Jeannette and I returned late Monday night from a fantastic trip to the birding mecca of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Here, a number of sub-tropical and predominantly Mexican species make their appearances in the United States – some as vagrants, some even locally common in certain habitats that just make it across the border.

Warm, dry weather (a few of the days we were there we melted in temperatures in the low to mid 80’s) further add to the region’s popularity for winter birding. Numerous parks, private “sanctuaries,” and a real, true, and sincere effort to cater to birding tourists – and therefore a plethora of facilities and information catering to us – make this a very “easy” way (verses international travel) to see lots of birds in a relatively small area.

Jeannette and I arrived in McAllen in the afternoon of the 24th, and headed to our home base for the week – our friend’s Sean and Nancy in Edinburg. We were greeted by Sean, and their miniature poodle Pip, but also by a life bird for each of us: a Buff-bellied Hummingbird for me in Sean’s backyard (along with a rare-in-winter Hooded Oriole) and a Curve-billed Thrasher for Jeannette in a small vacant lot just down the road. This vacant lot and the irrigation canal adjacent to it produced even more lifers for me: Green Kingfisher, Vermillion Flycatcher, Ringed Kingfisher, and Golden-fronted Woodpecker. Great Kiskadees as an “ABA area” bird for me, and a calling Tropical Kingbird was an ABA bird for both of us. When Jeannette and I picked out a Northern Flicker in flight among the numerous commuting Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, we returned the favor to Sean as the Flicker was a Rio Grande Valley first for him.

Our first full day began at Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park. Plain Chacalacas, Green Jays, Black-crested Titmouse, Olive Sparrow, Long-billed Thrasher, Altamira Oriole, and Couch’s Kingbird were all new to me, and White-tipped Doves and a Gray Hawk were my first outside of Trinidad and Tobago. Pyrrhuloxia – a long-time nemesis for Jeannette, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Cinnamon Teal, and Inca Doves were among the many species we enjoyed as well. At the Hawk Tower, I spished up a male Lazuli Bunting - a very rare bird in the Rio Grande Valley; our rare bird discovery of the day.

THE non-birding highlight of the trip was the FOOD! We did our best to eat as many meals at as many hole-in-the-wall Mexican and Tex-Mex places as we could. Often, I relied on Jeannette to translate the menu and place the orders for me (I only speak English, and poorly at that, and “Joisey”). Despite walking almost all day, every day, I think I actually gained weight on this trip – the food was so good – and so cheap!

Now, this is more like it! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

(The feeding station at our store finally looking more January-like)

I like winter, I make no apologies about it, and I had a very enjoyable morning of birding in today’s snowfall. I have a 6 or so mile loop that I walk in Pownal, beginning and ending at our backyard, that I walk at least once a month. I walk roads that pass diverse habitats, from old hemlock groves to small farms to overgrown fields. There are lots of active bird feeders to look at, good winter finch habitat, and some locally uncommon brushy habitats.

The first flakes began to fall only minutes into the walk, and about an inch had already fallen by the time I got back. It was a productive walk, I flushed a Ruffed Grouse from the roadside, I heard a calling Brown Creeper, and I found another Northern Shrike, in a brushy meadow that I always pass by and think “That field should have a shrike in it.” This morning, it did.

I also heard Hairy Woodpeckers producing their territorial drumming, and a few Black-capped Chickadees were singing. Recently, a number of people have asked about their chickadees and why they were hearing the so-called “spring song” (Usually interpreted as “phoe-be, phoe-be”) when it’s obviously not spring yet, despite the recent warm temperatures.

For most birds, breeding activities are triggered not by temperature, but by photoperiod (changes in daylight). Increasing daylight after the Winter Solstice triggers hormonal changes that induce birds to begin to do certain things, like sing, display, and eventual mate. Temperatures change dramatically, as we are seeing now, and inconsistently. If breeding was triggered by warmth alone, then species would have been building nests in the last few days – but breeding would likely fail with the return of normal winter. Birds cannot afford to make these mistakes. Therefore, for most species – such as our Chickadees – birds breeding activities are coordinated by something standard – changes in daylight. (The one thing us humans have yet to screw up).

