Maine Birding Field Notes: Last Few Days, Links, and a Plea.

Field Notes
Derek Lovitch, a career biologist and naturalist with a life-long passion for birds, now lives in Pownal He and his wife, Jeannette, own and operate the Wild Bird Center of Yarmouth, which serves as a vehicle to share their passion for birds, birding, and bird conservation. Derek goes birding nearly every day, all year long, and blogs about it here.

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February 08, 2007

Last Few Days, Links, and a Plea.

Well, it’s still wicked cold out there. Birding highlights over the last few days have been few. On Tuesday, Jeannette and I spent the morning cross-country skiing, but the bird highlight of the day was a Great Horned Owl perched in a roadside tree at dusk as we drove through the New Gloucester Marsh on our way to dinner in Auburn (causing my heart to skip a beat after saying to Jeannette, "Wouldn't it be nice to see a Great Gray Owl sitting in a tree tonight?")

A walk yesterday at Hedgehog Mountain produced little, but better-than-usual numbers of Golden-crowned Kinglets continue. Today, a walk around Florida Lake Park, with finches in mind, produced a single White-winged Crossbill. However, a number if spruces had their cones completely cleaned off (only the center stem remaining on the tree), a sure sign that crossbills, and possibly lots of them, have been around.

Today, I also checked Pratt’s Brook from the Muddy Rudder Restaurant along Rte 1 in Yarmouth, where three Hooded Mergansers continue in a rapidly shrinking patch of open water. Meanwhile, what’s left of the open water at Yarmouth Harbor held only three Red-breasted Mergansers.

Here’s a couple of links worth checking. The first is a segment from David Attenborough’s Life of Birds (I believe) on the amazing vocal repertoire of a lyrebird in Australia. Personally, I found the fact that it was imitating a chainsaw to be rather depressing, however.

The next link was posted to the ID-Frontiers listserve during a thread about our visual perception of different colors of gray, in regards to a discussion on the mantle tones of gulls. (I just thought this was cool).

And finally, today, I end with a plea . . . .Send me some comments! See, I was bored the other day and I was looking around at the other various blogs on Mainetoday.com and I saw how many comments many other bloggers received. I feel so unloved! (Thanks for the comment on the other day’s blog, though, Dan). Someone must have something to say about this mindless dribble that I spew here in Field Notes. Or, is no one actually reading this?

But, if my lack of comments is due to a problem with the website – like the fact that previewing your comment deletes what you wrote (which I assume it is still doing, so DON’T PREVIEW your comment!) – is the problem, let me know, and I will hound the powers that be to do something about it.

So, to generate some interaction here, I will start with a request for information. Actually, I am interested in this for my own records, as well as making an attempt to draw some conclusions about the current distribution of birds in Maine. (But I welcome input from anywhere anyone is reading this) So, I ask the following:

1) Do you have any Purple Finches at your feeders?

2) If so, how many? Is this more or less than usual?

3) I have the same questions for Pine Siskin, Common Redpoll, American Goldfinch, and Red-breasted Nuthatch.

4) Have you been seeing any of the above species in the woods/fields/etc, but not at feeders?

5) Have you had any Crossbills at your feeders or in your area?

6) Has ANYONE seen ANY Evening Grosbeaks?

Posted by Derek Lovitch at 03:32 PM

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Comments

1)No
2)N/A
3)7-10 American Goldfinch (up to 40 in November). 1-2 Red-Breasted Nuthatch.
4)Some American Goldfinch in catkin bearing trees.
5)No
6)Not since '97 (in Maine anyway)

Posted by Ed
February 8, 2007 04:14 PM

No Purple Finches, No Siskins, 1 RB Nuthatch on Cousin's Island in the woods. Goldfinch numbers this year are waaay down at feeders, I've had a max of like 15 this year in comparison with last years high of 200. No X-bills yet. Arrgg, and also no Evening Grosbeaks. Haven't been walking in the woods so I can't provide numbers on anything for that.
Feeling somewhat more loved?

Luke

Posted by Luke Seitz
February 8, 2007 04:30 PM

40+ Goldfinchs all winter but that it. Read your blogs everyday

Lionel

Posted by Lionel
February 8, 2007 05:05 PM

As it has been so cold up in the white mountains,I have seen neither hide or feather much of anything except a few seagulls. the only birds I have seen are the pics of the waterfowl my b/f sends me of his beloved mallards and sid the goose. i do have so pics that i need identified if you have some time to look at them

Posted by tania
February 8, 2007 05:58 PM

I do read your blog regularly and really enjoy it. The only birds we've been seeing in numbers (at our feeders) are chickadees, goldfinches (quite a few), and titmice. We've also had a regular downy and 1 sighting of a hairy woodpecker. At least one RB nuthatch visists our sunflower feeder. Haven't seen the downy or the black-throated blue warbler (that was was around since early December) for a couple of weeks.

Posted by Bill
February 8, 2007 11:50 PM

We're out here D! Keep on blogging.
Purples- a few which is more than last year but less over the longterm. Siskins No,last year there were a lot; Repolls, No,last year there were alot; Goldfinches 20+ which is about "normal" . RBnuts 5 or 6 which is more than last year and about average over the long term. Purples, Goldfinches, RB-Nuthatches and White-wings are abundant in the woods. There are a few flocks of Grosbeaks in the area at a couple lucky feeders.

Posted by Bill S
February 9, 2007 05:11 AM

Hi Derek,
Since moving back from Lincolnville I haven't seen much in the way of feeder birds. I had as many as 12 feeders, water and sand up there. Now I have nothing and it is soo sad. I used to have 10-20 sps every morning now I go up and there isn't a bird in sight. Just wanted to let you know we're out here listening tho. -Pete

Posted by PeterD
February 9, 2007 10:03 AM

I haven't seen any of the birds you mention either at my feeders or out in the field. I live in the East Deering section of Portland.

Posted by PeteC
February 9, 2007 12:49 PM

Hey Derek:

Its pretty quiet in my Lewiston yard. I have extactly one purple finch (that I noticed) all year, but what is more surprising is the lack of house finches, which dominated the yard last year. No siskins, redpolls or rb nuthatches either. a golfinches are seen occasionally, most at Riverside, a few blocks from my house. I wish I could say I've x bills anywhere, but allas, no. I am not getting far enough out into the field. I did have a sharp shinned hawk buzz the yard last weekend. Feel the love.-Michael

Posted by Michael Reidy
February 9, 2007 01:21 PM

Haven't seen any purple finches so far, but have abundant goldfinches. Until this week we had 8 to 10 tufted titmice. Gee I wonder why they left. I've had a pair of hairy woodpeckers and a downy female, also some RB nuthatches and a few brown creepers. I haven't done much woods walking this year because here on Westport I. we what I would call 'snice'. One step you go crunch and the next step you're on the ground. I can deal with the cold, I love snow, but the ice is getting to me.

The first winter we were here, 2002, we saw a couple of evening grosbeaks very briefly.

Carol Way

Posted by Carol Way
February 9, 2007 01:53 PM

Your like me . . . you really like me . . . Yes, I have that "warm and fuzzy feeling" right now . . .

Also, I appreciate the comments (keep them comin') on the finch sightings. It has reflected my impressions of the winter. American Goldfinches are around - and in locally very good numbers, but not as abundant at feeders as they can be. Other than Bill way up in Woodland, none of us in the southcoast are seeing Purples, Siskins, or Grosbeaks. And White-winged Crossbills are certainly around, but few and far between down here in the south.

Posted by Derek
February 9, 2007 02:06 PM