Fort Foster - November 2024

by Laurie Pocher

It started out like any other November morning at Fort Foster. Bright sunshine, a chill in the air, and a breeze off the water. While we're always hopeful that we'll spot a rare bird at the tail end of fall migration, our expectations were low due to the conditions. We were greeted by many of the usual suspects for this time of year: Black-Capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, Carolina Wrens, American Goldfinch, and Eastern Bluebirds in the trees. Dark-Eyed Juncos and White-Throated Sparrows on the ground. A Red-Bellied Woodpecker here, a Brown Creeper there. Blue Jays calling.

We headed toward the pavilion, and paused for a photo shoot with some Golden-Crowned Kinglets. A Turkey Vulture flew overhead. We continued to the point overlooking Whaleback Light where we saw a couple of Surf Scoters, a Common Loon, and a Bald Eagle. A few seals were enjoying the sunshine, but then a cold wind drove us off the point in search of a more sheltered path.

That’s when things got exciting!

We hadn’t gone very far when Ariah spotted an owl perched on a branch on the side of the trail right at eye level: a Long-Eared Owl! We dropped down low and stayed as quiet as we could, hoping no one would come along from the other direction to spook it. After a few minutes, it flew off and we followed. Ariah was quick to find it again, and we spent the next 90 minutes in its presence. It wasn’t bothered by red and gray squirrels foraging nearby, and seemed to go completely unnoticed by the Chickadees, Goldfinches and Bluebirds in the area.

Because this is such a rare bird for this location — the first sighting at Fort Foster since the 1980s — we reached out to several York County and Maine Audubon folks to let them know what we’d seen. Soon, top birders from all over the state were racing to the park, eager to catch a glimpse of this unexpected visitor.

With sensitive species like owls, eBird and social media sites don’t share the location of a sighting so the birds don’t get mobbed with well-intentioned birders that can inadvertently stress the bird. It’s super helpful to have knowledgeable birders on hand to help people see it without disturbing it, to educate those who might not understand how close is too close, how loud is too loud, etc. We waited until reinforcements arrived who planned to stay and observe the owl for a while.

While we hoped that this LEOW would find Fort Foster to be a quiet, hospitable place to spend the winter, we found out later that it was more of a ‘one-day wonder’ and was not seen after 2pm the day we found it. We were so fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, with a fantastic group of sharp-eyed young birders!

You can see our eBird checklist (which for the aforementioned reasons will not include the LEOW) here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S201891045.

Our next outing will be the Christmas Bird Count in December. Stay tuned for details about how to join us for this annual census. Until then… happy birding!

2024 Fall Birding at Mount Agamenticus & CFW

by Laurie Pocher

The Maine Young Birders Club spent two hours hiking around the summit of Mount Agamenticus on a bright, chilly, fall morning. We covered the Big A Trail and spent some time on the observation platforms, looking for fall migrants. It wasn’t the birdiest day ever, but we saw some unexpected birds.

Early morning brought us some Yellow-Rumped Warblers, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Black-Capped Chickadees, both White-Breasted and Red-Breasted Nuthatches, and both Ruby-Crowned and Golden-Crowned Kinglets.

As we rounded the bend near the observation decks — where a snow-capped Mt Washington was visible on the horizon — a huge flock of migrating American Robins flew overhead. It was the first of several, and we ended up seeing 77 Robins in two hours.

We saw more than two dozen Yellow-Rumped Warblers, and kept reminding ourselves to check every one. That paid off when we found a Black-Throated Green Warbler on the west side of the summit, an uncommon sight this late in the season.

Right near the parking area there was a mini-hot spot with lots of Eastern Bluebirds, a couple of Savannah Sparrows, a Song Sparrow and a Swamp Sparrow. We turned toward the observation tower and were suprised by three Horned Larks.

