Northern Maine Birds 29 May -8 June 2009

The pattern of cool breezy weather continued through the first week of June here in northern Maine. Average winds were 5+ miles per hour with gusts in the teens to 20's mph on nearly every day. For temperature, most days started in the high 30s and peaked in the low sixties. A few showers punctuated the warmer days.

This sweater weather helped keep the biting bugs to a minimum. Trees are mostly leaved-out. A good cone set appears to be in the making...more on that later!

It appears to be an exceptional year for blossoming fruit trees and shrubs. Apples, Cherries, Cranberries and Mountain Ash have exceptional volume of flowers this year. Unfortunately there are very few pollinators around the trees.

Spring migration is winding down and though there were a few traveling individuals still trickling through or just arriving, most of the birds are now getting down to the business of raising young.

New and arriving species this week

Semipalmated Sandpiper (6/2)
Common Nighthawk (6/5)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (6/4)
Purple Martin (6/1)
Brown Thrasher (6/5)

The waterfowl highlight this week was a late migrant Brant that touched down for the day at Lake Josephine in Easton on the 3rd. This little goose is more commonly found in coastal setting and rarely seen inland. There are only a handful of records of Brant in northern Maine but this was the second found this spring! A close look at the great pictures that discoverer Paul Cyr took, shows some feather molt happening on the breast and neck. Shiny-black new feathers are replacing some of the worn remnants of its faded juvenal plumage. Also noteworthy, one last White-winged Scoter was also on the pond this week. Like the Brant, this individual seemed to be a youngster which explains the bird's slightly-behind-schedule movement northward.

A male Mallard x American Black Duck hybrid has been seen regularly here this week.

Other notables at Lake Josephine include Ruddy Ducks, Blue and Green winged Teal, American Wigeon, Gadwall, Northern Shovelers, Wood Ducks, Ring-necked Ducks and Common Goldeneye. Lake Jo is rapidly becoming a boys club as the females disappear (presumably onto nests in the remote nooks and crannies of this large wetland complex). Pairs of later nesting species seen included Blue-winged Teal, 8 (!) pairs of Gadwall and a few Ring-necked Ducks.

The first broods of Mallards and American Black Ducks were reported in the area this week. One family made short work of a vernal pools-worth of tadpoles in T8R7 in northern Penobscot county.

Raptor species reported this week included Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Merlin, Northern Harrier, Broad Winged, Red-tailed , Sharp-shinned Hawks and Northern Goshawk. As predicted earlier, it looks like the Bald Eagles at the Stevensville area nest in Fort Fairfield abandoned without producing young. Ken Lamb found a vocal goshawk that would pose for him in Presque Isle.

At high noon on the 3rd, both Sora and Virginia Rails were heard at Christina Reservoir in Fort Fairfield

A late-migrant Semipalmated Sandpiper at Nadeau late on the 2nd was a good find. Though regular along the coast in spring, they're a tough bird to see inland. A male American Woodcock was still displaying behind my house in Woodland on the 3rd.

My first Common Nighthawk of the season was spotted over a clearcut in western-most Caswell this week. The bird was flying and doing its booming display in the middle of the day. This display probably indicates a breeding bird on territory rather than a late migrant. Common Nighthawks are rare breeders this far north.

Several pairs of Barred Owls were reported this week. In addition to pairs seen in Presque Isle and Fort Faifield, a pair in the Riviere-des-Chutes area of Easton is being seen moving to and from a nesting box in a tree there. Again Paul Cyr was there in the early AM to document the birds as they hunted.

Most woodpeckers are feeding young now. Some bedraggled and stained females are showing up as incubation ends and the period of fledgling feeding begins. An American Three-toed Woodpecker was found near Martin Pond in Caswell this week.

With the late arrival of Eastern Wood-Pewee (Fort Fairfield) the full complement of breeding flycatchers are now present. Yellow-Bellieds were heard in Caswell, Cyr, Hamlin, New Sweden and Woodland and Olive-sideds are vocally proclaiming territories in Caswell and Hamlin. A Least Flycatcher nest with three eggs was found in a small birch near Lake Josephine this week. the Great-crested Flycatchers were carrying nesting material into a snag cavity in the Nature Conservancy's Woodland Bog Preserve here in Woodland.

