After yesterday’s cold and wind, this morning’s sub-zero start to the day actually felt tolerable! Yeah, it was cold, but it was calm, and the strengthening sun felt good. A walk around Hedgehog Mountain Park produced all of the expected residents, many of which, including 2-3 Brown Creepers were in full song. (As opposed to yesterday’s walk around Pineland Reserve in Gray, which produced all of four birds: a few Chickadees, 1 creeper, 1 Golden-crowned Kinglet, and 1 Hairy Woodpecker thanks to the day’s 20-40mph winds!).

It was nice to see a Song Sparrow under the feeders at the store today, the first we’ve had in months, and quite possibly an early migrant. Having just completed the first draft of this week’s Southcoastal Maine Rare Bird Alert, it is evident that spring migration is underway: numerous reports of Red-winged Blackbirds and Turkey Vultures, and it seems that the first ducks are on the move as well. It sure as heck doesn’t feel like it, but spring is in fact on its way!

Meanwhile, some species are already clearing out. Barrow’s Goldeneye, for example, are definitely on the move. I visited Winslow Park and the South Freeport Town Landing late this morning with Amy Sinclair of WGME Channel 13 News. Amy is working on a story about the controversy around the proposed listing of the Barrow’s on the state’s Threatened Species list. My job was to find them some birds, but it was also my job to find them close enough for Jack to get some broadcast-worthy video.

I went 1 for 2 on those goals. Found the birds: 5 drakes and 2 hens (one less than a few days ago), off of Winslow, but they were wicked far. It was frustrating too, four of the drakes were actively displaying for the two hens – head tossing, neck-bowing, chasing each other, and presumably calling as well. What a show! It could have been perfect – perfect footage to show how beautiful and fascinating this bird is to foster the appreciation and concern about this great species – and to encourage viewers to support the effort of adding this to the state’s Threatened List.

But, in Jack’s viewfinder, we could only see a few black and white specks – not the award winning footage that he was looking for. Cell phone in hand, I’ll check the river tomorrow and hope that the ducks will oblige. After our success in getting great footage on previous outings (such as the Western Reef-Heron and the Scarborough Marsh shorebird survey), I did worry that our “good bird” karma had been used up! Meanwhile, Amy will be waiting for the Inland Fish and Wildlife Department’s expected announcement soon about a compromise on the dispute. I’ll let you know what comes out of this, and I’ll let you know when Amy’s piece will be airing.

Slightly farther afield, the Large-billed Reed-warbler has been rediscovered in Thailand after being presumed extinct for 130 years – and it was found, in all places, at a sewage treatment plant!