Other species included Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, European Starling, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, and White-Throated Sparrow. In total, we saw 20 species at Mount A. You can see the full checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S199451062

We spent the last 90 minutes of our outing at the Center for Wildlife, where Dennis gave us a tour of the facility, and introduced us to Rusty, the resident Red-Shouldered Hawk in training to be an ambassador. We wrapped up the morning visiting with the other ambassadors in their enclosures. What a fun day!

Stay tuned for the trip announcement for our November outing coming soon!

Monhegan Fall Birding 2024

by Marion Sprague

The Maine Young Birders Club took to the seas on Saturday, September 21st to visit Monhegan Island, a small, rocky island in Muscungous Bay about 10 miles offshore. The marine forecast was not in our favor with 7-9ft swells predicted. Captain Jim was terrific at guiding us as smoothly as possible through these turbulent waters. We arrived on Monhegan to overcast skies, but no rain!

We re-grouped at the dock to make introductions before starting up the hill toward the Community Gardens. We were very excited to welcome two new young birders to the flock, Jesse and Nora. In total we had 9 young birders, along with parents and family members joining us on this adventure.

We stopped just before the library where we saw a Northern Mockingbird and a Kingbird. As we rounded the corner, a family of Ring-necked Pheasants greeted us at the Community Gardens. There were two stunning adults males just off the road. We picked up several sparrows including Swamp, Song, and White-throated Sparrow as well as a sizable flock of Common Grackles and a signing Carolina Wren. The highlight of this stop was the American Kestrel that posed out in the open for us. The clicking of camera shutters abounded! From there we headed toward the Pump House where we picked up a Green-winged Teal, Mallards, and a few immature Great Black-backed Gulls.

From there we headed toward the Ice Pond, where we saw a family of 5 Wood Ducks! The road to the Ice Ponds was hopping! We saw Northern Parulas and Black-and White Warblers. We got our first Red-eyed Vireos of the day here. Little did we know that we would encounter 16 throughout the day. Every where we stopped they made a showing. The Ice Pond also gave us a Solitary Sandpiper, Belted King-fisher, and a calling Common Raven to round out the count.

We headed back toward town to grab lunch at the Barnacle. We paused on the ledges just behind the school to scan the offshore islands for Bald Eagles and cormorants. After lunch, we headed toward Lobster Cove where we added a mixed flock of White-winged Scoters and Common Eiders. We got our second shorebird of the day, a Spotted Sandpiper flitting around the cove. Of course we had to stop and explore the shipwreck and take a group photo or two!

As we started back toward town, we made a stop to pick up 2 Dickcissels feeding along the gravel road. They lingered long enough for everyone to get great looks and pictures! We also picked up an Eastern Wood Pewee here. Day trips on the island pass very quickly and before we knew it we had to make our way back the dock to meet our boat. We made a few pitstops along the way, where we saw our cooperative kestrel again!

Other trip highlights included a Northern Harrier, 2 Merlins, a Blue-headed Vireo, 2 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and 5 Northern Flickers. The warbler count was not high, but we got 7 species including Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstarts, Norther Parula, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.

The boat ride back to New Harbor proved much more smooth than the morning trip! The calmer waters allowed for a quick loop around the Duck Islands to look at the seals. About halfway between the island and the mainland we saw three small Harbor Porpoise pods. Several of the young birders reported a shearwater! Though the exact species was definitively determined, they were leaning toward Great Shearwater.

We had a great outing with a total of 50 species. Check out our trip list here.

As always, you can click here for more information about how to join the Maine Young Birders Club.

Stay tuned for the trip announcement about our October outing at Center for Wildlife!

Shorebirding in Biddeford - August 18, 2024

by Laurie Pocher

MYBC welcomed a special guest walk leader — Magill Weber — who led us through a fantastic morning of shorebirding in Biddeford.

We started in Biddeford Pool, where we saw a Great Egret, a Great Blue Heron, and a handful of peep. A Red-Tailed Hawk landed on a pole overlooking the water, and was immediately harassed by a Northern Mockingbird. The hawk stood its ground, and we moved on to our next stop.