Cedar Waxwings were widely reported this week. Small flocks were seen gobbling up apple blossom petals in many locations. Ken Lamb photographed this dour pair in Chapman this week. A Bank Swallow colony along the Aroostook River near Camp Nomacca in Mapleton had 40+ birds early last week. A former breeder in Aroostook County, the first Purple Martins (2) reported in the area several years are said to be visiting a house in Stockholm. The first Brown Thrasher reported this year was seen near the Presque Isle Airport.

A flurry of Eastern Bluebird reports and sightings seems to support the assertion that a late arriving wave of bluebirds moved into the area in late May. Pairs Eastern Bluebirds were seen in Garfield Plantation, Oxbow, Perham, Portage Lake, Presque Isle, Stockholm and Woodland. At the top of this post, Paul Cyr photographed a pair feeding young out on the Mouse Island Road in Perham on the 7th. Kathy Hoppe sent over a picture of her male as it posed from the railing of her porch in Portage Lake.

More Gray Jay families were seen this week. These included several in the Salmon Brook Bog in Perham and four in Hamlin on the 6th.

"Only" seventeen species of warbler were reported this week. Noteworthy were the late arriving Blackpolls that were heard in Fort Fairfield, Hamlin, Washburn and Woodland and continued through at least the 4th of June. Other good warblers including a singing Mourning in Cyr Plantation and a Wilson's in Perham on the 6th as well as several singing Blackburnian and Bay-breasteds in Aroostook State Park in Presque Isle on the 8th.

Singing Lincoln's Sparrows were heard in many locations north of Presque Isle this week. While most were located in regenerating clear cuts or fields, at least one Lincoln's was found down in the Salmon Brook Bog in Perham.

A recent addition to the list of species of to worry about, a Rusty Blackbird was seen carrying food across a recently flooded clearcut off the McLean Brook Road in Sinclair. It would appear this birds are now feeding fledglings!

A few Pine Siskins are still being seen amongst the American Goldfinches and Purple Finches wherever seed is still being doled out. A pair of Evening Grosbeaks continues to visit my yard in Woodland daily.

Northern Maine Birds 10-20 April 2009

The past ten days was a cool dry stretch here in northern Maine. Temperatures averaged a few degrees lower than normal. Slow melting occurred in the afternoons and night time lows in the mid twenties re-formed ice when the sun went down. A three inch snow on the 13th was the only precipitation of significance during the period.

All streams and rivers are open and water levels have remained stable or dropped. Most ponds and lakes remain predominantly ice covered. Snow cover has retreated from most open areas but more than a foot remains in the woods.


A couple small pulses of migrants occurred during the past 10 days but generally migration has been a slow and steady affair so far.

New and arriving species during this period:

Brant (4/10)
Blue-winged Teal (4/18)
Redhead (4/18)
Lesser Scaup (4/18)
Osprey (4/16)
Broad-winged Hawk (4/18)
Iceland Gull (4/13)
Northern Saw-whet Owl (4/14)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (4/12)
Eastern Phoebe (4/14)
Tree Swallow (4/11)
Brown Creeper (4/19)
Fox Sparrow (4/19)
Purple Finch (4/17)

Waterfowl migration hasn't been much to talk about yet this season but what has showed up included some great birds. The highlight of period was certainly a wayward Brant found in association with some Canada Geese in Washburn on the 10th. The little goose remained here through at least the 13th. A flock of about 800-1000 Snow Geese is feeding on the flats along the St. John River in Grand Isle. The group was spotted from the Canadian side of the river by Roy and Charlotte LaPointe. Between 12 and 14 "Blue" Geese were seen in the horde. Canada Goose migrants continue to pass thorugh and some residents are already acting territorial.

A pair of drake Redheads were discovered on the 18th at Puddledock Pond in Fort Fairfield. The handsome males were loafing in the pond with a newly arrived drake Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Duck. The tall wooden fence that was put up to exclude geese from the park here worked effectively as a blind and allowed Peter Vickery to get good photos of this fine looking pair.






Another good find was a crisp drake Barrow's Goldeneye that remained at Collins Pond from the 12th through the 15th. The bird was courting a hen Common Goldeneye which was clearly not to the liking of a nearby drake Common.

