It was yet another cool and wet morning as I birded a few sites around Portland. Things have gotten pretty quiet at Dragon Field, as expected at this season. The Bobolinks have departed, and I only encountered one Yellow Warbler. Although migrants of both species can be found through September, our local breeders are clearing out in August. Two Indigo Buntings and a fresh, juvenile Cooper's Hawk were also present.

Capisic Pond Park was its usually birdy-self, and today the action included a female Orchard Oriole. I do not believe that they were confirmed to be breeding here this year # in their only regular breeding location in the state # but the fact that a female is still around certainly suggests that they at least tried to nest here this summer.

Finally, I took a stroll in the area along the Commercial Street Extension that I call "Mercy Woods." I was interested in checking out the new trail that was built along the shoreline. A nice gravel path and benches have been added, trash has been picked up, but a whole lot of trees and brush have been cleared. Once again, it looks like Portland's answer to its homeless problem is to simply cut down some trees.

A truly impressive amount of rain fell overnight Thursday and through mid-morning on Friday. Over 6 inches was reported in Freeport, and we had just over 5 in Pownal. A lot of streets were flooded, and some roads were washed out. Needless to say, I didn't venture very far this morning. In fact, the morning's outing was limited to a short romp in the soggy woods at the end of our street during the pouring rain with Sasha. It really wasn't very pleasant!

The rain was coming to an end # for now # just as Jeannette was beginning her shorebird survey in Sprawlborough, but for me, it was feeder watching at the store for the rest of the morning. The volume of Common Grackles (41 today) and House Sparrows (32+) are increasingly rapidly, but we're still seeing excellent overall diversity with 23 species a day visiting the feeders. However, today would be an excellent day to be driving rural roads (the ones that are not flooded, of course) looking for shorebirds in flooded fields and gulls on saturated grassy areas.

As you know, last week, I made up a little survey for readers of this blog. I was looking for feedback on various topics, and I was collecting some data # especially in regards to changes that may be coming to Mainetoday.com. First and foremost, I want to thank the folks who took the time to fill out the survey. It is greatly appreciated, and your opinion is valuable to me. (It's not too late to offer your opinion, please take a look at the survey here)

One thing that I asked about was the "notifications" feature. This was an important practical question, as there's at least some chance that this feature will not be available in the future. I think this would be a major loss, and your responses suggest that. Of those who receive the notification, none of you think that you would read the blog as regularly without it. For those who didn't know what the "notification" feature is, it is simple a short email that is sent directly to you with a link to the blog every time it is updated. Therefore, you don't need to "check" the blog to see if there's a new entry, you just have to click on the link in your email. You can sign up to receive the notifications by entering your email address in the "Updates" field on the upper right hand side of the blog, below the advertisement, and next to my fat head.

I also received a lot of good feedback and comments, including suggestions for what else to add to the blog. One, was "answering reader's questions." Well, I'm happy to do that anytime! Just send me an email, or use the comment field at the bottom of the page, and I will answer questions on the blog. There was one request for regularly blogging about my Saturday morning birdwalk outings. I already do that! But, those are on the "News" page of www.yarmouthbirds.com. And finally, many thanks to the reader who suggested that I get a raise from Mainetoday.com. I love that idea! However, I would have to get paid first, before I could get paid more!