The Boothbay Region Land Trust has completed another year of monitoring 22 nest boxes on 6 different Land Trust preserves. The assistance of dedicated volunteers made it possible to keep up with all the activity we observed this breeding season. Carolyn, Evan, Tina, plus the team of Cheryl and Mark spent many hours conducting twice weekly inspections of nest boxes from April through July, and the BRLT is grateful for their commitment. All of the data collected from our observations were provided to Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology NestWatch Program.

Compared to previous years, the breeding activity we observed this season was a mix of success and failure. We saw breeding activity by three bird species in our 22 nest boxes: Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and Black-capped Chickadees. The number of young Bluebirds that fledged was down from previous seasons, while the number of fledging young Tree Swallows was somewhat higher. The number of young Chickadees released into the world was slightly higher than in previous years.

Autumn View Farm, the Land Trust’s newest preserve, has three nest boxes, all of which saw moderate success. Six Tree Swallows, three Bluebirds, and three Chickadees fledged from these nest boxes.

Lobster Cove Meadow, with two nest boxes, saw eight Bluebirds fledge and zero Tree Swallows. These numbers are lower than in previous years.

Oak Point Farm has five nest boxes, only four of which were used successfully this season. Five Bluebirds and fifteen Tree Swallows fledged from those four boxes. The number of fledging Bluebirds is significantly lower than in previous seasons.

Penny Lake, with three nest boxes, had an interesting mix of nesting efforts. Nine Tree Swallows, eight Chickadees, and three Bluebirds fledged at Penny Lake this season. Bluebird numbers were also lower this season at this preserve.
Singing Meadows, the largest of six preserves with nest boxes, had the greatest success with Bluebirds. Five nest boxes produced thirty- nine young Bluebirds this season, an all-time high. One nest box saw only a single young Tree Swallow fledge, an all-time low.

Finally, Zak Preserve had a very good season with fifteen Bluebirds, five Tree Swallows, and five Chickadees fledge successfully from three nest boxes.

Overall, the total number of Eastern Bluebirds that fledged successfully this year was seventy-three, lower than the mid-to-high nineties in previous seasons. Thirty young Tree Swallows fledged, a slightly higher number, and sixteen new Chickadees were introduced to the world. The lower number of Bluebirds this season can be attributed to a combination of loss of eggs and/or young to unknown predators and nest takeover by other species.

As summer continues to move along, so does the bird breeding season. All six Land Trust preserves with nest boxes are showing signs that the breeding season is winding down. Five preserves currently have only one active nest box, and one has two. While some nest boxes may become active with nesting activity, it’s likely to be with birds such as Black-capped Chickadees and Nuthatches.
The Eastern Bluebird season will come to an end when four active nests fledge their youngsters in the next couple of weeks at Singing Meadows, Lobster Cove, Penny Lake, and Zak.

Black-capped Chickadees have recently taken up occupancy in vacated nest boxes at Oak Point, Penny Lake, and Autumn View.

Once all the nest boxes on our preserves have been vacated, we’ll do a season wrap-up of the successes (and failures) of the Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and Chickadees that nested in those boxes.

Of course, bird nesting activity continues on all Land Trust preserves with a variety of birds that don’t use nest boxes. The commonly seen & heard Song Sparrows are nesting in tall grasses and shrubs just about everywhere. American Goldfinches, often seen at our seed feeders, are late nesting birds that prefer to build their nest in shrubs. The abundant and frequently seen Dark-eyed Junco, which can be seen foraging for spilled seed on the ground, nests primarily on the ground, but might also use a small, flat structure on a building.

Other indirect signs of nesting activity can be seen at our seed and suet feeders in backyards. Watch for adult birds such as Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers gathering suet and taking it to their recently fledged young, who are often seen hanging out in nearby trees. Chipping Sparrows can be seen on the ground feeding their young with seeds gathered from feeders.

Once the young birds raised this season are on their own, many species, like Goldfinches, will begin to turn their attention to migrating south for the winter. Some species will depart earlier than others, while other, more hardy species, such as Chickadees and Titmice, will stay and tough out our Maine winter.