A quick 15minute stop at Great Pond yielded 21 species. We saw immature Black-Crowned and Yellow-Crowned Night Herons, a Great Egret and a pair of Snowy Egrets. A large mixed flock of Mallards and American Black Ducks included about a dozen hybrids, which were very dark overall but had Mallard characteristics. A small flock of Semipalmated Sandpipers and one Least Sandpiper flew in, followed by a single Spotted Sandpiper. A few Barn Swallows mixed in with a larger flock of Tree Swallows and an Eastern Kingbird were all flycatching over our heads. A Brown-Headed Cowbird, Yellow Warbler, and Ruby-Throated Hummingbird also buzzed by.

On to South Point Sanctuary, where we spent an hour hanging out on the beach with hundreds of shorebirds foraging in the wrack along the high tide line. There were approximately 200 Sempalmated Sandpipers, 40 Semipalmated Plovers, 23 Ruddy Turnstones, 5 Sanderlings, 4 White-Rumped Sandpipers, 4 Least Sandpipers, a spotted Sandpiper and at least one Baird’s Sandpiper. It was great to have Magill pointing out the fieldmarks to differentiate between species, and encouraging us to sit quietly on the beach and let the birds come to us. A raft of about 25 Common Eider, 6 Ring-Billed Gulls, 2 Herring Gulls, 3 Eastern Kingbirds, 3 Black-Capped Chickadees, 43 Tree Swallows, 3 Gray Catbirds, a Northern Cardinal and an American Robin rounded out our observations at South Point.

Our last stop was Sky Harbor Drive. By this time it was approaching high tide, so many of the birds were quite a distance away. We saw a few Common Terns fishing, as well as Ring-Billed, Bonaparte’s, Great Black-Backed and Lesser Black-Backed Gulls. More Common Eiders, more Semipalmated Sandpipers and more Semipalmated Plovers. On our way out, we passed a Great Blue Heron and a handful of Cedar Waxwings.

All in all, we tallied 41 species across the four locations. You can view our trip report here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/267967.

Keep your eye out for our September trip announcement coming soon! Happy Birding!

Stratton Island Trip Report - July 7, 2024

by Marion Sprague

The Maine Young Birders headed to Stratton Island on Sunday, July 7th. We spent the morning with the Audubon research team that lives on the island throughout the breeding season to monitor the tern and heron colonies on Stratton, Little Stratton, and Bluff Islands. Due to the threat of thunderstorms the day before, we rescheduled our trip for Sunday and enjoyed clear skies and calm seas. We were even treated to a special guest on the island—Dr. Stephen Kress, the found of Project Puffin, was there working with the research team and spent some time talking to the young birders! What a wonderful experience for them! We got to ask questions about his work and learn more about the start of the seabird restoration efforts in Maine.

We gathered at the dock in Pine Point to catch the boat to the island. From the dock at Pine Point we saw Rock Pigeons, Herring and Great Black-Backed Gulls, and several Double-Crested Cormorants. There were also a few tern species calling off shore, but not coming close to the beach.

We split up into smaller groups and explored different parts of the island. At the landing beach both Least and Common Terns were nesting. We were thrilled to hear that the Least Terns are having a more successful breeding season than they did last year!

Stratton also has the unique feature of a freshwater pond on the island. Here we saw Short-billed Dowitchers, Semi-palmated Sandpipers, Green-winged Teal, a Gadwall, a Red-necked Phalarope, Mallard Ducks, and Canada Geese on the water. There were also Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, and Glossy Ibises roosting in the tress along the far side of the pond. One group spotted the Black-crowned Night Heron flush from the pond’s edge as well. This bird, while a treat for us to see, has been a constant challenge to the island research team. It hunts at night and predates the nesting Least Terns check and eggs. The team takes terns on night watch over the Least Terns using a laser pointer to deter the the heron from the nests. There efforts this summer have been more successful than least year and we save several LETE chicks this year. A stark contrast to the lone chick we saw last summer.

