Maine (Statewide) RBA
March 28, 2008
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:44:39 -0400
Reply-To: Eric Hynes <ehynes@MAINEAUDUBON.ORG>
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From: Eric Hynes <ehynes@MAINEAUDUBON.ORG>
Subject: [BIRDEAST] Maine RBA - March 28, 2008
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m2SMhPhF039074
Name: Maine Audubon Rare Bird Alert
Reporting Period: March 21 - March 28, 2008
Area: State of Maine
Compilers: Eric Hynes and Stella Walsh
Of Special Note
The second GREAT GRAY OWL of the winter has been photo-documented.
Other exceptional finds include KING EIDER, BLACK VULTURE and HOARY
REDPOLL.
First of the year reports this week included DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT,
PECTORAL SANDPIPER, EASTERN PHOEBE, TREE SWALLOW, HERMIT THRUSH, EASTERN
MEADOWLARK, and SAVANNAH SPARROW.
KILLDEER, AMERICAN WOODCOCKS, SONG SPARROWS, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, and
COMMON GRACKLES are turning up all over southern Maine now.
CANVASBACKS continue to be reported is several locations.
Other noteworthy birds include SNOW GOOSE, BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE,
COMMON REDPOLL and white-winged gulls.
Waterfowl, raptor and sparrow migration are well underway. Multiple
reports from across southern Maine were received noting species such as
WOOD DUCK, AMERICAN WIGEON, RING-NECKED DUCK, COMMON MERGANSER, NORTHERN
GOSHAWK, RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, AMERICAN KESTREL, and FOX SPARROW.
Flocks of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS are still being widely reported.
Some of the birds highlighted, including the Great Gray Owl, have been
added to the bird alert slideshow. In order to view the entire caption
it is best to click on individual images instead of playing the
slideshow:
http://www.maineaudubon.org/nature/birdalert_gallery.php
York County
An EASTERN PHOEBE was at Brave Boat Harbor in York on March 25.
An OSPREY was seen near a nesting platform on Drakes Island in Wells on
March 27.
One hundred and sixty PURPLE SANDPIPERS were seen on March 24 on the
ledges off East Point in Biddeford Pool.
Elsewhere in Biddeford Pool, two EASTERN MEADOWLARKS and four
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were at Day's Landing.
Scarborough Marsh
An immature SNOW GOOSE continues to be seen in Scarborough Marsh most
frequently from the Maine Audubon Nature Center along Pine Point Road or
Anjon's Restaurant on Route 1.
A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen on March 23 over the marsh behind the
Pelreco building off Pine Point Road.
A PECTORAL SANDPIPER was seen near the Nature Center on Pine Point Road
on March 25.
Greater Portland
Five ICELAND GULLS and an adult GLAUCOUS GULL were seen from Trundy
Point in Cape Elizabeth on March 27.
Seen on March 23 at Two Lights State Park in Cape Elizabeth were 12
HARLEQUIN DUCKS and a BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE.
In Portland, an ICELAND GULL was seen flying around Widgery Wharf on
March 24.
On March 25, a HERMIT THRUSH was feeding on the lawn of the Chancery on
Ocean Avenue in Portland.
In Falmouth, an EASTERN MEADOWLARK was in the north meadow at Maine
Audubon's Gilsland Farm on March 24
Last seen on March 23, six CANVASBACKS were in the Royal River in
Yarmouth.
A LESSER SCAUP was at the Yarmouth Town Landing on March 21.
In Freeport, up to 300 GREATER SCAUP continued through March 23 at the
mouth of the Harraseeket River.
Highlights from the Bradbury Mountain Hawk Watch in Freeport on March 26
were 3 NORTHERN HARRIERS and over 120 SNOW GEESE, and a local NORTHERN
GOSHAWK and TREE SWALLOWS on March 27.
An EASTERN PHOEBE showed up on the Brunswick- Durham line in the fields
off Meadow Road.
Midcoast
Three drake CANVASBACKS were in Maquoit Bay at Wharton Point in
Brunswick on March 25 and 27.
A DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT was sitting on the ice on the Androscoggin
River in Topsham on March 26.
A GREAT BLUE HERON flew to the rookery on Coombs Island in Brunswick on
March 27.
Two Ipswich SAVANNAH SPARROWS were seen at Popham Beach State Park on
March 24 along with a NORTHERN HARRIER, two AMERICAN WIGEONS, and a dark
morph ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK.
On March 27, six RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, 11 HORNED LARKS, and two LAPLAND
LONGSPURS were seen at Buffalo Ranch on Ridge Road in North Bath.
A first winter ICELAND GULL was seen near Red's Eats on Route 1 in
Wiscasset on March 24.
The BLACK VULTURE was again seen at Maine-ly Poultry along Route 1 in
Warren on March 23.
Two BARROW'S GOLDENEYES were in the St. George River in Warren on March
23.
Kennebec Valley (Augusta-Waterville)
Seven SNOW GEESE were seen low over fields near the junction of Route 3
and Route 9 on North Belfast Avenue in Augusta on March 27.
One or two HOARY REDPOLLS continued through March 24 with 100+ COMMON
REDPOLLS at a feeding station in Clinton while another HOARY REDPOLL was
reported at a feeder in Benton on March 24.
A MERLIN was seen in Clinton on March 26.
Central - Bangor
A male MERLIN returned to the Division Street/Jefferson
Street/Kenduskeag Avenue area in Bangor on March 27. They have nested
successfully in this area in the past.
A drake and hen CANVASBACK were seen at the Meadow Dam on the Brewer
Lake Road in Orrington on March 25.
KILLDEER were calling at H. H. Brown Distributors in Dexter on March 27.
Penobscot Bay
A GREAT GRAY OWL, originally discovered on March 19, has been
photo-documented on restricted private land on one of the islands of
Penobscot Bay through at least March 25.
Downeast
On March 22 a PEREGRINE FALCON was at the Bar Harbor Pier, and 15 PURPLE
SANDPIPERS were at Seawall Beach.
A HOODED MERGANSER x GOLDENEYE hybrid was with ~25 COMMON GOLDENEYES
above the Route 1 Bridge in East Machias. It appears to be the same
male individual that was discovered there last year.
A female KING EIDER was among a raft of Common Eiders at the
Passamaquoddy Tribe's public wharf in Pleasant Point on March 23.
Northern Maine- Aroostook
Arriving species in Aroostook County included CANADA GEESE in Presque
Isle on March 25, a TURKEY VULTURE in Hersey on March 25 and a MERLIN in
Caribou on March 26.
SNOW BUNTINGS have been seen in small numbers in Caribou, Limestone,
Presque Isle and Woodland.
Presque Isles' overwintering TUFTED TITMOUSE and female RUSTY BLACKBIRD
continue.
A HOARY REDPOLL joined a flock of 60+ COMMON REDPOLLS in Woodland for
one day on the March 22.
A skier at Mars Hill Mountain flushed a roosting RUFFED GROUSE on March
22.
Eric Hynes
Staff Naturalist / Gilsland Farm Center Manager
Maine Audubon
20 Gilsland Farm Road
Falmouth, ME 04105
207-781-2330 ext. 237
ehynes@maineaudubon.org
www.maineaudubon.org
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