MYBC Coordinators Take on the Sunshine State

Florida Birding Adventure — April 1-6, 2025

Ever been mobbed by a gang of Boat-tailed Grackles while trying to bird from your car? We have — and that was just the first morning. From gators charging our airboat to Scrub Jays landing on our heads, the MYBC coordinators’ Florida adventure was full of sunshine, surprises, and 99 spectacular bird species.

Here’s a glimpse of what the week looked like, one unforgettable stop at a time.


April 1 – Merritt Island NWR, Black Point Wildlife Drive, and St. John’s River NWR

We kicked off our adventure with a Florida favorite: Black Point Wildlife Drive. The local legend, Gary the Boat-tailed Grackle, is famous for landing on cars that stop along the route. Turns out Gary is more of a brand than an individual. At one point, we had two bold Boat-tailed Grackles eyeing us from the hood while a third tap-danced on the roof. We’re pretty sure one even gave us side-eye when we didn’t offer snacks.

The birding was fantastic. We picked up 39 species on this 7-mile drive, including 35 Double-Crested Cormorants, 15 Boat-tailed Grackles, 13 Tricolored Herons, 11 White Ibis, 9 Common Gallinules, and 9 Green Herons. Other notable species along the route were Great and Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Pied-Billed Grebes, Anhingas, Glossy Ibis, Black-necked Stilt, Eastern Meadowlark, and Reddish Egret. We all added a ‘lifer’ when we saw a pair of Common Ground Doves.

That afternoon, we headed over to Christmas, Florida for an unforgettable airboat tour on the St. John’s River. Over the course of an hour, we saw more than 100 alligators, basking along the riverbanks like sunbathers at an all-inclusive resort. Each time we rounded a bend, they exploded into motion — a frenzy of splashing tails and scaly bodies stampeding straight toward the boat. At first it felt like an ambush, but we eventually realized they weren’t charging at us. Startled by the airboat’s fan, they were instinctively making a break for deeper water — which was usually right where we were.

Amid the excitement, we added several new species to our trip list including Black Skimmer, Forster’s Tern, Caspian Tern, Sandhill Crane, Least Sandpiper, Cattle Egret, Black Vulture, Greater Yellowlegs, Bald Eagles (5 of them!), and White Pelican.


April 2 – Canaveral National Seashore, Bairs Cove, and Jetty Park

We stopped at the Merritt Island temporary visitor center to see a female Painted Bunting, a Common Yellowthroat, and a Palm Warbler before moving on to Canaveral National Seashore. Just before we entered the reserve, we spotted a feral sow and piglets by the roadside.

Driving the refuge road, we rounded a bend and saw our first Roseate Spoonbills of the trip! We squealed louder than the piglets – and probably louder than the Spoonbills too. It was a full-on bird nerd fan-girl moment.

The Spoonbills were in good company, with lots of Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, White and Glossy Ibis, Tricolored Herons, Anhingas, and a single Wood Stork. Brown Pelicans soared overhead, looking very much like a squadron of fighter jets.

A quick beach walk added Sanderling, Ruddy Turnstone, Willet, and Herring Gull to our growing trip list, and a turnout next to an inlet gave us great views of a large raft of 30+ American Coot and a smaller group of 8 Blue-Winged Teal.

We drove along the shore road and pulled into a parking lot where an Osprey was sitting on top of a signpost with a freshly caught fish. We used the car as a blind and got some amazing close-up photos and video as the bird enjoyed an early lunch. On the way out of that same lot, a Black Vulture did some stretching and yoga poses for us on another post. The drive out of the refuge gave us two more species for our trip list: a Mottled Duck and a Bonaparte’s Gull.

As we were leaving Canaveral National Seashore, Brit had just mentioned wanting to see a Gopher Tortoise when, as if summoned, one appeared crossing the road. With vehicles approaching from both directions, Brit sprang into action, jumping out to guide the tortoise to safety while Laurie repositioned our car to shield them from oncoming traffic. A reminder that sometimes birding trips turn into broader wildlife rescue operations! The tortoise, seemingly unfazed by all the commotion, plodded safely into the grass and continued on its way.