We split the rest of our time between the eastern side of the island and the blinds. The eastern side of the island is great for sea watching and we picked up American Oystercatcher, Black Guillemot, and Spotted Sandpiper here. On our way to the blinds near ‘Rosie Town’, the rock structure the research team built to aid the nesting Roseate Terns, we had to be very careful of stepping on nests and chicks along our path and the Common Terns dive bombing us from above. Here we were treated to the Common x Artic Tern hybrid sitting on a nest among the Common Terns!

We also spent some time in the visitors’ blind with views of nesting Common Terns, watching adult terns bring in fish to feed their chicks. We observed first-hand the difficulty posed by the warming ocean waters and the influx of Butter Fish as we watched a tern chick struggle to eat one of the wide-flat fish to no avail. After about 5 minutes of struggling the chick abandoned the meal and went back to begging for more food. These fish are too wide to fit down the small bills of the tern chicks and as they become more common off-shore chicks can struggle to get the fish they need to survive their first first weeks.

As added highlights to our trip, the research team showed the young birders how to properly handle the chicks to collect data such as wing measurements and how to collect fecal samples from the birds. A few young birders even got to hold a tern and practice what we learned.

Other species we saw on Stratton Island brought our total species count to 33 for the day, including Yellow Warbler, Gray Catbird, and Song Sparrow. Click here to view our complete trip report.

We’d like to extend a special thank you to Ben and the whole team on Stratton Island for being such great hosts, and for taking such good care of us and the birds! Click here to learn more about shorebird conservation efforts at Stratton Island.

Stay tuned for the trip announcement about our next outing. As always, you can click here for more information about how to join the Maine Young Birders Club.

2024 Spring Migration at Evergreen Cemetery

by Britney Fox

With spring migration winding down considerably, the Maine Young Birders spent a beautiful morning at Evergreen Cemetery catching up with some late migrants and observing many species who use Evergreen as their nesting grounds.  While the group waited for all the participants, we were treated to a family of mallards with their very young ducklings.  We watched the young ducklings toddle around near the smaller ponds and later caught up with two additional mallard families, each with young of various ages.  The mallard families seemed to be sticking to the smaller ponds as our group spotted many large snapping turtles in every body of water.  We were all entranced by one large snapper poking their head above the water, giving everyone a unique view of this animal’s very prehistoric looking face. 

While checking out the ponds, we spotted a wood duck pair and heard several species singing and calling including eastern kingbird, great-crested flycatcher, and red-eyed vireos– all of which are establishing nesting territories in the cemetery to raise their young.  As we made our way into the wooded trails, our group was able to spot a great-crested flycatcher who was giving some modest looks before flying from tree to tree.  We heard several species of warbler including American redstarts, ovenbirds,  a pine warbler, as well as black-throated green warblers.

Perhaps our best migrant spotting of the day was a male Canada warbler flitting around deep in some brush with a magnolia warbler accompanying him.  We also heard and spotted an eastern wood pewee flycatching at the top of a pine tree.  We searched for the barred owl family who nested in the cemetery, specifically the barred owl fledgling, to no avail. 

Overall, our group saw 40 different species and you can see a full list of the species seen on our trip here:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S178617964.

Stay tuned for our next trip announcement coming soon!

2024 Birding Challenge - Team MYBC!

by Laurie Pocher

For the second year in a row, we had to abandon our plans to bird Monhegan Island — this time due to canceled ferry service. We hatched a divide-and-conquer plan instead, birding Hinckley Park, Kettle Cove, and Spurwink Marsh as a group, and then splitting up to cover more diverse habitats.

Hinckley Park yielded 34 species, including six different warblers — Yellow, Chestnut-Sided, Wilson’s, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Parula, and American Redstart. A pair of House Wrens flitted around singing loudly, and a pair of Red-Eyed Vireos worked the tree tops and an Olive-Sided Flycatcher scouted the brush near the pond.

