My first stop this morning was Winslow Park. Low tide concentrates waterfowl near the tip of the park, and this is usually when I tally my highest counts of Barrow’s Goldeneyes for any particular week. Since I last visited the park at high tide on Tuesday, and only saw 5 individuals, I hoped to “up” my week’s high count today. 7 drake and one hen obliged - an improvement from Tuesday - but a decline from last week’s high count. The river is opening up here, and elsewhere, and I wonder if they have already begun to disperse? In seasons past, my high count is usually in the 3rd week of February, with numbers trickling down after that. With temperatures again in the mid-30’s today, it sure is beginning to feel like spring!

Then, it was on to Portland. Usually, I spend more time birding the Portland Peninsula (primarily for gulls and waterfowl) during the winter than I have been this season. For one thing, the paucity of “white-winged gulls” has kept my interest of wandering around Old Port tempered a bit. Furthermore, I usually couple birding trips into the “Big City” with errands or other excursions into town. However, (SOAPBOX ALERT! SOAPBOX ALERT!), I have been less than enthused about spending money in downtown Portland of late, and have been able to avoid doing so.

See, a couple of months ago, Portland enacted an ordinance barring all new “formula businesses” from opening in certain districts of town. This indiscriminant, all-encompassing policy was rushed into place due to concerns over a potential Hooters Restaurant. Now, I wholeheartedly believe that a community has every right to oppose certain businesses based on various reasons. However, this policy seemed to be more than a little overreaction to the issue. This included not just chain and franchise restaurants that some deem socially unacceptable, but any and all businesses that some elitists have determined aren’t good enough to be in the town. Jeannette and I own one such “formula business,” in a franchise. (By the way, the difference between a chain and a franchise is a chain is owned by one owner, often a company based somewhere else, while a franchise is locally owned and operated). Franchises can provide the means for small business owners to survive in a brutal business world by providing knowledge, support, a proven formula, food, or product, etc. In exchange, the business owners pay a very small percentage of their profits to the home office. (Again, as opposed to a chain, like, say Wal-Mart, where ALL of the profits leave the area).

I believe small locally-owned businesses are the heart and soul of the economy, and it certainly seems to be the case here in Greater Portland. So, since my store would be banned from opening up in certain sections of Portland (not that a Wild Bird Center would seem to make a good fit in Old Port, buy you get the idea), and we did not think we would be able to get a store off the ground completely on our own, clearly I’m not good enough to open a store in Portland. Therefore, I do not see why my hard-earned money is “good enough” to be spent in the area. So, I have avoided spending it there! Simple as that. Think of it as one of my (many) little economic battles. While Jeannette and I pride ourselves on supporting fellow local business, and believe a healthy downtown Portland is good for the entire region's economy, I have been taking my money elsewhere.

Well, today, I had to visit a shop (outside one of the effected districts, so my mini-boycott was not hampered) in Portland, so I combined it with some urban birding. First, I visited the woods along the Commercial Street Extension. Expectedly quiet. Then, I checked out Western Cemetery. The various evergreens here will someday host some crossbills for me, but today the only finches present were about 30 American Goldfinches in a tamarack.

Next, it was on to Old Port, where I walked from one end to the other, up and down each accessible pier. Once again, gulls were surprisingly sparse – a continuing indication of the decline of Portland’s fishing industry. I began my walk at the Casco Bay Ferry terminal, and it wasn’t until I hit the Fish Pier (Marine Trade Center) that I finally spied an Iceland Gull – an adult that has been frequenting the area this winter.

Then, when I returned to the store, I picked up today’s paper and read that Portland’s “City Council repeals ban on chains.” Although the headline, as usual, oversimplified the issue (it wasn’t just chains that had been banned), I was happy about the outcome. Instead, a task force has been created to achieve a balance between all kinds of establishments. Good for Portland. And, now I can return to some of my favorite eating establishments in good conscience! And, I’ll likely be birding around town a bit more often again.