Seen first on the 18th, a newly-arrived Blue-winged Teal on a small pond near Trafton Lake in Limestone was early by a week. Wood Duck, American Wigeon and Green-winged Teal numbers are increasing. An apparent Green-winged Teal X Eurasian (Common) Teal hybrid was seen at the same small pond near Trafton Lake. The male possessed both a white vertical stripe on the side and a partial white horizontal scapular stripe along the wing. Unfortunately no photos were possible before the bird flushed and flew away (thanks to an eagle).

Lots of Common and Hooded Mergansers are being seen throughout the area. Paul Cyr captured the great images of drake Hooded Mergansers at the top and bottom of this post.

Great Blue Herons were reported from Caribou, Grand Isle, Presque Isle and Mars Hill. Paul Cyr also sent along the image of the flying heron above.

For the first time since last year, ten species of raptors were encountered in the county this week. Rare in northern Maine, Turkey Vultures were seen in Monticello and Sherman on the 17th. Newly arrived Ospreys went right to work sprucing up their nests in Easton and Island Falls. Other Ospreys were seen in Caribou and Fort Fairfield. Patty Jennings got this great action shot of an Osprey about to add another twig to the nest in Island Falls. The first Broad-winged Hawk of the season was spotted in Easton on the 18th. Following the trend this spring, it was also an early arrival by about a week.

A substantial wave of American Kestrels, Northern Harriers, Sharp-shinned and Rough-legged Hawks moved into the area over the weekend. On the 18th, Rough-legs were seen in Caribou, Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle, Van Buren and Woodland (one each). A pair of Kestrels has set up residence in a nest box in Portage Lake over the weekend. Other raptor species encountered were Merlin, Bald Eagle and Red-tailed Hawk.

American Woodcock have not been reported much yet this season here in the north. A twittering male was heard in Woodland on the 17th. A handful of Wilson's Snipe and Killdeer remain the only other shorebird types mentioned so far.

The two Lesser Black-backed Gulls mentioned earlier this month at Collins Pond in Caribou were joined by a third (!) adult bird on the 11th and all continued through at least the 18th. A first cycle Iceland Gull also joined the flock on the 13th and was spotted several times around Caribou through the week. Migrant Ring-billed Gull numbers are near peak and these now dominate the gull flocks in central Aroostook.

Two nights (4/17-18) of owl surveys in New Sweden, Perham, Stockholm, Westmanland, Woodland and T14 R5 produced 11 Barred and 4 Northern Saw-whet Owls. Other than the owls and an occasional coyote it was still very quiet in the woods.

Several American Crows were seen attacking a Rock Pigeon in Caribou this week. The ultimate fate of the unlucky bird was unknown.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers had reached the central Aroostook area (my yard in Woodland) by the 12th. Eastern Phoebes were seen in Linneus on the 14th, Caribou on the 18th and Woodland by the 19th. A mid-spring surge of northbound Bohemian Waxwings was noted this week. 30+ Bohemians were seen at Lake Josephine in Easton and others were encountered in Fort Fairfield and Presque Isle.

Newly returned Tree Swallows also overspread the area quickly this week. A Brown Creeper was heard singing near the Woodland Bog in Woodland on the 19th.

In my yard in Woodland, the first Fox Sparrows (2) and a Rusty Blackbird were right on schedule. Dark-eyed Junco numbers continue to build and American Tree Sparrows show no signs of dwindling through today.

A good assortment of finches continue to show well at central Aroostook feeding stations. The first Purple Finches seen since last fall arrived at area feeders on the 17th. Common Redpoll numbers seemed to surge and wane quickly in a weeks time. My thistle feeder went from hosting a few to 200+ bird and then down to about 40 redpolls in about 8 days. A sickly redpoll, an apparent victim of the recent avian salmonella outbreak, was huddled in a bush in my yard on the 20th. A few Pine Siskins were reported at Ashland, Presque Isle and Woodland. White-winged Crossbills were heard in Woodland on the 19th. Evening Grosbeaks were seen in Caribou (3), Fort Fairfield (12) and Woodland (20).

A House Sparrow male has successfully dodged two Sharp-shinned Hawk assaults thus far this week.

Good Birding

Bill