We moved on to Kettle Cove, where we added Purple Sandpipers, Common Eiders, Roseate Terns, Tree Swallows, Red-breasted Merganser, Killdeer, and four species of gull: Herring, Ring-Billed, Great Black-Backed, and Laughing. A quick stop at Spurwink Marsh was very productive, with Great and Snowy Egrets, Barn Swallows, a Belted Kingfisher, and a Bald Eagle.

As a group, we tallied 54 species. You can view the full trip report here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/241224

Team MYBC members made a few other stops within the 24-hour Birding Challenge timeframe. A trip to Robinson’s Woods added a Brown Creeper and a Hermit Thrush, and one of our Young Birders had an Ovenbird, Canada Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, and Least Flycatcher in his yard! Capisic Pond gave us a Black-crowned Night Heron, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, and a Magnolia Warbler. We scored Glossy Ibis driving by Scarborough Marsh en route to Kennebunk Plains, where we added Brown Thrasher, Northern Flicker, Eastern Meadowlark, Prairie Warbler, Eastern Towhees, and Field and Vesper Sparrows. One team member did manage to get to Monhegan Island, picking up a Wilson’s Phalarope, Northern Gannet, Atlantic Puffin, Black Guillemot, Least Tern, American Black Duck, White-winged Dove, and Ring-Necked Pheasant… plus a Bobolink in her Kittery backyard. Another team member birded Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge MA, rounding out our sightings with Chimney Swift, Red-Tailed Hawk, Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Wood Thrush, Cedar Waxwing, Brown-Headed Cowbird, and Cape May, Pine and Yellow-Rumped Warblers.

All tolled, we managed to log 100 species for the Team MYBC Birding Challenge total!

There’s still time to donate to York County Audubon Birding Challenge! We’ll be collecting donations through May 31, so click here to sponsor Team MYBC!

Stay tuned for our next trip announcement coming soon!

Owling in Northeast Massachusetts

by Laurie Pocher

The Maine Young Birders Club welcomed two new members yesterday — Henry and Levi — as we set out across state lines in search of owls. Recent sightings of Short-Eared and Long-Eared Owls (with a history of Barred, Screech, and Snowy Owls) were enough incentive to shift our usual Saturday morning outing to an afternoon road trip down to Salisbury Beach State Park and Parker River NWR.

As we drove into Salisbury Beach State Park, we saw a Northern Harrier hunting right along the road. The bird swooped down into the marsh, and another Harrier popped up from the same spot. We pulled over to get a better look as a third Harrier joined them. We took it as a good sign for the day ahead!

We drove further into the park to a spot where a pair of elusive Long-Eared Owls have been roosting for the past several winters. They’re shy birds that tend to hang out in dense foliage where they can be difficult to see, but it was our lucky day! One of the owls was perched on a branch with a clear view from the road. We all got great looks and those with cameras were able to capture some fantastic images.

It provided a great opportunity to talk about birding etiquette and being aware of your surroundings. A small group of photographers had set up several tripods and stools, all but blocking the view of the owl for others. When we arrived, they made no effort to move out of the way, and one man even stepped in front of us. We took turns looking between them and over their shoulders, always stepping aside for other people who arrived to see the owl. Their setup also required us to stand in an active roadway with cars driving past, which was a good reminder to always be aware of your surroundings!

We drove through the campground and stopped at the beach, where we saw dozens of harbor seals hauled out on the rocks. Ian spotted a few Gadwall hanging out near the seals, while Luke set off to photograph a large raft of about a hundred Common Eider that were feeding nearby. We also saw a few Red-Breasted Mergansers, Long-tailed Ducks, and Common Goldeneye at the beach, and spotted a Northern Mockingbird on our way out.

After a pretty fruitful start, we headed to Parker River National Wildlife Refuge with high hopes for Short-Eared Owls (spoiler alert: we didn’t see any). On our way into the refuge, we saw a Bald Eagle and a large mixed blackbird flock made up of European Starlings, Common Grackles, and Red-Winged Blackbirds.

