Two Lights State Park
“Harlequin Ducks (Two Lights and Fort Williams, Common Eiders, at least one King Eider (Dyer Point), Black and White-winged Scoters (Crescent Beach), Pintails (Ferry Beach), Red-breasted Mergansers, Red-necked Grebes, and numerous Common Loons.”
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Ten of the 23 passages, oldest first.
Harlequin Ducks (Two Lights and Fort Williams, Common Eiders, at least one King Eider (Dyer Point), Black and White-winged Scoters (Crescent Beach), Pintails (Ferry Beach), Red-breasted Mergansers, Red-necked Grebes, and numerous Common Loons.
As for noteworthy birding observations from across Cape Elizabeth and slightly beyond, there was a Snowy Owl spotted within Two Lights State Park.
In the early morning hours of September 30 my mother-in-law Judy Calise spotted a Barred owl along Two Lights Road boarding the backside of Two Lights State Park.
Late season lingerers – There was a report of a yellow-breasted chat in Two Lights State Park on Sunday, Oct. 28.
A couple of days before Christmas my mother-in-law spotted a flock of Sanderlings moving at a good clip along the rocky coast of Two Lights State Park.
In the first few days of February an elusive drake King Eider was spotted by a few birders between the rocky coastline of Two Lights State Park and Dyer Point.
Having missed the only sighting of a King Eider this past winter off Dyer Point and Two Lights State Park I frantically jumped on my bike and arrived just in time to see this majestic duck before it disappeared along the rocky shoreline.
As for late summer nesters, on August 2 while in Two Lights State Park I caught glimpses of several American Goldfinches with nesting material in their beaks.
Lastly, on July 12 while exploring the more forested and wet section of Two Lights State Park with my wife and son we spotted what first appeared to be three juvenile night herons, however as we crept closer for better looks it soon became apparent that we were looking at a total of four American Bitterns…
The autumn Yellow-rumped Warbler migration phenomenon along our coastlines stretched well into the second week of October with thousands of these tiny gems blanketing the maritime forests and shrublands of Crescent Beach State Park and Two Lights State Park.
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On December 1 from the rocky headland of Two Lights State Park I watched a flock of eleven hardy Harlequin Ducks, including two extravagantly adorned males, foraging for mollusks and crustaceans along the exposed coastline below.
Other gull types spotted off Dyer and Trundy Points and Two Lights State Park over the last several weeks include Iceland, Glaucous and Bonaparte’s Gulls and a Black-legged Kittiwake.
On this same day, there were reports of a Black-billed Cuckoo within Two Lights State Park.
On the afternoon of January 29 my son and I traversed the rocky headland from Dyer Point to the edge of Two Lights State Park.
The following day in Two Lights State Park I came across a Hermit Thrush in one of the denser thicket areas and observed three Harlequin Ducks working the rough water along the rocky coastline.
Lastly, on the stormy day of July 16 off of Two Lights State Park I scanned the rough ocean and noticed two small, robin-sized seabirds that had a distinctive flutter and glide to their movements as they seemed to sail just above the tops of the waves, hopping from the surface of one wave to the next…
There was also a report on this day of a female Indigo Bunting discovered within Two Lights State Park.
Other locations where these falcons have been spotted over the last two weeks include Kettle Cove, Two Lights State Park and Dyer Point.
Additionally, on February 10 from Two Lights State Park I noted eight Long-tailed Ducks, several dozen Common Eiders and White-winged Scoters and a single Black Guillemot.
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.
Additionally, in early December around sunset my two sons and I walked the rocky shoreline from Dyer Point to Two Lights State Park.
In fact, 25% of the top twenty birding hotspots (define by both number species recorded and by submitted eBird checklists) are in our town including, Kettle Cove, Dyer Point, Trundy Point, Portland Headlight – Fort Williams Park and Two Lights State Park.
On December 7, scrambling along the rocky shoreline from Dyer Point to Two Lights State Park, I encountered three separate flocks of hardy Harlequin Ducks.