The next two stops weren’t very birdy, but we spent some time watching a large pod of Manatees foraging in Bairs Cove, and saw at least a half dozen Green Sea Turtles bobbing in the surf along the jetty at Jetty Park. As we made our way back to our Airbnb that afternoon, we spotted an Indian Peafowl and several Eurasian Collared Doves.


April 3 – Viera Wetlands, Cruickshank Sanctuary, and Orlando Melbourne Airport

We got a quick glimpse of a Barred Owlet playing hide-and-seek from a nesting cavity and a Black-crowned Night Heron peeking out from the brush at Viera Wetlands. During our walk around the pond, we also saw Savannah Sparrows, Marsh Wrens, Common Yellowthroats, Black-necked Stilts, and Palm Warblers. A cooperative Sandhill Crane stole the show, foraging right beside the trail as our shutters clicked like paparazzi.

Later that morning, we visited Helen & Allan Cruickshank Sanctuary, where we met a bird bander working with the park’s Florida Scrub Jays. He warned us to wear hats — the birds are notorious for landing on heads. We laughed... and then laughed harder when each of us became a perch for a bold Scrub Jay.

We’d seen a report of a Burrowing Owl (one of our target birds) at the Orlando Melbourne International Airport, so we cruised around looking for the landmarks noted in the eBird checklist. We didn’t find the owl, but did spot four Loggerhead Shrikes.


April 4 – Fellsmere Grade Recreation Area and Sebastian Inlet State Park

The rookery at Fellsmere Grade Recreation Area was loud, busy, and beautiful. Snowy and Great Egrets, Cattle Egrets, Little Blue Herons, and Roseate Spoonbills all had active nests. Why do heron and egret nestlings look so much like Muppet Babies? The Spoonbills gathered branches from the base of a boat ramp, much to the delight of birders and photographers waiting for a close-up.

Near the boat ramp, we spotted a Peter’s Rock Agama, a striking non-native lizard that sports a vivid orange head and electric blue body. We watched, fascinated, as it performed what looked like push-ups – a territorial display for defense and attracting mates. Introduced from East Africa in the 1970s as escaped pets, these acrobatic lizards use powerful legs to jump between branches and scale vertical surfaces with specialized toe pads. We would see several more throughout our travels.

A short walk from the boat ramp got us up close and personal with dozens of Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures, Cattle Egrets hunting for dragonflies in the grass, and a very photogenic Limpkin. Eastern Meadowlarks were singing from the grassy fields, and Red-Bellied Woodpeckers were calling from the trees. As we were leaving, a Swallow-tailed Kite flew overhead.

That afternoon at Sebastian Inlet State Park, several Royal, Caspian, and Forster’s Terns watched from the sky as Brown Pelicans, Cattle Egrets, and a Wood Stork kept a close eye on group of fishermen, no doubt hoping to snag a snack. And then, soaring overhead – a Magnificent Frigatebird, another of our target birds.


April 5 – Blue Cypress Lake and Back to Sebastian Inlet

We spent a fabulous morning cruising Blue Cypress Lake with a local photographer. A Red-shouldered Hawk greeted us at the dock as we boarded our pontoon boat before sunrise. There were literally hundreds of Osprey nesting in the lake’s cypress trees, but no chicks yet. An opportunistic Peregrine Falcon perched nearby, watching the Ospreys. We saw dozens of Black Vultures and Double-Crested Cormorants, along with a handful of Fish Crows and Great Egrets. We heard Northern Parula, Tufted Titmouse, and American Redstart calling from the shore, and on our way to lunch we saw a Wild Turkey and another Swallow-tailed Kite.

We returned to Sebastian Inlet and spent a couple of hours on the pier hoping to photograph diving birds. We added a Red-breasted Merganser and two more Magnificent Frigatebirds to our count.


April 6 – Back to Fellsmere Grade Recreation Area and T.M. Goodwin Broadmoor Unit

Later that day, we returned to Fellsmere and finally added Black-bellied Whistling Ducks to our list. On our way out, we drove through part of the Broadmoor Unit at T.M. Goodwin hoping to see Snail Kites. No kites, but we were rewarded with four Purple Gallinules chasing each other through the vegetation. On our way back from dinner that evening, we spotted a nesting Sandhill Crane who stood up to show us her two eggs, not feeling threatened as were a fair distance away on the other side of a fence. We were about a week too early to see chicks – next time we’ll choose our dates more carefully!


