Outdoors
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Stay alert. From now until Thanksgiving, you might spy a large flock of birds. Here are some of the possibilities for what you’ll see.
Some flocks are big and obvious. Geese migrate by day in their characteristic V formations. We see mostly Canada geese in Maine, but snow geese have the same flight pattern. The bulk of snow geese pass through in October. However, after crossing Québec, most of them follow a route west of Maine.
Double-crested cormorants also fly by day in V formations. They can be mistaken for geese. However, geese are noisy flyers. Cormorants are silent. Obviously, noise isn’t a great clue if the birds are too far away to hear.
Two swarms deserve special attention. Like most songbirds, snow buntings fly at night, often in big flocks. American pipits fly by day. Both northern breeders forage in fields, especially post-harvest corn and hay fields. These groups can range in size from dozens to hundreds. I expect them just about the time fall foliage reaches its peak.
Anyone who feeds birds is familiar with blackbird invasions. In spring and fall, big flocks of common grackles and red-winged blackbirds regularly find a feeder they like and greedily devour all the seeds.
Readers sometimes ask how to get rid of those greedy blackbirds. All I can suggest is to take in your bird feeders until they’re gone. Buying cage feeders that exclude larger birds might do the trick. Supposedly, blackbirds like sunflower seeds but not safflower seeds, so a temporary switch might help. Personally, I just feed the blackbirds until they leave.
If blackbirds at the feeder annoy you, pity homeowners in the southern states. Mixed flocks swarming over agricultural areas can number in the tens of thousands, all winter long.
European starlings form huge flocks, especially as the season grows colder. They don’t migrate and tend to hang around the same places all year. They particularly like the Bangor Mall area, where I see some of the biggest starling flocks in autumn.
Cedar waxwings gather into flocks after breeding. They relish the berries on ornamental trees in shopping centers, public parks and backyards. If I see a flock of birds flying over the mall, my first guess is always starlings. My second guess is waxwings. I seldom need a third guess.
Finches form mixed flocks. American goldfinch chicks don’t fledge until late summer, so it takes longer before they flock up in autumn. But once they do, dozens of birds may swarm feeders in the offseason. They’re already getting noisier, and increasingly visiting feeders.
Redpolls and pine siskins are close relatives of the goldfinches and join them in mixed flocks. All redpolls and most siskins migrate here from Canada in winter. They will visit feeders but are more likely to swarm in trees in the forest until they return to their nesting grounds in spring.
Medium-size finches like white-winged and red crossbills may flock together, perhaps in mixed company with purple finches. Crossbills visit feeders, but not as often as I’d like. They mostly forage in conifers along woodland edges.
Evening and pine grosbeaks are large finches. They flock, too, and both take advantage of feeders. Pine grosbeaks especially favor crabapples and ornamental berries. I chuckle whenever I find them visiting ornamental trees in shopping malls.
Flocking birds are usually spotted in flight. Sparrows are underfoot. They typically migrate at night and forage by day, falling out at daybreak along the weedy edges of fields and back roads, before fueling up for the next leg of their journey.
Dark-eyed juncos are the predominant flockers in the sparrow family. Small numbers of juncos remain in Maine for the winter, but many head farther south. I’m no longer surprised when I come across a gathering of 50 or more. At some point in the next month, my lawn will be blanketed with juncos as they pass through my neighborhood.
It’s easy to overlook flocking birds, especially when they are flying and distant. But some gatherings are spectacles worthy of attention, especially if you find an agricultural field filled with buntings and pipits.
To sum up: most birds don’t fly in flocks. When birds do fly in flocks, most people don’t notice them. Most flocking birds have finished nesting, so they’re regathering into large swarms right about now.
Different flocks fly differently. Finches and waxwings have a bouncy flight. Starling flocks are dense and more direct. Snow buntings and American pipits often swirl around over fields. Be on the lookout.
