CT Audubon Society EcoTravel

Monhegan Island, Maine

October 5-8, 2007

Trip Report

 

Leader/Author:

Joe Bear

Summary:

During the two weeks leading up to our trip, birders on Monhegan had been turning up all sorts of western vagrants, such as Say’s Phoebe and Western Kingbird- both found on September 29th.  And while those 2 species seem to have left just as quickly as they arrived, we did manage to find other more regular vagrants such as Clay-colored Sparrow (seen on all 4 days), and a Dickcissel just hours before we departed the island on our final day.  Other trip highlights included unprecedented numbers of White-crowned Sparrows which easily outnumbered any other sparrow species- they truly “were everywhere.”  Also of note were the large numbers of Purple Finches, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and Rusty Blackbirds, as well as 100+ Northern Gannets seen in every direction off-shore.  For a second year in a row we were treated to unusually mild weather for early October with variable winds, temperatures in the high 60’s–low 70’s, and rain on Saturday evening.  The weather didn’t appear to have any significant impact on migrants either way though as each day there was noticeable turnover of birds both having arrived and left.  We tallied 94 species- a new high- and once again enjoyed 3 nights of comfort at The Island Inn whose Lobster Soufflé and Blueberry Pie are alone worth coming back for.

 

Day 1:  

After a 7am pickup in Westbrook, we drove a short distance to Old Lyme to pick up the rest of the group at Muffy’s house, and then headed up to Maine where we stopped for a pleasant lunch outside on picnic tables at the Sea Basket Restaurant in Wiscasset, ME.  Our ferry from New Harbor left shortly after 2pm- in the harbor we encountered 2 Black Guillemots in basic plumage and our first (of many) Common Eiders.  Our 1 hour ride to Monhegan was a smooth one with several Northern Gannets spotted as we approached the island.  This was the first of many opportunities to study this bird in its varied immature–adult plumages.  After arriving on Monhegan, we began our 50yd uphill walk to the Island Inn, however, we didn’t get there until nearly 45 minutes later as 2 Clay-colored Sparrows feeding on the Inn’s lawn diverted our attention.  With them was an early and uncommon island migrant, a first year female Lapland Longspur, which occupied our time for a while as we discussed its identification.  After finally getting settled into our rooms at the Pierce Cottage, we took a stroll along the dirt road from the Ice Pond to Tom Martin’s feeders and quickly got a feel for what was around.  We had good views of Yellow-billed Cuckoo and Tennessee and Wilson’s Warbler; Palm Warblers and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were a dime a dozen.  Tom’s feeders, or should I say lawn with seed thrown down, was covered with White-crowned Sparrows and Purple Finches.  Our dinner reservation was at 6:45pm, and after an invigorating couple of hours of birding, we sat down to enjoy a 5-star Welcome Dinner.

 

Day 2:

Saturday started off quite mild with a nice mix of migrants to be seen.  Merlins and Peregrines patrolled the skies, while Red-breasted Nuthatches and Brown Creepers were common among the scattered trees in the village.  Yellow-rumped Warblers finally arrived (we didn’t even see 1 the previous afternoon!), Palm Warblers dominated, and we had even better looks at Yellow-billed Cuckoo.  We made it back to breakfast by 9:15am, and what a breakfast it was (and continued to be).  The buffet included a Lobster egg soufflé that was out of this world.  After breakfast, we did some more birding along the dirt road from the Ice Pond to Lobster Cove picking up a new species or two here and there.  For lunch, we all bought sandwiches and hiked out to Whitehead on the East side of the island- a 160’ rocky outcrop affording us stunning views of the rugged coastline of Monhegan, and the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean.  Below us on the rocks we had excellent views of Great Cormorant- both “white-bellied” immature birds as well as many adults.  Offshore, there were 3 or 4 Greater Shearwaters which some of us were able to get on.  On our way back to town, we hiked the Cathedral Woods trail where evidence of fairies kept us on the lookout.  Dinner was at The Island Inn again- no arm-twisting there.