The Final Tally

  • Total Species: 99

  • Checklists submitted: 30

  • Target Birds Seen: Roseate Spoonbill, Magnificent Frigatebird, Purple Gallinule, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Florida Scrub Jay, Painted Bunting

  • Species Missed: Burrowing Owl, Snail Kite, Crested Caracara, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Tropical Kingbird, American Flamingo, Baby Sandhill Cranes (we saw eggs… does that count?)

  • Lifers: Marion 34, Brit 21, Laurie 11

Back in cold, rainy Maine, we’re already dreaming of sunshine, Spoonbills, and Scrub Jays – and hoping the weather improves before our next MYBC outing.  

Winter Birding and Wildlife Tracking - February 23, 2025

The winter sun sparkled across Laudholm Farm’s snowpack as the Maine Young Birders Club gathered on a crisp morning with our guest trip leader, tracking expert Dan Gardoqui. With more than a foot of snow blanketing the landscape, conditions were perfect for our wildlife detective work.

Nature began writing its stories for us immediately. Just steps into our journey, we discovered a crime scene: scattered feathers along the trail’s edge told the tale of an aerial ambush. As if reading our minds, a Red-tailed Hawk swooped low overhead, giving us a dramatic demonstration of these skilled hunters in action.

The morning unfolded like a wilderness scavenger hunt, with each set of tracks revealing new mysteries. We followed the distinctive prints of a Bobcat, learning to spot the telltale signs of its feline nature — a wide pad and the absence of claw marks that distinguished it from its canine neighbors. The local Cottontail rabbits, we learned, have inadvertently created a perfect hunting ground for these stealthy predators, and their tracks were plentiful everywhere we went. Nearby, the distinctive wide-set pattern of Porcupine tracks told us where one of these spiny residents had recently ambled through the snow.

Dan’s enthusiasm was contagious, especially when he dropped to all fours to demonstrate a ‘direct register’ trail — showing us how animals can place their back feet precisely where their front feet landed. We decoded the secret language of gaits, learning to read whether an animal was cautiously walking, purposefully trotting, or racing through the landscape.

Our tracking tally grew impressive: Red Fox prints meandering across a field, delicate Mouse trails in the snow, the bold stamps of Deer, and the purposeful path of what appeared to be a petite female Fisher. By morning’s end, we had uncovered evidence of 10 different mammal species.

The birds, not to be outdone, put on their own show. Six Wild Turkeys delayed our arrival with their unhurried road crossing, and the woods resonated with the calls of resident winter birds. Blue Jays announced our presence, while Black-capped Chickadees and Eastern Bluebirds flitted through the branches. The Little River estuary hosted a waterbird convention, with Buffleheads diving among the Canada Geese, Mallards and American Black Ducks. As if orchestrating a grand finale, four Bald Eagles soared overhead as we returned to our cars, capping our list at 17 species.

For the complete list of our avian encounters, check our eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S215050007

A heartfelt thank you to Dan for making the winter wilderness come alive for us today! Stay tuned for news about our upcoming Woodcock Walk in March — another chance to witness nature’s hidden dramas unfold. Until then, happy birding… and tracking!

Owling in Northeast Massachusetts - January 2025

by Laurie Pocher

The Maine Young Birders Club set out in search of Short-Eared, Long-Eared, and Snowy Owls Saturday afternoon, in what has become an annual road trip down to Salisbury Beach State Park and Parker River NWR.

Salisbury Beach State Park didn’t deliver any owls, but we did pick up a very rare visitor: a White-Crowned Sparrow. It was keeping company with a mixed flock of Song Sparrows and American Tree Sparrows. We also saw a couple of Northern Harriers hunting the marsh right along the road.

On our way to Parker River NWR, we stopped at Spencer-Pierce-Little Farm, where we saw a grey morph Eastern Screech Owl. While we were there, a Bald Eagle flew overhead. A few minutes later, we were treated to the the sights and sounds of about 1500 Canada Geese flying overhead.

At Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, we saw a gorgeous and very healthy coyote sitting in the sun. We watched him for a few minutes until he trotted off into the dunes.

We drove the Refuge Road to Hellcat Swamp stopping at a few spots along the way. After an incredibly cold week, there was no open water, and very few ducks. We saw a few American Black Ducks and some Common Goldeneye.