The bird nesting season on six land trust preserves remains quite active, but has entered the midpoint of breeding activity. Nest boxes on all six preserves have now seen young birds fledge.

Singing Meadows, with six nest boxes, has seen the most activity so far this season. Five of the six nest boxes have hosted Eastern Bluebirds, and those boxes have already seen 22 young bluebirds fledge. All five of those nest boxes are currently hosting the second nesting attempts of the season by bluebirds, with 11 eggs in two boxes and 14 youngsters in three others. One nest box is currently being used by Tree Swallows.

Unfortunately, Oak Point Farm has had no success with bluebirds so far this season, while Tree Swallows have been very successful. Only two of five nest boxes were used by bluebirds this season, with no youngsters fledging yet. One of those two boxes currently has 5 young that we hope will fledge within a few days. On the other hand, three nest boxes were used by Tree Swallows, which successfully raised and fledged 15 young birds. Observation of other bird activity this season suggests that Great-crested Flycatchers may be nesting at Oak Point. Their presence has been noted throughout the season, and there is excellent habitat for nesting in the trees adjacent to the apple orchard.

Much like at Oak Point Farm, Tree Swallows have been very successful at Penny Lake this season, where they have successfully raised and fledged nine youngsters from two nest boxes. Bluebirds have also done well with three youngsters fledged so far. That same nest box now has three Eastern Bluebird eggs being incubated.

Lobster Cove Meadow has done reasonably well so far with five young bluebirds fledging. There are currently at least two or more bluebird eggs being incubated. Tree Swallows did not attempt to nest here this season.

Zak Preserve has had a good mix of success this season, with six young bluebirds fledged so far and three or more eggs currently being incubated. Tree Swallows have fledged five young this season.

Finally, the newest land trust preserve, Autumn View, has seen three Eastern Bluebirds and six Tree Swallows fledge from two nest boxes this season.
As a reminder, bluebirds will typically try to raise two broods per season, while Tree Swallows only nest once.

Although the spring bird migration has essentially come to an end, the bird breeding season is still in full swing. This isn’t surprising since most migrating birds have already arrived on their respective breeding grounds across North America. Here, on the Boothbay peninsula, bird breeding activity has been ongoing since mid-April when Eastern Bluebirds started nesting at Singing Meadows preserve. So far this season, we’re seeing generally good results with the bluebirds and Tree Swallows nesting on six BRLT preserves.

Most of the early bluebird nesting efforts proved to be highly successful, with many young birds having fledged already. Singing Meadows has already had young bluebirds fledge successfully from four nest boxes. Five nest boxes at Singing Meadows currently have bluebirds tending to their second clutch of eggs of the season. One nest box has Tree Swallow youngsters preparing to fledge soon.

The five other Land Trust preserves hosting bluebirds and Tree Swallows have had similar success. That said, competition for nest sites from Tree Swallows has had a noticeable impact this year on the nesting efforts of our local bluebirds. If the bluebirds do not claim or successfully defend a nest site, the swallows are more than willing to occupy or take over a nest box that bluebirds might otherwise use.

We’ve seen that occur this year at Oak Point Farm and Penny Lake preserves in particular, where Tree Swallows are using more nest boxes than the Bluebirds typically do. We think the reason for this is that a longer-than-normal cold spell this spring delayed bluebird nesting efforts, which provided returning Tree Swallows with the opportunity to occupy more nest boxes. This will have the net effect of reducing the overall number of young bluebirds that are added to the local population this year compared with previous years. As of today, Tree Swallows are currently raising young in seven nest boxes across four Land Trust preserves, which is more than in previous years. We don’t view this as a long-term concern since bluebirds are resilient and have a long history of successful nesting in the Boothbay area.

With spring finally upon us, bluebird breeding activity on five of six BRLT preserves has really kicked into high gear. In addition to the young bluebirds that fledged just over a week ago at Singing Meadows, more have joined them recently. As of today, at least thirteen (13) Eastern Bluebirds have fledged at Singing Meadows, with another three likely to join them in the next 24 to 48 hours. The parents of these youngsters have already started on their second brood of the season, with at least ten eggs deposited in three nests, with more likely on the way.

