Territorial drumming by Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers was definitely on the increase during my Wednesday morning stroll at Hedgehog Mountain Park. The avian drama of the day, however, came in the late morning at the store when an immature Northern Shrike – our third this year at the store, and my 24th for the winter! – appeared at the feeding station, making a run at our feeder visitors. Our Carolina Wren was caught off guard, and froze on the ground near the brush pile, with the shrike perched less than 10 feet overhead. I had not noticed this until the shrike flew off in the direction of an incoming chickadee, leaving the wren still frozen – but unharmed, except for some high blood pressure no doubt – and unwilling to move (until a Gray Squirrel almost stepped on him!) for a good 10 minutes. While I regularly spend time working to get folks to understand, and enjoy, predators – at least the native ones – at their feeders, there’s no doubt I have a rooting interest! And if I knew that “our” wren was in trouble, there’s little doubt I would have instinctively launched out the door to chase away the shrike!

Thursday’s predator drama at the feeders was the return of our Barred Owl. Arriving at about 8:30am, he remained in the trees behind the garden through 4:00pm, moving to stay in the sun. (He became active, and then moved on, only after the last rays of sunlight had disappeared behind the building.) Squirrels were frolicking above and below him, both Red and Gray, and he paid little attention. Dried blood on his bill confirmed that he has eaten recently – very good news. Other than a head turn now and again, and a few perch shifts to remain in the sun, he made one foray to the ground, apparently to sip from a small puddle.

What was really amazing was how brazen the squirrels were becoming by the early afternoon. They clearly were not worried by the owl, and seemed fascinated by it. One furry fellow even got a close up look, and shortly thereafter twice tapped him on the head! I couldn’t make this stuff up – the squirrel, clinging with his back legs to the trunk of the tree, reached out with his front paw and patted him on the head! The owl didn’t blink an eye! That is one ballsy squirrel!

On Friday, I took Luke and Ian to Cape Elizabeth for the morning. We encountered a Barred Owl at Crescent Beach State Park, and we ticked 6 Brant at Kettle Cove. Then, we headed over to Dyer Point, where the fun really began!

We immediately spotted the spiffy drake King Eider, a mere 15 or 20 feet from shore. The view could not have been beaten (OK, it could have been sunny) of this remarkable creature.

11 also-very-spiffy Harlequin Ducks were present, as were two apparent Common Eiders that were intergrades between the regular “Atlantic” Common Eider subspecies (dresseri)and the “Northern” Common Eider, subspecies borealis. Notice the yellowish bill and facial shield, and the thinner caudal of the shield. However, note that the end of the shield is in fact rounded. Also, I did see a trace of green under the eye in the field.

As opposed to this “true” Northern Common Eider at nearby Two Lights State Park, which was our next stop. Notice the thin facial shield that ends in a sharp point and the yellow-orange color of the bill and shield. Also, there was no green at all below the eye.

An immature Northern Shrike - my 25th of the winter!!! – was also present, as were three more Harlequin Ducks and a distant Razorbill. We were also entertained by the vocalizations of a group of 19 Black Scoters. The males were being especially vociferous, giving a slurred and whiny whistle-like sound.

Our final stop in Cape Elizabeth was Village Crossings, which yielded 8 Pine Grosbeaks among about 30 American Robins. We then made one more quick stop at Yarmouth Harbor (4 Common and 6 Hooded Mergansers) as we scouted for the “Big Day” we are planning on doing on Sunday. But, with the snow beginning to fall – again – our morning came to and end, and looking at the list of the day, was really quite impressive indeed!