We drove almost the full length of the Refuge Road, making several stops along the way. At the North Pool Overlook, we saw a few Northern Pintail dabbling and showing off their namesake tails. The pond near the maintenance shed yielded two Mute Swans, six American Tree Sparrows, three Yellow-Rumped Warblers, and a Song Sparrow. Looking across the marsh, we saw dozens of Red-Breasted Mergansers, a Common Goldeneye, a Common Loon, and four Horned Grebes.

Continuing along the Refuge Road, we saw several Northern Harriers throughout the day. We stopped to check every one of them since they are similar to Short-Eared Owls in the way they fly erratically low over the marsh. Every time, the telltale white rump patch identified them as Northern Harriers.

All tolled, we saw 23 species. You can see our Trip Report on eBird: https://ebird.org/tripreport/211177.

We have some exciting trips coming up… keep your eye out for our April and May announcement coming soon! Happy Birding!

Winter Birding in Cape Elizabeth - February 3, 2024

by Laurie Pocher

The Maine Young Birders Club did some winter birding in Cape Elizabeth on Saturday. It was very cold and windy near the water, but our efforts were rewarded with large numbers of ducks that congregate in Maine during the winter.

We started the morning at Kettle Cove, where we saw a small raft of 45-50 Common Eiders and Black Scoters, along with a couple of White-Winged Scoter, Surf Scoters, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, and Common Loons. Single Long-Tailed Duck, Red-Breasted Merganser rounded out our morning shorebird sightings, and when we returned later in the morning we added a Horned Grebe. We also saw a couple of American Crows and Black-Capped Chickadees away from the water’s edge.

Next stop was Dyer Point, where we saw much bigger rafts – too many to count! We estimated 100 Common Eider, 75 Black Scoters, and 25 White-Winged Scoters. We also saw a few Harlequin Ducks and Common Goldeneye.

On to Two Lights State Park, we were saw another huge raft of over 200 birds – our best guess is 125 Common Eider and 100 Black Scoters. About a dozen White-Winged Scoters, a few Long-Tailed and Harlequin Ducks, and a Red-Breasted Merganser were bobbing in the waves nearby. We also saw a Great Cormorant, which are not uncommon here in the winter.

Crescent Beach State Park was pretty quiet – about 20 Herring Gulls were hanging out at the water’s edge, and we could a Long-Tailed Duck, a Red-Breasted Merganser, and a couple of Bufflehead fishing near some distant rocks. We walked along the trail where we saw some House Finches, Blue Jays and a Song Sparrow.

At this point the tide was going out fast, so we left the shore and headed inland to Spurwink Marsh. We could see about 40 Canada Geese out on the marsh, with closer looks at American Black Ducks, Bufflehead, Red-Breasted Mergansers and a single female Hooded Merganser. Two Norther Harriers were hunting the marsh.

All tolled, we saw 22 species, with well over 500 individual birds. You can see our Trip Report on eBird: https://ebird.org/me/tripreport/200565

Keep your eye out for our March trip announcement coming soon! Happy Birding!

2023 Biddeford/Kennebunkport CBC

by Laurie Pocher 

The Christmas Bird Count is an annual bird census organized by the National Audubon Society. It began in 1900 as an alternative to the holiday tradition of hunting birds. Today, thousands of volunteers across the Americas take part in the counts between December 14 and January 5. During the count, participants record all the birds they see within a designated 15-mile diameter circle in a 24-hour period.

On December 30, the Maine Young Birders participated in the 64th Biddeford/Kennebunkport count (MEBK CBC), by covering ‘Section 1’ (see map in photos). Here’s what our day looked (and felt) like…

6:15am: It’s still dark out, but we’re on the road heading to our 7am meeting point at the McDonald’s in Saco. It’s cold and rainy, but luckily temps stayed above freezing overnight. We’re cautiously optimistic that the rain will stop at some point. Are we over-dressed? Too many layers? It’s a little toasty in the car.

