Maine is home to a wonderful diversity of bird species that fill the air with beautiful songs at dusk. As the sun begins to set, many birds become active and vocalize before settling in for the night. Their melodious calls create a peaceful soundtrack to the end of the day. This article explores some of the common birds that sing at dusk in Maine and the reasons behind their vocal behaviors.
American Robins
One of the most recognizable birds that sings at dusk in Maine is the American Robin. These familiar thrushes with reddish-orange bellies and gray backs are seen in backyards, parks, and forests across the state. As darkness approaches, American Robins often perch high up in trees and emit a series of complex, flute-like phrases: “cheerily, cheer up, cheerio.” Their songs have an upbeat, rolling quality as they repeat musical phrases over and over. Robins sing both to reinforce their territories and attract mates at the end of the day.
Song Sparrows
From brushy thickets and overgrown fields, the sweet voice of the Song Sparrow rings out at twilight. These medium-sized sparrows have brown streaked plumage and a bold dark spot in the middle of their breasts. Their songs are a mix of chirps, whistles, and trills that typically end on an upward note. Song Sparrows sing prolifically near dusk as they declare ownership of their territory before nightfall. In rural areas, their tuneful voices can continue well after dark.
American Woodcocks
As a strange dusk serenade, American Woodcocks perform their distinctive “sky dance” displays and spiraling peents over fields in Maine. These plump, brown shorebirds with long beaks emit buzzy peent calls on the ground before flying high in zigzagging patterns, then spiraling down while chirping and twittering. The elaborate courtship ritual and vocalizations are most active at dusk and dawn in spring. Woodcocks stake out singing grounds that they return to night after night.
Eastern Whip-poor-wills
From the dry pine forests and barrens of inland Maine comes the unmistakable chant of the Eastern Whip-poor-will. These nocturnal birds are actually members of the nightjar family. They have mottled brown and gray plumage that acts as perfect camouflage during the day when they sleep on the forest floor. Shortly after sunset, they awaken and males begin singing their loud, rhythmic whip-poor-will calls repeatedly to attract females and defend territories.
Common Nighthawks
Against the darkening skies, Common Nighthawks perform impressive aerial displays at dusk. These long-winged birds have gray and brown mottled plumage and can be seen swooping, diving, and making sharp turns over fields to catch insects. As they fly, male nighthawks emit a loud, nasal peent call that drops in pitch. The booming peents are given to proclaim territory and attract mates in the crepuscular hours.
Chimney Swifts
In rural towns, the sight of Chimney Swifts circling old chimneys and diving down to roost for the night is a common dusk occurrence. These small, cigar-shaped birds have uniform gray-brown plumage and long, pointed wings. Just before darkness falls, flocks of swifts gather and enter chimneys while chattering excitedly. Their high-pitched twittering calls ring out as they disappear into their roosting sites for the night.
Common Loons
No Maine dusk is complete without the haunting calls of Common Loons echoing across lakes and ponds. These striking black and white diving birds emit wailing, tremolo calls that sound almost mournful to human ears. However, loon yodels and tremolos actually communicate territorial boundaries, warn intruders, and maintain contact between mates and offspring at dusk. Their eerie voices are synonymous with wilderness lakes throughout the state.
Barred Owls
As daylight fades over Maine’s forests, the hooting calls of Barred Owls begin. These stocky, round-headed owls have brown eyes and vertical brown and white striping on their necks and underparts. They vocalize often at dusk with loud, rhythmic hoots: “hoo-hoo-hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo.” Their resonant hoots establish territories and attract mates in the low light conditions. Barred Owl duets can be heard around forested wetlands at night.
Mourning Doves
With their soothing cooing voices, Mourning Doves are regular singers at dusk in Maine. These slender, long-tailed doves have muted gray-brown plumage with black spots on the wings. Just before bedding down for the night, Mourning Doves coo a plaintive “cooOOoo, coo, coo, coo” repeatedly from their perches. Their harmonious cooing floats over backyards, fields, and open country at sunset.
Common Yellowthroats
In reedy marshes and overgrown meadows, the husky witchety-witchety-witchety songs of Common Yellowthroats ring out at dusk. The males of these small warblers have distinctive black masks and olive-yellow plumage. They sing their complex, repetitive witchety songs from tall grasses to mark territory and attract females before nightfall. Their loud, grating voices carry far across wetlands.
Scarlet Tanagers
High in the forest canopy, male Scarlet Tanagers sing short, hoarse chippity-chirps at dusk. These striking birds have bright red bodies contrasted with black wings and tails. Just before dark, Scarlet Tanagers sing brisk vocalizations to reinforce bonds between mates and defend feeding areas for the night. Their dusk singing peaks in late spring and summer during nesting season.
Hermit Thrushes
With their hauntingly beautiful voices, Hermit Thrushes fill the wispy evenings under Maine’s forests with song. These slender thrushes have reddish-brown backs and brightly spotted breasts. The flute-like tones of their songs ascend and descend in pitch. Often, Hermit Thrush nighttime vocalizations have an echoing, ethereal quality. Their melancholic evening singing peaks during migration periods in spring and fall.
Ovenbirds
From the forest floor, the loud teacher, teacher, teacher songs of Ovenbirds ring out at dusk. These warblers have olive-brown backs streaked with black and bold white eye rings. The teacher phrases repeat continuously in their mechanical, ringing songs in the fading light. Ovenbirds sing from perches on branches or while walking along the ground as evening approaches.
Eastern Wood-Pewees
The high, breathy fee-bee-o songs of Eastern Wood-Pewees echo through Maine’s woodlands at sunset. These nondescript, olive-gray flycatchers sit upright on perches singing their plaintive, whistled songs. The fee-bee-o calls taper off at the end as night falls over the forest. Eastern Wood-Pewees sing persistently into dusk during summer to reinforce pair bonds and defend nesting areas.
When and Why Birds Sing at Dusk
Across Maine, different species exhibit peaks in dawn and dusk singing at varying times of year. During the spring and summer breeding season, birdsong is at its height in the crepuscular hours as males sing to attract mates and defend territories. In spring, loud choruses continue well after dark as males arrive from migration and vigorously sing to claim prime habitat.
In the fall, birdsong increases again during the migration periods from August to October as populations pass through Maine. However, winter brings a marked decrease in dusk singing activity. With breeding activities suspended, birds vocalize much less without mates or territories to advertise.
Singing in low light conditions serves several important purposes for birds. Ending the day with a chorus helps maintain contact between mates and offspring in a flock or colony. It also reinforces territorial boundaries at a time when intruder threats may increase in poorer visibility. Dusk songs also communicate information to navigate, forage, roost, and avoid predators in the uncertain period between light and darkness.
Conclusion
As a transition time between day and night, dusk brings out beautiful signing behaviors from many bird species in Maine. Against the fading sunset, choruses of American Robins, Song Sparrows, Common Loons, Barred Owls, and other birds ring out. Their vocalizations form a peaceful soundtrack to the close of day over Maine’s diverse forests, lakes, marshes, and backyards. Paying attention to songs at dusk provides clues to the species diversity, breeding activities, and habitat uses of birds across the changing seasons.