wrack line.
Other observations from the latter half of May include a Solitary Sandpiper along Pond Cove on the 13th, and along the fringes of Robinson Woods III, a female Magnolia Warbler bathing, a Canada Warbler energetically foraging and a male Scarlet Tanager.