Maine Audubon Rare Bird Alert: Jan. 18

Maine Audubon Rare Bird Alert
Reporting Period: January 12 – January 18, 2008
Area: State of Maine
Compilers: Eric Hynes and Stella Walsh
 

Of Special Note

 This winter appears to be taking a toll on the surplus of BARRED OWLS in the area as there were a number of fatalities reported this week, not all of which were roadkills.
BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, PINE GROSBEAKS and COMMON REDPOLLS continue to be encountered with exceptional frequency and numbers.
Standout species this week include BLACK VULTURE, THICK-BILLED MURRE, AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, EASTERN TOWHEE and HOARY REDPOLL.
 

York County

 A flock of 30 HORNED LARKS was at the end of the trolley track on the York side of Brave Boat Harbor in the Rachel Carson refuge.
A GREATER SCAUP was at East Point in Biddeford Pool.
 

Greater Portland

 A HOARY REDPOLL was picked out of a flock of ~150 COMMON REDPOLLS visiting a feeding station in Gray on January 18.
A NORTHERN SHRIKE and a CAROLINA WREN were found along the East End Trail in Portland on January 17.
A PEREGRINE FALCON was perched along Black Point Road in Scarborough.
A CAROLINA WREN and a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER continue sporadic visits to feeders at Pine Point in Scarborough.
A TURKEY VULTURE was soaring over Scarborough on January 17.
Single NORTHERN FLICKERS were reported this week at a feeder in Scarborough, at Falmouth High School and at Gilsland Farm in Falmouth.
Four BRANT were at Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth, while RAZORBILL sightings continue at Dyer Point.
Three ICELAND GULLS continue at Union Wharf in Portland.
A single female HOARY REDPOLL was among a flock of 30 COMMON REDPOLLS at feeders in West Falmouth.
A flock of 20 DUNLIN has been foraging off Lower Flying Point in Freeport.
 

Lewiston-Auburn

 Unusual for this inland site, a GREAT CORMORANT was reported in the Androscoggin River in Lewiston, while a PEREGRINE FALCON continues to roost atop the St. Mary’s church steeple.
 

Midcoast

 A BELTED KINGFISHER is fishing in a small patch of open water from the Bay Bridge Park in Brunswick, while a PEREGRINE FALCON continues to roost on the roof of Fort Andros Mill adjacent to the Topsham-Brunswick bridge over the Androscoggin River.
A RUSTY BLACKBIRD was seen at feeders in Phippsburg.
A NORTHERN FLICKER is coming to suet in West Boothbay.
A BLACK VULTURE was seen again on January 15 next to the turkey farm on Route 1 in Warren.
A NORTHERN SHRIKE and a flock of 45+ SNOW BUNTINGS were noted at Green Point Wildlife Management Area in Dresden on January 17.
 

Kennebec Valley (Augusta-Waterville)

 A drake AMERICAN WIGEON was found in Messalonskee Stream in Waterville.
A NORTHERN GOSHAWK was in hot pursuit of birds at feeders in Benton.
A COMMON GRACKLE visited a feeding station in Gardiner on January 15.
A small flock of RUSTY BLACKBIRDS continues to be found along Hinckley Road in Clinton.
 

Central – Bangor

 A BARROW’S GOLDENEYE continues in the Stillwater River in Orono.
A flock of 20 to 40 EVENING GROSBEAKS are coming to a feeder in Dixmont.
 

Penobscot Bay

 A THICK-BILLED MURRE was in the channel between the wharf and Long Island in Blue Hill.
Eighty-eight RUDDY DUCKS were seen from Cape Jellison in Stockton Springs.
A flock of approximately 100 SNOW BUNTINGS was seen along Rt. 137 in Knox on January 17.
 

Downeast

 A NORTHERN PINTAIL was in Ship Harbor on Mount Desert Island.
 

Northern Maine

 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS were at Great Pond in Aurora.
AN AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER continues on Muscovic Road in Stockholm.
GRAY JAYS are visiting a suet feeder in Woodland.
An EASTERN TOWHEE continues in a yard in Sherman.  This is believed to be only the third winter record for this species in northern Maine.
 

Report provided by:
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

Sphere: Related Content