Yesterday’s snow (and ice) storm really drove a lot of birds to feeders, with numerous reports of multiple Fox Sparrows being received from around the southern half of the state. Fox Sparrows are spiffy little birds, and I always enjoy seeing these portly guys under the feeders.

Today, I headed down to Scarborough Marsh. With the high tides, high water from the storm, and more ice (than just a couple of days ago), I was looking for waterfowl that were concentrated in small areas. The Scarborough River, from Dunstan Landing to the bay was open, and brimming with the astronomical high tide. Meanwhile, the marsh was solid, and only a few short stretches of tributaries were open, meaning I could enjoy most of the marsh’s waterfowl from just a few locations!

Jones Creek, which runs under Pine Point Rd from behind the Pelreco building to the river, was partly open, and contained 10 Hooded Mergansers, 1 pair of Northern Pintail, and one drake Gadwall. From the Eastern Road Trail bridge, I tallied 583 Canada Geese in the river, three more Pintail, and 12 Hooded Mergansers. 12 Horned Larks foraged on the frozen marsh, added to the 15-20 that were at nearby Seavy’s Landing, along with 4 Snow Buntings. A Green-winged Teal was at Dunstan Landing, as were a dozen Snow Buntings. And finally, as I drove through the Scarborough Industrial Park, dozens upon dozens of Song Sparrows had been driven out of the brush by the snow and ice, and were feeding along the roadsides. 14 crowded the tiny feeders at the Public Works building as well.

In the coming weeks, more and more migrants will be returning. The sun is getting stronger, so even in the relatively cold air that is in place at the moment, ice is breaking up. What snow has fallen – and may still fall – will melt more and more rapidly. Each successive period of southerly winds – or at least not strong northerly – will produce wave after wave of migrants. Things will really begin to heat up in the birding world during the upcoming weeks.

We’ll have lots of chances to talk about what we’re seeing soon, but today, I do want to discuss more important topics than just birding. And by this, I am speaking of bird conservation. I am, unfortunately, unable to separate my enjoyment of birds from my desire to protect them. I cannot bird in a box. I cannot relegate avian wonders to a checkmark, and just move on. At times, I wish I could, but more often than not, I look at things a little deeper.

Recently, Barrow’s Goldeneye were proposed for listing on Maine’s Threatened Species List. The listing, only the first step in actually safeguarding this wonderful species, was met with quite a bit of concern and/or resistance from various hunting groups (as we have discussed on this blog before). Well, a “compromise” was announced this week that, happily, does allow Barrow’s Goldeneye to be listed. That is great news.

The deal was explained to me as essentially allowing an “incidental take” of up to 15 Barrow’s Goldeneye per season. The birds must be reported, and no one can retain possession of a bird. If 15 birds are taken in one season, the season closes. MDIFW will use the new information collected to determine what areas should be closed in the future.

Personally, I am very glad that the bird is listed, but I am not sold on the compromise being “good enough” to protect Barrow’s. It is estimated that only about 250 Barrow’s Goldeneye winter in Maine. 15 out of 250 is 6%. 6% of a species population is not incidental.

However, I am still learning about the compromise, and researching the issue – especially the finer points of the agreement, so I don’t want to get too in depth on this today. Instead, I want to use this as a case study. In my opinion, the voice of birders were not heard loud enough and clearly enough here. The voice of hunters, fisherman, guides, etc are always heard loud and clear. In the upcoming legislative year in Maine, there is going to be a lot of pending legislation that will directly, and indirectly, impact birds and birding. And, this is not including mega-scale topics like development and global climate change! Will the voices of birders be heard in Augusta (and Washington, D.C.)?

Why? There are fewer and fewer people hunting, and many more and more people birding each year. The hunting lobby is well organized, well-funded, and very very vocal. And elected representative hear them loud and clear. Can the same be said for birders? I don’t think so. In this regards, I posted the following two messages on the Maine-birds listserve. The first, was in response to a post celebrating the decision to list the Barrow’s. The second was a clarification and further development of one of my points.

So, what DO we do? I write numerous letters, call, and email legislators, I write Letters to the Editor, I write this blog and occasionally rant about things like this. But, what else can WE do? Do enough birders actually truly care enough to want to do something about it? Does any of this matter? Is anyone still reading this?

OK, enough thinking for today. My head hurts. Do you smell the wood burning? I’m going to turn my mind off for a few minutes and watch the end of the afternoon’s college basketball games, then I have to put together my program for the Scarborough Garden Club (tomorrow afternoon, at 1:30). But, be warned, I’ll be visiting this subject again.