We were still riding the excitement of the Vermilion Flycatcher at Hog Island when a new bird showed up that blew our minds yet again: Maine’s first FIELDFARE. This Eurasian thrush was found on the morning of 19 April 2017 by Jeff Cherry in Newcastle. Many thanks to Jeff for quickly alerting�the Maine Birds listserv and reporting to eBird�– that got the word out and allowed many people to start making plans to get out to see this “MEGA” rarity.
Jeff first found the bird in a yard along Sheepscot Road, near Sheepscot Village, around 7:30AM but had left that area when he checked again at 8:00AM. There were eyes on�that yard and an adjacent field (which had several American Robins in it) throughout the morning, but Louis Bevier finally relocated the bird from a vantage point further north around 1:30PM. This new location was at the Sheepscot Community Church, looking across the road, over a pond. A flock of robins including the Fieldfare were on the distant slope. They remained there, occasionally flushing into the trees and out of sight before returning to the field, until around 2:30PM.
This map should help clarify the areas where the bird was seen. Please use caution when birding along Sheepscot Road — it has poor visibility around hills and corners, and has lots of fast-moving traffic.
Updated sightings of this bird can�be seen�on the�Maine-birds Listserv�or�eBird’s Maine Rare Bird Alert. To help collate the records going into eBird, we’ve created a ‘stakeout hotspot’ for this bird as well, available at:�ebird.org/ebird/hotspot/L5720892
Good birding!
-Doug