 

Day 3:

It had rained overnight and Sunday morning the front was still over the island with blue skies off to our west.  Birds were wheeling in the skies as they made their way onto the island- most were Yellow-rumped Warblers but we did manage to pick up a few more warbler species to add to the list.  American Kestrel and Northern Harrier over the Meadow were new finds, as were 5 skittish Wood Duck on the Ice Pond.  There was a noticeable shift in migrants as the Yellow-rumps arrived in earnest, as did White-throated Sparrows and Golden-crowned Kinglets.  After another satisfying breakfast, we ambled down to Lobster Cove to take in the scenery and warmth of the sun; it’s no wonder why famous artists such as Jamie Wyeth and Rockwell Kent built homes here.  En route we encountered a small flock of migrants including several warbler species and an Indigo Bunting.  A Merlin perched on a dead tree offered up scope views of her dining etiquette, as we tried to identify the unfortunate passerine (looked like a Connecticut Warbler to me, but ok, I won’t count it!).  Back in town, we stopped at Tom Martin’s feeders where Clay-colored and White-crowned Sparrows, Purple Finches, and Rusty Blackbirds seemed to always be present.  For lunch today, we had our sandwiches on the porch of the Island Inn where a Northern Parula kept us company as it sat on a wooden beam just above our heads.  After lunch, some of us headed out to the cliffs of Burnthead where Northern Gannets were plunge-diving for Mackerel and more Greater Shearwaters were seen well off-shore.  Returning back to the village we flushed a Lincoln’s and Field Sparrow– we’d had brief looks of other Lincoln’s prior to this one, but the Field was new for the trip and a good bird for the island.  Once back in town, some of us kicked back on the porch of the cottage while others hiked up to the Lighthouse.  Behind the lighthouse on the old ball field we found an American Pipit, but didn’t have too long to view it as a Merlin came bombing in after it (missed though!).  Walking back we found 2 more un-harassed Pipits on the lawn beside the Lighthouse.  Those back at the Pierce Cottage having “a relax” did it in style as an adult Bald Eagle flew right by them.  Dinner was at the Island Inn- the “last supper” for them (and us).

 

Day 4:  

We had a quick, but productive, couple hours of morning birding.  More and more Yellow-rumps arrived, as did lots of Swamp Sparrows.  On our walk back to the Island Inn for breakfast, some had gone ahead to get an early jump on checking out (and on the last Lobster Soufflé for breakfast no doubt!), but those who didn’t got to see an American Bittern flying high overhead back towards the mainland.  Every time you pass Tom’s feeders, you wonder what you might find- this time we found a first year female Dickcissel eating seed on the lawn.  It was good to get this species as it had been very hit or miss during the time we were there.  We had just enough time to run back to the Island Inn to get our scopes for even better looks, and to tell others who had gone ahead of us, most of whom came back to quickly see it before we all bordered the ferry which departed at 10:15am.  Our trip back was a good one- the ride was smooth, air was warm, and we added several new birds to our trip list.  Leaving the harbor, 3 Green-winged Teal flew by us, as did a Red-breasted Merganser and later 2 Red-throated Loons.  Midway through the journey back we encountered both Black and White-winged Scoters, followed by a distant Leach’s Storm-Petrel- a very good find for this time of year in the Bay, according to Lysle Brinker- a veteran Maine birder- who helped with the distant id.  As we approached New Harbor we completed the scoter trio with a flock of Surf Scoters. 

 

Postscript

While on the island, we were informed by Davis Finch that he and Denny Abbot found a Calliope Hummingbird in New Harbor on Sat, Oct 6th, feeding on some red Salvia in front of an Inn.  The location was just across the street from the dock, so after loading up the van we all walked over and met Lysle there who had just photographed the bird.  He wasn’t 100% certain it was a Calliope, nor were some of us after we all got to see the bird come in to feed once.  Without being in the hand, identifying vagrant imm/fem hummingbirds is no easy task, but my personal impression was not one of a very tiny bird, e.g. noticeably smaller than a Ruby-throated.  So we left this encounter a bit unsure of what bird we actually saw.  After arriving home that night, I read on some Maine birding posts that in fact a Ruby-throated Hummingbird was also being seen along with the Calliope.  As much as I’d like to record the Calliope, I think we need to go with the conservative approach and record a Ruby-throated Hummingbird for our trip list- still a good bird for early October in Maine, and our 94th (we forgot Red-breasted Merganser seen flying off as we pulled out of Monhegan harbor!) species of the trip.

 

Thanks to everyone for an enjoyable 4 days on Monhegan Island.  I look forward to seeing you on future CT Audubon trips.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Joe Bear