I spent this morning birding around Portland. There wasn’t too much to see, but I did enjoy being out in chilly weather once again – 30 degrees is just fine with me. It was a nice crisp, clear morning – what January mornings in Maine are supposed to be like!

I began at Dragon Field, once again hoping to find a Northern Shrike for my Dragon Field list. No luck with that, but I did enjoy a very good, close-up look at a couple of Snow Buntings.

Evergreen Cemetery was rather quiet, but I did have my most interesting observation of the morning. From a distance, I saw what looked like an injured bird flailing around on the ground. Was it hit by a predator? Convulsions from poisoning? I had no idea what was going on. As I got closer, I realized that it wasn’t one injured bird, but two fighting Black-capped Chickadees. They were locked together on the ground, rolling on the ground, pecking, kicking, wings flapping, feathers flying – it was fierce! I certainly have never seen a chickadee brawl this ferocious. This went on for about two minutes, the low sun at just the right angle to reflect off of each flying down feather. It only ended when a third chickadee jumped in to the melee (5 minute major, game misconduct for third man in), and two birds soon took off into the woods in close pursuit of the third. A half dozen other chickadees foraging the hemlock above didn’t seem to care.

My next stop, at Capisic Pond Park, was much less violent, but much more birdy. While there was nothing out of the ordinary, there was a fair amount of activity of the usual cast of characters.

The Eastern Promenade was quite productive however. Two lingering Gray Catbirds were dining on bittersweet, 2 Greater Scaup dove for shellfish offshore, and an adult Bald Eagle made a close pass over the flock of 1500+ Common Eider, sending them all into the air in one big black, white, and brown cloud. Bird of the morning honors though, goes to the drake American Wigeon that was loafing offshore with a few Mallards – likely the same bird that was my 150th Eastern Promenade bird back in November.

A quick check of the piers and docks of Old Port failed to produce any white-winged gulls, and nothing of note was to be seen in a brief check along West Commercial Street. But, I had some nice birds this morning, some very nice (to me anyway) weather, and yes, some snow is finally on the way!

I do believe I had a first this morning – viewing Barrow’s Goldeneye at Winslow Park WITHOUT gloves and with an unzipped jacket. This is certainly not the norm for viewing Barrow’s Goldeneye at Winslow Park on January 20th!

Now, I am not usually one to complain about the weather – and in fact birders as a whole are not usually complaining about the weather as some of the miserable weather than most people complain about is often quite good for birding. But, I am going to complain now! IT’S TOO WARM OUT! I want snow. I want to go cross-country skiing, and snowshowing, and I want to freeze my butt off looking at masses of waterfowl concentrated in the channel at the end of Winslow Park after the rest of the Harraseeket has frozen over! I want snow cover to concentrate sparrow at my feeders! I don’t want an extra mud season! And I really would have liked some deep snow to cushion the fall of my spotting scope this morning! In other words, I want JANUARY IN MAINE!

Granted, I thoroughly enjoy not wearing 127 layers to walk the dog and I am glad the oil truck is actually able to make it up our driveway again . . . but, I really do like winter!

This is just not normal: Snow Cover Map

OK, I am done whining now . . .

Did I mention how gorgeous Barrow’s Goldeneyes are in brilliant bright sunlight…especially when you can look through your scope without the vibration caused by one’s shivering?

There are two upcoming events that may be of interest.

The first is a program that I will be conducting at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester on Saturday, January 21st from 10:00am-12:00pm entitled:
“BIRDS IN WINTER”

This all-ages program will begin with slides and a discussion of how to identify some of our common backyards birds. We will then discuss different types of feeders, houses, seed, and other essential components of the backyard habitat. The second half of the program will be hands-on crafts for the kids, and a bird walk around the farm for the adults.

There is a small fee for this program, and registration is required. For more information, or to register, call Marlene Menard at 207-926-3913, ext 104.

Another upcoming event of note is a photography exhibit at the Visual Arts Center at Bowdoin College entitled:
"Everglades Imagery: Intimate Detail of a Vast Landscape"

This is an Honors Exhibition by Bowdoin student, birder, and photographer Drew Fulton showcasing his photographic study of the Florida Everglades (especially its bird life) conducted while he was in residence at Everglades National Park between January and June of 2005. If you haven’t seen Drew’s project’s webstite, check it out: Everglades Imagery.

