This morning, I worked my way up the Androscoggin River from Durham to Turner and back, checking various overlooks along the river and other nearby locations for gulls, waterfowl, and irruptives.

With multiple stops along the river in Lisbon, Lewiston, Auburn, and Durham, I tallied relatively few ducks – just a total of 14 Common Goldeneyes, 10 Common Mergansers, and 2 Mallards. However, along the Auburn Riverwalk, my duck tally increased exponentially thanks to the 89 Mallards, 4 American Black Ducks, and 1 hybrid thereof. However, even this was rather low – many more have been frequenting the area. Although I missed the pair of American Wigeon that have been hanging out for the winter here (they probably were off feeding wherever the rest of the Mallards were), I did score one treat: a hen Northern Pintail – very unusual for the location and the season.

Gulls were also rather sparse, with no birds in the fields of Bell Farms today (although the 10lbs of Maine potatoes for $2 made the stop worthwhile!), only about 100 were in and around that sketchy John Deere place, and only about 50 total gulls were in the stretch of river between Great Falls and the Auburn Riverwalk – but that group did include one 1st Cycle Iceland Gull.

The various stops also produced a total of 4 Bald Eagles, including one adult carrying a stick (yup, spring is in the air!) and two Great Cormorants (one adult and one immature; very good birds away from the coast) off of the Overlook Park in Lewiston. Meanwhile, frugivores were limited to scattered small groups of American Robins, plus one Northern Mockingbird (rather rare inland in winter) along Mollison Rd in Lewiston. A spin through the rural roads of Turner failed to produce my daydreams of stuff like Great Gray Owls, or even a Northern Shrike. In fact, the only raptor was a single Cooper’s Hawk.

Meanwhile, back here in Yarmouth, the Barred Owl was once again staking out the ground below our feeding station. Jeannette first noticed it at about 10:30, and it remained through about 2:45. It did poop once – which was a good sign, as that meant it probably had a meal relatively recently, but it was clearly hungry. It was eyeing the line of Rock Pigeons on the telephone wires (who were in turn eyeing said owl, not willing to take the chance to head down to the feeders), and the occasional Gray Squirrel that mustered up the bravery to visit the garden.

At one point, the Barred Owl was sitting in a White Pine about 25 feet from the feeders, sunning itself near the edge of the parking lot. A Gray Squirrel made its way to the squirrel feeder, and the owl missed it by only a few inches. The owl swooped up to a branch about 20 feet above the squirrel feeder, and the squirrel froze on the backside of the trunk. Both stared, both waiting for the other to make the next move.

Minutes passed (likely an eternity to the squirrel). Jeannette and I watched. The owl looked at the squirrel, the squirrel did its best to look like a part of the tree. Then, two dog-walkers on the path behind the area caught the owl’s eye, and he swiveled his head to see what the commotion was. As soon as the owl’s head had moved, the squirrel was off, and in a flash, had reached the safety of a nearby tangle. There’s a reason why squirrels are so successful!

(These digiscoped photos, taken from inside our store, were not cropped or anything! This was the full-frame face-views that visitors to our store - and me and Jeannette – were treated to today!)