Today I traveled with Captain Jack (who, ironically, hates boats) from Port Clyde, Maine, to Monhegan Island for a few days of birding. Since we’ll be busy wandering and visiting, I’ll just be posting a daily list and a photo or two until our return. It’s been I believe five years, and I missed this place. (Woo-hoo!)
Port Clyde to Monhegan List
1. Herring Gull 2. Broad-winged Hawk 3. Double-crested Cormorant 4. Belted Kingfisher 5. Common Loon 6. Northern Flicker 7. Blue Jay 8. Mallard 9. Red-eyed Vireo 10. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 11. Golden-crowned Kinglet 12. White-throated Sparrow 13. Dark-eyed Junco 14. Yellow Warbler 15. Gray Catbird 16. Red-breasted Nuthatch 17. Ring-necked Pheasant 18. Great Cormorant 19. Merlin 20. Peregrine Falcon 21. Cape May Warbler 22. Yellow-rumped Warbler 23. Blackpoll Warbler 24. Black-throated Green Warbler 25. Dickcissel 26. Song Sparrow 27. American Goldfinch 28. American Robin 29. Mourning Dove 30. Sharp-shinned Hawk
It rained most of last night, and the day dawned wet and drippy. The overcast lasted all day, but my morning hike with dog was all sweet, watery drippiness. Quiet, though, with few birds flitting around in the greenery.
Until (as yesterday) we reached a spot on the wooded trail where chickadees were chatting at each other. Sure enough, several species of small birds were accompanying the chickadees—vireo, warblers, a wood-pewee….
Also spied a Swainson’s Thrush again, perhaps the same individual as yesterday. I listened as it repeatedly uttered a sweet short note I’d never heard before.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 8:03 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Blue Jay (v) 2. American Crow 3. Ovenbird 4. Northern Flicker 5. Gray Catbird 6. Eastern Towhee (v) 7. Song Sparrow 8. Common Yellowthroat (v) 9. Swainson’s Thrush 10. Yellow-rumped Warbler 11. Cedar Waxwing (v) 12. Black-capped Chickadee 13. Black-throated Green Warbler 14. Black-and-white Warbler 15. Tufted Titmouse (v) 16. Red-eyed Vireo 17. Eastern Wood-pewee (v) 18. White-throated Sparrow 19. American Goldfinch
Elsewhere
20. Mallard
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel Eastern Chipmunk
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
Rained overnight, and this morning when the sun rose, the woods were damp and drippy. Awful quiet, but birds were lurking and skulking and flitting—mostly just out of sight. A few revealed themselves, though: flickers, robins, a lone Swainson’s Thrush; calling raven and jays and goldfinches; a flushed grouse.
Even quieter on our way back down the lower wooded trail, until just a few hundred yards from the trailhead, when chickadees piped up, and a glance into the damp foliage exposed a wave of little birds—warblers, creepers, a wood-pewee.
I’m a big fan of this time of year—a time you might call summer’s last gasp.
Beech Hill List Beginning at 7:45 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. Common Raven (v) 2. Blue Jay** 3. Black-capped Chickadee 4. Northern Flicker 5. Yellow-rumped Warbler 6. Gray Catbird 7. Eastern Towhee 8. Swainson’s Thrush 9. American Robin* 10. Red-eyed Vireo 11. American Goldfinch** 12. Ruffed Grouse 13. American Crow* 14. Common Yellowthroat 15. Cedar Waxwing 16. Red-breasted Nuthatch (v) 17. Song Sparrow 18. White-breasted Nuthatch** (v) 19. Savannah Sparrow 20. White-throated Sparrow 21. Downy Woodpecker (v) 22. Brown Creeper 23. Black-and-white Warbler 24. Chestnut-sided Warbler 25. Black-throated Green Warbler 26. Eastern Wood-pewee
Mammals
Eastern Gray Squirrel Eastern Chipmunk
(v) Voice only *Also elsewhere **Voice only elsewhere †First-of-year