The preserves at Lobster Cove Meadow, Penny Lake, and Zak have also seen young bluebirds fledge, with five, three, and six chicks, respectively, leaving their nests just last week. In each case, we anticipate seeing new eggs deposited in each of those nest boxes within a week or so.

Tree Swallows are also busy incubating eggs in nest boxes on five of six BRLT preserves. Singing Meadows has one nest box occupied by Tree Swallows; Oak Point Farm has three; Penny Lake has two; and Zak and Autumn View have one each. We expect that over thirty-five young Tree Swallows will hatch and fledge from these eight nest boxes in the coming two to three weeks. The breeding season for this species will end once these Tree Swallows have fledged.

The spring migration remained strong through the first week of June, but, as expected, has begun to slow down somewhat. Birdsong was very strong on Land Trust preserves last week, as many species were establishing or defending breeding territories. Among the species seen and heard most often over the past week were Eastern Kingbirds, at least ten different types of Warblers, Baltimore Orioles, Great-crested Flycatchers, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and Red-eyed Vireos.

There’s still more of the spring migration to observe and enjoy on your Land Trust preserves, and the weather is certainly cooperating.

Last week (Monday-Friday) saw a big drop in the number of migrating birds flying over Lincoln County compared to the previous week. The rainy and windy weather likely had a lot to do with it. With a noticeable improvement in weather over the weekend, the number of migrating birds picked up significantly, and we’re likely to see and hear many more birds this week.

Breeding activity on our land trust preserves has picked up as well. Several juvenile bluebirds fledged from three nest boxes at Singing Meadows last week, and more are expected to fledge in the coming weeks on three other preserves. The adult bluebirds will continue feeding their offspring for a week or so until the youngsters learn to find their own food.

A female bluebird with food for one of her offspring waiting in a nearby tree at Singing Meadows.

Tree Swallows have started laying eggs in several nest boxes on six land trust preserves. Unlike the bluebirds, which typically nest twice per season, the swallows will nest only once.

Last week, we saw an interesting sequence of bird nesting events at Zak preserve. Bluebirds started building a nest in one of the nest boxes, but didn’t finish it. A Black-capped Chickadee subsequently moved in and built her own unique nest and deposited several eggs in it. Then, a few days later, a bluebird started building a nest on top of the chickadee nest with the eggs! We’ll know later in the week if this nest box changes hands (or wings) yet again.

Despite the reduced number of birds migrating last week, there were still some very interesting sightings. One of the more colorful birds we see at this time of the year is the Baltimore Oriole, which breeds in Maine. We believe they may be nesting on a few of our land trust preserves.

A male Bobolink was seen at Singing Meadows last week, which raises hopes that they will be nesting & raising young there again.

The Canada Goose couple with five fuzzy yellow goslings continue to be seen regularly on or near the pond at Oak Point Farm. They were joined last week by another pair of geese, accompanied by two more goslings.

The coming week looks to be perfect for walking the trails across land trust preserves and looking for (and listening to) some of the many bird species passing through and breeding in Lincoln County.

Although the spring bird migration has been underway for a few weeks, this past week saw a significant increase in the overall number of birds AND the number of species being seen and heard in the Boothbay region. Sightings of large numbers of both common and uncommon species are being reported by birders across Lincoln county. The number of birds flying over Lincoln county each night over the past week, as reported by Birdcast.info, has been as high as 2.8 million. Those numbers vary from night to night depending on weather conditions and wind direction, but it’s clear that more and more birds are flying over Lincoln county and Boothbay. Of course, not all of these birds land in our area each morning after flying all night, but many of them do. Here’s a review of some of this past week’s highlights:

On Sunday morning, during a guided walk at Oak Point Farm in celebration of International Migratory Bird Day, over 40 bird species were seen and heard. Among those were several warbler species (Ovenbird, Parula, Yellow, Prairie, Pine, Black-throated Green, and Yellow-Rumped). At least 2 or 3 Great-crested Flycatchers were seen, as was a Great Blue Heron perched on top of a tall pine tree. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird was spotted in an apple tree, a Broad-winged Hawk was seen flying overhead, and a pair of Canada Geese was accompanied by 5 fuzzy yellow goslings on the pond.

