"Maine-iac Birders"

I had arrived at the tail end of migration yet again. The minute I saw Blackpoll Warblers, I knew the game was over. My quest for Bay-breasted and Cape May Warblers would have to wait for another day. 

How does one say gaudy in Maine-ish?

But that didn't stop our grand adventures.  Birding around Maine is as scenic as it gets in the US.  However, the bugs were relentless.  Black flies, mosquitoes and ticks were in full force.  And I thought Wisconsin was bad.  Maine, besides maybe Florida, beats most of the states for crazy bug attacks. Although, I've heard Alaska is a nightmare in summer. They say bird along the coast, but honestly, the coast was just as bad. 

Broad-winged Hawk

Between the odd and fantastical, we discovered many incredible birds together. I loved seeing several bird species better.  Several were on my list of "must see again". 

As Kathie and I both explored beautiful spaces near her home, we observed many birds singing and moving about branches. 

Blackpoll Warblers are one of the last warblers to migrate

Many birds were setting up territories. 

Bobolink males call and set up their territories

And between the constant attack of the blackfly, I was able to get off a couple shots here and there.  It's no wonder why warblers love Maine.  There's plenty of food for them there:)

Then an amazing thing happened!  I was able to get wonderful observations of a bird I had only seen briefly ONCE, the Scarlet Tanager. 

When they are breeding, they are super difficult to observe.  Luckily we hit a fantastic observation window where they were still moving and calling out in the open.  I not only got to see this bird once but MANY times.  We even rescued an injured one!

Purple Finches are wonderfully colored and were in good numbers everywhere we went. 

A finch dipped in raspberry jam, the Purple Finch

Vireos made me cringe.  They all sound similar.  My job was to find a Philadelphia Vireo and separate it from the Red-eyed and Warbling Vireos in the area. 

A pair of Red-eyed Vireos

Some birds are super tricky.  I had some work ahead of me.  Every day we went out and counted birds. 

Even though the migration was coming to an end, there were still a lot of great warblers out there. 

Chestnut-sided Warbler

A Veery popped out into the open. 

Veery

The exciting shrill, "Free Beer!", of the Alder Flycatcher made us smile. 

Alder Flycatcher

The picturesque Cedar Waxwings posed often in budding Apple Trees. 

Cedar Waxwings

Baltimore Orioles collected cattail fuzz for their nests. 

female Baltimore Oriole

Gray Catbirds appeared from behind our backs always watching us from the shadows. 

Gray Catbird

Black-throated Blue Warblers were loudly calling inside the forests. 

Black-throated Blue Warbler

And this Ruby-throated Hummingbird fiercely protected his feeder from other hummingbirds. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

The electronic warble of the Bobolink was a common sound among the wildflower tinged grasses.

In short.  It was nice revisiting several bird species that I don't get to see often in Arizona.  Once we finished our first sweep of the common birds, we began our journey for the harder ones.  And those stories will be told over the next several weeks. So until next time, use some bug spray:)  This wet and cold summer of the North has arrived.