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The summer birds are gone. Migrants have migrated. And we’ve been invaded by Canadians.
Birds fly south for the winter. But for many birds that nest across the subarctic regions of Canada, Maine is far enough south.
Birds that dine primarily on insects must go wherever the food is. They migrate to the southern states or to the tropics. But for many birds that dine on seafood or seeds, Maine has all they need.
Canadian seabirds invade our rugged coastline. Maine has three things these wintering waterfowl look for: an ocean that doesn’t freeze, coves and bays for shelter and seafood. They nest around Hudson and James bays and throughout the freshwater wetlands of northern Canada.
You can enjoy the seabird influx at great coastal spots from Eastport to Kittery, but it means leaving the house and seeking out the adventure.
Keep a scorecard. Expect to find red-breasted mergansers, buffleheads and long-tailed ducks. Anticipate black, surf and white-winged scoters.
There will be plenty of common loons, but for every 10 you see, one might be a red-throated loon. Horned and red-necked grebes stay close to shore. Harlequin ducks stay even closer, often in the pounding surf along the rocks.
Keep an eye out for rarities. Maine has plenty of resident common eiders, with more coming down from Canada in winter. Every now and then, a king eider pops up among them.
Common goldeneyes nest in the freshwater marshes of Maine and Canada. They head for the ocean in winter, preferring calmer coves. Occasionally, you’ll find Barrow’s goldeneyes among them.
Many Canadian finches wander south to Maine in winter, especially if the temperatures are abnormally cold or the available food supply is meager.
Every year is different.
Last winter was pretty dull in Maine’s north woods. Pine grosbeaks and common redpolls came down, but white-winged and red crossbills were mostly absent. Evening grosbeaks were few.
Most purple finches and pine siskins bypassed northern Maine altogether.
This winter is starting off with more promise. I spent part of last weekend along the logging roads around Moosehead Lake.
Big flocks of pine siskins were everywhere. Purple finches were common. There were a few pine and evening grosbeaks, and a smattering of crossbills — the vanguard of more to come, I hope.
Maybe this will also be a good year to spy northern shrikes. I spotted two of them on the east side of Moosehead a week ago. I used to see them more often, but the last few winters they’ve seemed scarce.
It looks like many of our chickadees, nuthatches and blue jays are staying home this winter. I predict that Maine’s northern forest will be noisy, unlike the disappointing silence in 2022-23.
I suspect Maine’s hayfields and blueberry barrens will also be lively. Snow buntings came down from the frozen north early. I started hearing small flocks flying over Schoodic Point in mid-October. I encountered small groups around Moosehead last weekend.
By the time you read this, I hope to have scouted the blueberry fields Down East. I expect to find them swarming by the hundreds.
Of course, you don’t have to leave home to appreciate Canadian invaders. They may be in your backyard now. But you may not recognize them.
The chickadees, nuthatches, and blue jays in your backyard in winter may not be the same birds you saw in summer. Some of our feeder birds wander south, but so do some of Canada’s.
The first American tree sparrow of winter showed up under my feeder on Wednesday, following Monday’s snowstorm.
They nest no closer than Labrador in summer, but they find Maine inviting in winter. They usually don’t perch on feeders. Instead, they like foraging underneath them and skulking around in the backyard bushes.
This may be a winter when dark-eyed juncos linger. They nest across northern Maine, and more come down from Canada. By my count, most juncos abandoned Maine last winter. But I’ve got three currently haunting my backyard, and I noticed a few around Moosehead.
Although cedar waxwings nest in Maine, Bohemian waxwings nest exclusively in western Canada and Alaska. At some point, both species will be in Maine this winter.
They’ll go wherever the fruit is, even if it’s in downtown ornamental trees or your backyard.
Maybe December birding isn’t so boring. You can go to where the action is. Or you can just pay closer attention to the action right at home, starting now.