7am: Up Rt 5 to the Saco River. Not a duck in sight. Counted a few crows on the way. Over to Foss Road, picking up more Crows and some European Starlings en route. Quick walk along the trails behind the athletic fields: two Hooded Mergansers on the pond, a couple of Chickadees and a Hairy Woodpecker in the trees. We got a text message from another part of the section with a Bald Eagle and a Northern Harrier. Woo hoo! Maybe it will be a birdy day afterall. Glad we brought along some rain gear, already time to change to muck boots and rain pants.

8am: Driving through some neighborhoods, checking bird feeders and fruit trees. Here’s a house with 50+ American Goldfinches flying from trees to feeders to the lawn. A few Eastern Bluebirds, Downy Woodpeckers, White-Breasted Nuthatches and House Finches. The rain seems to be letting up, we might get lucky.

9am: Hitting up a few industrial parks and warehouses – more American Goldfinches, more Eastern Bluebirds, quite a few Dark-Eyed Juncos, White-Throated Sparrows, and Blue Jays. A few American Robins in the fruit trees. Here comes the rain again. Keeping the binocs and cameras dry is tough – good thing we remembered to bring some cleaning cloths!

10am: Cruising around more neighborhoods, counting more Crows, more Goldfinches, more Bluebirds. A quick walk between raindrops along the Middle Goosefare Trail. Picked up a few Song Sparrows and Tree Sparrows.

11am: Head over to Thornton Academy to walk the trails behind the fields. Pretty quiet, a few Black-Capped Chickadees, more Starlings, a White-Breasted Nuthatch and a Red-Bellied Woodpecker. A big flock of Herring Gulls flying over the fields. Noisy group of Crows raising an alarm, but we couldn’t see what had them all worked up. Time for lunch.

12pm: Back to Mickey Ds for a quick break, then cruise through a few neighborhoods on our way to Cascade Falls. A bunch of House Finches working the neighborhood trees along the way. Walking the Trout Pond Loop Trail, there’s lots of evidence that Pileated Woodpeckers had been there in the past. Wondering aloud if any were still around. A few minutes later we hear the unmistakable call of a Pileated! Got eyes on it briefly as it worked a dead snag before flying off across the parking lot. The rest of the walk is pretty quiet. And it just won’t stop raining.

1pm: Driving past the Dunegrass Golf Course we finally see our first Red-Tailed Hawk of the day. Walking the trail along the power line cut, the rain briefly changes to snow and suddenly the sun comes out! This is much better! Another Red-Tailed Hawk flies across the path in front of us, and a bright red male Northern Cardinal is sitting pretty in the trailside brush. Now it’s raining again, so we head back to the car. On our way out of that neighborhood, we spot a Cooper’s Hawk high up in a tree. He glares down at us as we take pics. The rain seems to be easing up again, so we decide to head for the beach.

2pm: Old Orchard Beach serves up the usual suspects: large numbers of Herring Gulls, Great Black-Backed Gulls, and Rock Pigeons. A couple of Black Surf Scoters are riding the waves unusually close to the shore, while another pair snoozes a little further out on the water. The area near the pier is mostly quiet, but we see a ton of gulls further up the beach. Literally too many to count – we estimate the flock to be about 130 birds.

3pm:  The weather is just not cooperating, and it’s getting dark and gloomy at this point. We swing through Guild Park where we add three more Chickadees to our list. On our way to the Saco Community Garden (which is completely deserted), we stumble upon a communal evening roost of about 200 American Crows. Amazing sight (and sound!) watching so many birds flying around and calling to each other as they settle in for the night.

3:30pm: It’s about a 30-minute drive to the 4pm compilation meeting, so we are calling it a day. The official results for the full count circle are still being tallied, here’s a recap of our day:

Species count: 29
Individual bird count: 854
Hours: 7.5
Miles driven: 35 miles
Miles walked: 5 miles
eBird trip report group 1: https://ebird.org/tripreport/188456
eBird trip report group 2: https://ebird.org/tripreport/190425

Combining our results with the rest of Section 1, MYBC ended the day with 41 species and almost 1300 individual birds. Not bad, considering the weather!

Stay tuned for the trip announcement for our January outing coming soon!