A bird walk the following day at Lobster Cove Meadow revealed the presence of thirteen Warbler species, which included those listed above as well as Redstart, Blackburnian, Chestnut-sided, Blackpoll, and Palm.

Back at Oak Point Farm the next day over 40 bird species were spotted, including a group of Lesser Yellowlegs (a small shorebird) foraging in the shallow water near the dock and a Red-tailed Hawk being relentlessly chased by 6 American Crows.

A walk at Penny Lake preserve the next day revealed that a pair of adult bluebirds were catching and carrying insects to feed their recently-hatched youngsters in a nest box. These weren’t the first bluebird hatchlings this season on BRLT preserves – the first ones were at Singing Meadows over two weeks ago.

A walk at Oak Point on May 15th was highlighted by the presence of a Snowy Egret foraging in the nearby shallow saltwater. And the Canada Geese were still being followed on the pond by their five growing goslings!

We now have bird breeding activity on all six preserves that have nest boxes. Autumn View was late to the game, but now has nest-building going on in two of three nest boxes. Tree Swallows appear to have claimed one nest box while an undetermined bird has started a nest in another. We should know more about the latter in a few more days. We’re expecting the first young bluebirds at Singing Meadows to fledge in about 10 days, on or about 17 May. Until then, we’ll be watching for more bluebird eggs to hatch on several Land Trust preserves in the next several days.

The spring migration continues in fits and starts. BirdCast (birdcast.info), a radar-based method of estimating how many birds migrate each night, has shown varying numbers of birds flying over Lincoln County. Some nights, as many as 200,000 might fly overhead, while other nights there may be as few as 2,000. Of course, not all of these birds will land in Lincoln County by morning, but BirdCast does provide a reasonable idea of the number of migrating birds we might expect to see on any given day. The daily numbers will increase over the next 3 to 4 weeks.

A walk this week at Oak Point Farm resulted in over 35 bird species spotted and heard in less than an hour. Among those were: Belted Kingfisher, Baltimore Oriole, Ovenbird, Northern Parula, Wilson’s Warbler, Pine Siskin, and Black and White Warbler. The usual suspects, such as Song and Chipping Sparrows, Goldfinches, Tree Swallows, Juncos, Eastern Bluebirds, Chickadees, Bluejays, and Cardinals, were also seen in sizeable numbers.

A question was recently asked about why bluebirds were seen pecking at windows on cars and houses at this time of the year. Like many bird species (Cardinals, Tree Swallows, etc.), bluebirds are very territorial during the breeding season. If they see their reflection in a window, they think they’re seeing a rival. Their response is to defend their breeding territory, and they try to drive their “rivals” away. Both males and females of some species will do this. This is not generally harmful to the birds as long as they’re not flying into the windows at high speed. The birds can be deterred from this behavior by placing some self-sticking clear Saran wrap on the outside of the window just above the window sill where they are pecking. That will disrupt their reflections, but will allow light to pass through. Once the breeding season is over, the Saran wrap can be easily removed.

Bluebird breeding activity has ramped up quickly in the past several days on all but one of the six Land Trust preserves with nest boxes. We now have eggs and/or baby Blues at Lobster Cove, Penny Lake, Oak Point, Zak, and Singing Meadows.

Lobster Cove has its first Bluebird eggs (3) of the season in one of two nest boxes. One or two more eggs may have been deposited by the time you read this.

Penny Lake has 4 Bluebird eggs in one of the three nest sites, while one nest box has what appears to be the beginning of a Tree Swallow nest.

Oak Point currently has two nest boxes with at least two Bluebird eggs in each, with more eggs likely to be deposited. Tree Swallows appear to have claimed two nest boxes for breeding purposes.

Zak preserve currently has 4 Bluebird eggs in one nest box, while a second nest box has the beginnings of another nest.

