The heavy rain had yet to arrive by dawn on Monday, so I took advantage of a surprisingly nice morning to visit the Libby Hill Forest Recreation Area in Gray. Over 6 miles of trails (I walked 5.3 miles of them this morning) wind through mostly upland woods dominated by White Pine, Red Oak, and Red Maple. On this morning, there were plenty of territorial Yellow-rumped and Pine Warblers, plus a LOT of Chipping Sparrows. I ended up with 35 species for the morning, including my first Eastern Towhee and Black-throated Green Warbler of the year, as well as a Ruffed Grouse and 3 fly-over Evening Grosbeaks. The wooded swamp along the Outback Trail is probably the most interesting habitat here (but take note that the trail – although well marked – is not well-trodden, and I collected a fair number of ticks), and Moose poop and sign was quite common. This park will definitely be worth checking in June or early July for breeding birds, and there is definitely some patch-listing potential if you live nearby.

Speaking of patch listing, as you may have noticed, I have been spending a lot of time at my local parks this spring. In part, it is my desire to continue to reduce my gasoline consumption (both for environmental and fiscal reasons!). But, it is also because of my interest in patch listing, and my quest to find my next great patch. And, with some excellent birding at each location of late, it’s hard for me to want to travel further afield.

Last fall, I blogged about my interest in Patch Listing, and my search for new patches in the Pownal area. (Read that entry here).

At the time, I was contemplating which park to make my second local patch. At the time, I concluded that each potential patch had enough birding potential, that it was worth exploring further. Over the winter, and so far this spring, I made it a point to visit one of the potential patches each week. Thanks in large part to this winter’s irruption of finches, shrikes, and frugivores, I added some great birds to each list.

My two original Patch Lists grew this winter as well:
Eastern Promenade, Portland:
#158 Northern Shrike, 2/3.
#159 Purple Sandpiper, 3/8.

Dragon Field, Portland:
#151 Pine Grosbeak, 12/8.
#152 Northern Shrike, 3/29.
#153 Bohemian Waxwing, 3/29.

I also added a Red Crossbill to my Hedgehog Mountain Park (Freeport) List on 11/7, which was my 124th species there. The proximity to our house, and the ease of taking short am walks here with Sasha, made this an easy choice for my first local patch.

Now, the question is, which patch next. I analyzed my record, and the potential, of each, in the aforementioned blog from the fall. I did not add any species to my Pineland Farms (New Gloucester) list, and I found myself rarely visiting here since I could no longer take Sasha (dogs are now longer allowed on the property). That eliminated one potential patch.

That left 6 potential choices for my second patch. Here are the additions to each list since the fall’s post, along with my current analysis and additional thoughts (added to what I mentioned in the fall post) as to the “patch-worthiness” of each:
1) Winslow Park, Freeport:
#109 White-winged Scoter, 2/23.
#110 Ring-necked Duck, 3/14.
- Patch Worthiness: A fun place in winter, and early spring, when ducks are abundant, but the woods can be a real avian desert on many days. Few migrants.

2) Bradbury Mountain State Park, Pownal:
#104: White-winged Crossbill, 12/7.
#105: Bohemian Waxwing, 3/23.
#106: Fish Crow, 4/10.
#107: Evening Grosbeak, 4/27.
- Patch Worthiness: The woods hold very few birds in the winter, and the lack of significant habitat edges reduce the migrant potential. Away from the summit, the birding is not necessarily patch-worthy. AT the summit, that’s a different story. What would I tally if I “sky-watched” from here now and again throughout the year – not just during raptor migration.

3) Bayview Preserve, Yarmouth:
#128: Common Merganser, 3/15.
#129: Rusty Blackbird: 4/16.
- Patch Worthiness: Very, very quiet in winter. Where the heck have the birds been this spring? Early spring has provided many of my best birding days here, but it has been dead so far this year. Is the proliferation of invasive plants beginning to take its toll on the quality, and productivity, of this park’s habitat? On the other hand, the species count is building rather nicely.

4) Florida Lake Park, Freeport:
#119: Common Redpoll, 11/29.
#120: Barred Owl, 11/29.
#121: Northern Saw-whet Owl, 2/25.
#122: Great Horned Owl, 2/25.
#123: Common Merganser, 4/16.
- Patch Worthiness: Wow, this place has been amazing this spring. I new early is a great time here, but it has been spectacular so far this season. It can be very slow in winter, but the quality habitat does often produce winter finches, even in non-flight years.

5) Sandy Point Beach, Yarmouth:
With only a little effort in November and December, I quickly grew this list from 145 to 154, by tallying late migrants, such as Snow Bunting and Lapland Longspur, as well as regular ducks, such as White-winged Scoter, and a couple of “good birds” in Harlequin Duck and Barrow’s Goldeneye. So, with this patch already eclipsing the 150-bird benchmark, I will continue to tally birds for this park as an official “patch.” However, I know how sparse birding is here in spring and summer, and how limited it is in winter, so it is not a spot that would work well as a weekly patch. Plus, it’s small, and there’s little room – except at low tide – to walk Sasha. But, as you know, in the fall, this is THE place to be!

6) Old Town House Park, North Yarmouth:
#110: Pine Grosbeak, 11/23.
#111: Common Redpoll, 12/6.
#112: Bohemian Waxwing, 12/13.
#114: Northern Shrike, 3/21.
- Patch Worthiness: Not much at all going on in the winter. I’m still trying to figure this place out in the spring. I have yet to have a real “good” morning here during spring migration. More study is needed.

So, that leaves 5 parks as my potential Patch # 2. Each has its benefits and its drawbacks (as discussed above and in the post from last fall). But, none of the patches have that year-round, week-to-week draw that I am looking for. Essentially, I am barely closer to making a decision than I was when I wrote said patch listing blog last fall! So, for now, the answer is to keep regularly visit each of them, tallying species as I go, and in the meantime keep an eye out for new potential patches.