Fieldfare in Newcastle, Maine

Rare Birds in Our Own Backyard

Fieldfare

With its wide variety of habitat – coastal plain, mixed hardwood and coniferous forest, inland lakes and waterways – Maine attracts a wide variety of birds. Sometimes it lures rarities. This week it snagged two, both firsts for the state (Portland Press Herald).

Early in the week an osprey webcam captured footage of a vermillion flycatcher who stopped by Hog Island in Bremen for a few hours before moving on. The second, a bird most often seen in the backyards of Europe, the fieldfare, decided that a group of robins in Newcastle looked like a friendly flock to hang out with.

First spotted by Jeff Cherry on Wednesday, April 19, the bird has remained in the same area since. As luck would have it, we live in a neighboring town! Thanks to generous homeowners willing to allow hordes of binocular clad, scope and camera toting folks traipse across their lawn, many birders have had the opportunity to see this remarkable bird. While we were not successful on our first attempt to see the bird Thursday, we were fortunate to be in the right place at the right time today. Seen from a distance, but clear enough to identify and photograph, the fieldfare made our day and proved once again that one need not travel far and wide to be see remarkable things.  Wikipedia

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