spell in late May that affected northern New England and New Brunswick (Zumeta 

 and Holmes 1978). In spring, birds follow warm fronts north, and in fall they 

 move south with the prevailing winds of cold fronts. 



Terrestrial birds migrate along the coast, along major inland waterways, and 

 along prominent geological features such as mountain ridges (especially hawks 

 which utilize deflected winds for soaring) . In spring many insectivorous 

 birds follow river valleys north feeding on emerging insects. In fall they 

 return to Maine and concentrate along the coast, after which they either fly 

 directly to wintering areas in the West Indies or move in a southerly 

 direction along the coast. Raptors, particularly peregrine falcons, merlins, 

 kestrels, sharp-shinned hawks, and cooper's hawks, follow the coastline. 

 Their primary prey are other smaller migrant birds. Peak movements of sharp- 

 shinned hawks correspond with large movements of flickers, a frequent prey 

 item of these hawks. Marsh hawks in Maine are more common along the coast 

 than inland. They prey on shorebirds, other small birds, and small mammals in 

 estuarine emergent marshes and coastal barrens. Areas along the coast at 

 which hawks are known to concentrate are Harpswell Neck (region 1), Baileys 

 Island (region 1), the Camden Hills (region 4), Mt. Waldo (region 4), the 

 hills bordering Somes Sound (region 5), and Cadillac Mountain (region 5). 

 Coastal peninsulas in region 6 are also used by migrating hawks but 

 quantitative data are lacking. 



REPRODUCTION 



Time of Nesting 



The nesting period for most terrestrial bird species breeding in coastal Maine 

 extends from May through July. Some species initiate nesting activities 

 earlier (hawks, owls, and ravens) or later than this (goldfinches and cedar 

 waxwings). Most migratory species begin nesting between mid-May and the first 

 week of June. Individuals from the southwesternmost portions of the 

 characterization area (regions 1 to 3) may begin nesting up to 10 days earlier 

 than individuals of the same species nesting in the northeastern portion 

 (region 6). Because the nesting season in Maine is relatively short compared 

 to other areas of the U.S., most species raise only a single brood. 



Nest Type and Location 



Terrestrial birds nest in many locations either in open nests or cavity nests. 

 Open nests are more exposed to predators and weather than cavity nests. They 

 are placed in shallow depressions on open ground (nighthawks and killdeers), 

 in dense vegetation on or near the ground (many warblers, blackbirds, 

 thrushes, and marsh hawks), in shrubs (thrushes, brown thrashers, and 

 catbirds), in tree canopies (many warblers, vireos , grosbeaks, tanagers, 

 accipiters, and broad-winged hawks), in large open trees (hawks and ospreys), 

 and in or on buildings (swallows and phoebes). Cavity nesters use a wide 

 range of nest sites, including tree trunks (woodpeckers, owls, kestrels, 

 great-crested flycatchers, nuthatches, chickadees, and bluebirds), sand, 

 gravel, and peat banks (bank swallows and kingfishers), and buildings, 

 bridges, and bird houses (purple martins, rough-winged swallows, and tree 

 swallows) . 



16-25 



10-80 



