BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 28, 2022
July birding is hard. It’s also amusing. Although most migratory birds swarm into Maine at about the same time every spring, each species then goes about its mating rituals on its own timetable. Some are in a rush. Some wait until their preferred food supply develops. Some birds raise more than one brood. All this variation comes back to reveal itself in mid-summer. Some birds are all done, and have gone silent. Some still sing, but only for a short time in the morning. Some don’t start singing until after that first cup of coffee. On the Bangor City Forest bog boardwalk, a mystery awaited. As expected, palm warblers were abundant, flitting all over and calling regularly. Yet not a single bird sang. That was weird, because this bog-dwelling species typically sings well into August. I think last weekend’s hot, humid weather discouraged them. ~ Bob Duchesne