There were lots of birders staking out locations in hopes of seeing the Short-Eared Owls, so at about “owl o’clock” we made our way back to the pond near the maintenance shed to wait for them to start hunting. Looking across the marsh, we saw a Snowy Owl way off in the distance. It was nearly impossible to see without a scope, and even harder to photograph. A couple of Northern Harriers flew overhead, but no sign of the Short-Eared. After a beautiful sunset, we made our way back to Maine.

All tolled, we saw 17 species of birds, including two owl species. You can see our Trip Report on eBird: https://ebird.org/tripreport/324716

We have some exciting trips coming up… keep your eye out for our February trip announcement coming soon! Happy Birding!

2024 Biddeford/Kennebunkport CBC

by Britney Fox

MYBC was assigned Section 1 of the Biddeford/Kennebunk CBC and with a good number of birders signed up and a lot of ground to cover, we split into two teams.  Team 1 covered large swaths of Saco and some of Old Orchard Beach whereas Team 2 primarily covered Saco Heath, Dunegrass Golf Club, and Guild Park.  Team 1 found 46 species with 1,110 individual birds seen and Team 2 (consisting of 2 young birders) spotted 33 species with 340 individuals seen, including a winter wren! 

Team 1 started the day off at 7:00 AM at the Saco McDonald’s with six Maine Young Birders in a convoy of two cars.  The weather seemed promising with lots of cloud cover but no forecasted precipitation and fairly mild temps for a late December morning.  We started off the trip counting many crows, herring gulls, and feral rock pigeons as was to be expected.  

Our first notable sighting was an immature bald eagle perched out in a tree visible right by our first stop at the bridge overlooking the Saco River on Rt. 5.  The river was fairly frozen over from the cold temps we experienced last week but we did pick up a couple of common goldeneyes, mallards, and black ducks.  Along our way, we saw some red-tailed hawks and then spotted a beautiful red-shouldered hawk perched in a small tree relatively close to the road where we got really nice looks of this very handsome bird.  Our next highlight was a beautiful barred owl perched alongside Industrial Park Rd. near the Saco Public Works.  

After a quick lunch at Wendy’s, we said goodbye to a few members of the team, consolidated to one car, and welcomed a MYBC alum joining us on the next leg of the trip. Our afternoon highlights included pileated woodpecker, brown creeper, and hermit thrush while birding Curran Rd. and Cascade Park.  Next, we encountered an extremely vocal and cooperative Cooper’s hawk perched atop a utility pole who was successful at getting the attention of everyone nearby.  We made a quick stop at Old Orchard Beach where we picked up some of the expected sea ducks and our last stop at the Rachel Carson NWR at Goosefare Brook yielded two unexpected American Pipits.  A wonderful pick up before we headed back to McDonald’s where we tallied our findings for the day and then five of the young birders headed out to attend the compilation in Cape Porpoise. Overall, we had a banner day for raptors and another fun and successful MYBC outing!

If you are interested in seeing all of the birds found in section 1 of this CBC, please see the links below for both team’s eBird trip reports:

Team 1 CBC Trip Report Section 1 MYBC

Team 2 CBC Trip Report Section 1 MYBC

Our next outing will be owling down at Parker River and the surrounding areas where we will hopefully spot snowy, short-eared, and eastern screech owls. Stay tuned for details about how to join us. Until then… happy birding!

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!

We later heard from an eBird Reviewer who confirmed that there is only one previous record of a LEOW at Fort Foster, reported by Peter Vickery and Denny Abbott during the Christmas Bird Count on Dec 21, 1981. Interestingly, it was spotted “roosting on one of the metal supports projecting from one of the impoundments,” which is exactly where we saw our LEOW 43 years later!

According to Louis Bevier, “there are no other reports from Fort Foster specifically, although there are some birders who have not contributed their sightings either in past regional reports or to eBird. It seems to be to be a prime location to see a fall migrant and even a wintering bird. But disturbance is an issue, and not only from birders but dog walkers and other users of the park. Coastal locations with dense tangles and scattered juniper trees (aka cedars) would be the places to look. So, for example, Fort Foster, Two Lights, East Point Biddeford and the like.”

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!