Singing Meadows is leading the pack with Bluebird eggs in two nest boxes (at least 6 so far) and is the first Land Trust preserve of the season to have newly-hatched Bluebirds (4 and 5, respectively) in two nest boxes.

The Spring migration is also ramping up quickly. Increased bird song is notable throughout the Boothbay area as thousands of migrating birds settle each morning to rest and refuel for the next night’s journey. Many more Warbler species are being seen & heard every day on Land Trust preserves. Yellow-rump, Pine, Palm, and Black-and-white Warblers are being joined by other species such as Phoebes, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Hermit Thrushes, and Towhees. White-throated and Chipping Sparrows are already quite numerous and are highly vocal on all Land Trust preserves. Many more returning species will be appearing in the next weeks as the migration heads toward its peak.

The spring migration and the breeding season are still only just getting started for us here in Maine, but they’re moving along quite briskly. The bluebirds at Singing Meadows continue to deposit eggs in four of the six nest boxes on the preserve. The latest count is 15 eggs, but that number has likely been exceeded since the most recent inspection. Zak Preserve has also gotten into the spirit, with the first bluebird egg deposited just this past week, and more are expected.

In addition to Eastern Bluebirds, we now have returning Tree Swallows preparing nests on two BRLT preserves. Oak Point has at least one nest box claimed by swallows, but interest has been shown in a second nest box at Oak Point and one at Zak. The swallows are so anxious to get started that they were observed trying to evict the bluebirds from an active nest box at Zak. So far, the bluebirds have kept that from happening.

Other than a few nests built at the other preserves, there has been no additional breeding activity, but that should change soon.

Among the birds we expect to see departing the Midcoast area for their far north breeding territories are several duck species, including Buffleheads, Surf Scoters, Common Eiders, and Long-tailed Ducks. All of these species were seen this past week at Oak Point.

A few of the birds seen returning to Maine this past week include Pine and Palm Warblers, Chipping and White-throated Sparrows, and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Although no hummingbirds have been reported yet in the Boothbay area, they are being seen in adjoining counties, so now is a good time to clean out your nectar feeders and fill them for these “flying gems.”

Last week was a busy time for Bluebirds on five of six Land Trust preserves. Singing Meadows was the busiest of all with five active nest sites. Four of those nest sites now contain eggs (13 so far), and one site has a nest in which we hope to see eggs this week.

Oak Point Farm currently has four active Bluebird nests, but no eggs so far. That is expected to change this week.

Lobster Cove Meadow and Penny Lake each have one active nest site, with more expected soon.

Zak preserve has two active nest sites with a third that we hope will become active this week.

Bird migration numbers are increasing daily. Birdcast.info is a Cornell University website that shows approximately how many birds fly over Lincoln County each night. The day-to-day numbers can vary based on factors such as wind speed and direction, and precipitation, but we’re beginning to see numbers in the 10’s and 100’s of thousands. On the night of April 18th, over one million birds flew over Lincoln County on their way north to breeding grounds! Those numbers will continue to increase significantly in May and June. Among the many species we can expect to see are Phoebes, Blue Grosbeaks, Blue-headed Vireos, and several varieties of sparrows and colorful warblers. Morning is the best time to see and hear these migrating birds on Land Trust preserves and in backyards.

It didn’t take a pair of Singing Meadows Bluebirds long to get the breeding season off to a good start – on April 11th, three eggs were seen in one of the nest boxes. Two other nest boxes containing nests could have one or more eggs by the next inspection this week. There is nest-building activity on a few other Land Trust preserves, but no eggs have been reported yet.

Our chilly, wet weather has muted the early migration somewhat, but that’s certainly going to change in the next few weeks. There are still some over-wintering birds hanging around, and they should start to move north toward their breeding grounds in the near term. Among those seen recently at Oak Point are Buffleheads, Long-tailed Ducks, Common Eiders, and Surf and Black Scoters. The Buffleheads are small ducks that can often be seen on the freshwater pond, while the other diving ducks can be seen in the nearby saltwater inlet. Common Loons, also seen in the inlet, are now coming into their breeding plumage.

Stay tuned. There will be more bird news coming as the weather starts to warm up.