Granted it was a bit chilly in that continuing northwesterly wind yesterday, but with a crystal clear blue sky, Jeannette and I were not going to waste our sacred day off. We decided to head northeast for a day in Midcoast.

We began with a short hike up Bald Rock Mountain in Camden Hills State Park. Fantastic views, but less than fantastic birding. We then birded around Rockland Harbor, but turned up only the usual cast of characters – the concentrations of gulls that we were after had already dispersed and/or moved north. Plenty of Long-tailed Ducks and Bufflehead, along with smaller numbers of Common Loons and other duck species peppered the water.

Three Song Sparrows had returned to the feeders at Owl’s Head State Park, but we were unable to turn up anything else. We were hoping to rediscover the Clark’s Grebe, a third record for the East Coast, that was found here last winter. Vagrant Clark’s and the similar Western Grebes often return to the same area for multiple winters, but this does not seem to be the case with this individual as no reports of it have been made this winter. We did hear at least one Bohemian Waxwing as it flew by overhead – who knows how many actually went over, as we were unable to locate them.

On our way to Weskeag Marsh, we happened upon a Northern Shrike – I’m really on a roll with this species of late! The marsh itself was still partially frozen, but scattered among a growing number of American Black Ducks and Canada Geese, we located a Northern Pintail, a Green-winged Teal, a pair of Hooded Mergansers, and a couple of Killdeer along the edges. A male American Kestrel patrolled the fields, while one or two adult Bald Eagles made a couple of passes overhead – always an awe-inspiring sight!

We returned home, and after feeding Sasha, we headed over to Hedgehog Mountain Park. With the first calm evening in a while, we hoped American Woodcocks would be out and about, and we hoped our local patch would have some. Soon after the last glow of orange disappeared from the Western sky, we heard the nasal “PEEENT!” call of a Woodcock, my first of the spring. After dozens of ”peents,” our Timberdoodle entertainer (Timberdoodle is an old, and much more colorful name for the Woodcock) would take flight straight up into the darkening sky, and explode into a performance of flutters, whistles, calls, and squeaks as he showed off for any lady woodcocks that might have been around. One other male was spotted and heard in the distance. Hopefully, more will soon be arriving on the next warm winds and join the show!

Oh, and this morning at The 'Hog - I had another Northern Shrike! And this one was in full song!