Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Return to Wharton Point

1. least sandpipers-kab Least Sandpipers at Wharton Point 8-21-14

August 21, 2014: the day after my family came to visit I went birding with a fellow birder and blogger named Cynthia Cage. I had met Cynthia once before on an outing of the Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp back in 2011. We have stayed in contact through our blogs in Facebook, so when she was able to come to Maine on her summer vacation, we made plans to meet and bird together. Cynthia met me at my house and we drove over to Wharton Point. After my success in birding there a few days ago, I thought it would be a quick and easy place to start our day. Boy, were we in for a surprise! Easy, yes. Quick, no! There were so many birds!

2. Cynthia Cage at Wharton Point 8-21-14 Here is Cynthia looking at shorebirds in the distance.

 

3. least sandpiper-kab This is just one of the Least Sandpipers we saw near the boat ramp.

Least Sandpipers are our smallest peep at only 6 inches. They have yellow-green legs, not black like sanderlings or semipalmated sandpipers. We also saw a lot of species in the surrounding meadow.

4. goldfinch-kab Goldfinch in meadow.

 

5. Nelson's sparrow-kab Nelson’s Sparrow

Though it is hidden in the grass, notice the orangish face.

Cynthia has a better picture on her blog. She had a longer lens than me.

6. side view-kab Nelson’s Sparrow

 

7. bobolinks-kab Two blurry bobolinks in the meadow!

 

8. gull-kab A lone Bonaparte’s Gull in the bay.

I thought we would be here for about a half and hour, but there were so many birds and more kept flying in! We got into the car to leave at least twice, then jumped back out when we saw new birds! Our destination was the Scarborough Marsh, but we ended up seeing the most birds species right here at Wharton Point in Brunswick, Maine! On our way south to Portland we stopped off at Day’s Seafood on Route One in Yarmouth to eat lunch. Yes, we ate seafood! We had chowder and fried clams and more. We sat outside at the picnic tables and counted more shorebirds in the inlet behind the Seafood shack!

9. yellowlegs-kab Greater Yellowlegs in Yarmouth, ME 8-21-14

Birds seen at Wharton Point on August 21, 2014 with Cynthia Cage:

  1. Black Duck, 1
  2. Common Eider, 20
  3. duck species, 50
  4. Double-crested Cormorant, 3
  5. Great Egret, 2
  6. Snowy Egret, 2
  7. Glossy Ibis, 1
  8. Osprey, 2
  9. Bald Eagle, 1
  10. Greater Yellowlegs, 1
  11. Lesser Yellowlegs, 3
  12. Least Sandpiper, 5
  13. peep species, 20
  14. Bonaparte’s Gull, 1
  15. Ring-billed Gull, 1
  16. Herring Gull, 14
  17. gull species, 10
  18. Common Tern, 1
  19. Morning Dove, 10
  20. Blue Jay, 3
  21. American Crow, 3
  22. Tree Swallow, 12
  23. Barn Swallow, 1
  24. Gray Catbird, 3
  25. Cedar Waxwing, 1
  26. Common Yellowthroat, 4
  27. Yellow Warbler, 2
  28. Nelson’s Sparrow, 1
  29. Song Sparrow, 6
  30. Sparrow species, 1
  31. Bobolink, 4
  32. blackbird species, 1
  33. House Finch, 5
  34. American Goldfinch, 15

We were here for just under two hours and this was only the beginning of our day! Come back for parts 2 and 3 tomorrow and the next day! There are many more birds to see as we continue to search for shorebirds on migration! If you click on the link for Wharton’s Point you can see a checklist of the most recent sightings on eBird and who has seen what. This checklist is updated in real time so you will never miss a bird. it is a good reference point for those new to the area or coming here to bird. click on any of the labels below to see all posts related to that subject.

Links:

 

10. least sandpiper-kab

8 comments:

  1. It is so much fun to have the company of blogging friends. A lovely series of birds too Kathie. What a lovely day you must have had birding.

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    1. Denise, we did! and it is always fun to meet a fellow birder and blogger! perhaps one day I shall get to meet you!

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  2. Kathie, sounds like you had a great outing with your blogging friend. It guess it is a great time to see the shorebirds moving thru. The Least Sandpiper is cute! Great post, enjoy the rest of your week!

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    1. Thank you Eileen! I am sure these birds are headed your way!

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  3. Hi Kathie, Great post and pics as usual. You got a couple of great pictures of the least sandpipers. I love the reddish brown backs with the white edging. Your picture of the bonepart's gull is quite clear. I look forward to the next two parts. Working on mine.

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    1. Cindy, I finally finished! Whew! I can't wait to see yours! It was so much fun even though it was challenging at times!

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  4. Its good to have this place nearby Kathie.

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    Replies
    1. Roy, what a great time we had. I am still learning all the best birding spots. There are so many!

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Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.