This event runs between February 4 and 16th. Mark your calendars!

Jeannette and I simply had no choice but to take advantage of yesterday’s beautiful weather and use our day off to do some coastal birding. Normally, mid-January birding along Maine’s coast does not yield complaints of having over-dressed. But, as temperatures climbed through the 40’s again, layers were rapidly shed.

We began the day at Fort Foster in Kittery, hoping for Black-headed Gull. No luck with that but we did have great looks at a Northern Shrike. Nearby Seapoint Beach only hosted the usual cast of characters, as did York Harbor (after stopping for treats and hot caramel apple cider at the Bagel Basket in York as we usually do while birding this route in winter!) and Long Sands Beach. A brief check of the neighborhood near The Nubble in Cape Neddick produced little, except for a small flock of about 10 American Robins.

Around the Nubble itself however, we began our tally of Harlequin Ducks (6). A pleasant surprise was a drake Barrow’s Goldeneye feeding in the surf, the first time that I have seen this species here. Two more Harlequin Ducks were off of Short Sands Beach, and then we tallied 21 from various stops along Shore Road in Ogunquit.

The Cliff House – one of the most popular winter birding destinations in the state – yielded 15 more Harlequin Ducks and a couple of Black Guillemots. Perkin’s Cove hosted its usual large flock of Mallards, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Our last stop of the day, Marginal Way – the shoreline path that begins at the Perkin’s Cove parking lot – also produced the birds of the day. While I was counting more Harlequin Ducks (20 more, giving us an impressive total of 62 on the day), Jeannette spotted three lingering Eastern Bluebirds perched in a tree – a nice January treat. However, that sighting was soon trumped when we found our target bird of the day’s outing – a King Eider! There have only been one or two reports all winter of this charismatic species. Usually, one to three birds are found between Cape Elizabeth and York (like at the Cliff House, Wells Harbor, Two Lights State Park for example) and stay put long enough to be enjoyed by many birders. Not this winter though – so Jeannette and I hoped to find one this day. Hopefully, this individual will remain in the area to be enjoyed by all – I really believe that this is one of the most beautiful birds in the world!

My birding for the weekend was limited to a brief walk around the edge of our hotel’s parking lot in Atlanta (Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eastern Towhee, Northern Cardinal, and a whopping 7 other species), plus a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds from the window at the Waffle House during breakfast. Other than that, my use of binoculars for the last 3 days has been limited to playing with them indoors at the trade show.

Birding withdrawal symptoms were quite evident by the end of this weekend. Twitching in one eye. A tendency to start spishing as I walked by a booth with bird sounds eminating from it. One optics representative even thought that he heard me muttering bird names as I scanned the trade shore floor with their newest product. Therefore, the first thing I did this morning was take the dog for a walk at Hedgehog Mountain Park. Nothing cures birding withdrawal like a (immature) Northern Shrike perched atop a sapling in the low morning light, simply glowing against a vivid, crisp, blue sky!

Among many of the interesting discussions that Jeannette and I had with many other store owners and vendors over the course of the weekend related to perceived declines in activity at bird feeders throughout the Eastern U.S. Store owners from Missouri to Michigan to Florida to Maine (us) have all seen a decline in feeding volume. So, what does this mean?

Well, it means very little, actually – from a bird’s perspective anyway. It does not seem to be disease, it is does not seem to be population declines (for most species), but it seems to be nothing more than nature! Despite the below zero windchills Jeannette and I felt when we stepped off the plane last night (boy, that was a rude awakening!), it has in fact been a very mild winter – throughout the East Coast. A good growing season (plenty of rain) in many places, like the Northeast, followed by a mild winter (so far) means there is plenty of natural food available.

For the most part, birds are not dependent on bird feeders. Bird feeding is a supplement (certainly a helpful one on a morning like today). Birds are not dependent on our food – they use it in addition to natural sources of food. American Goldfinches for example, will eat less Nyger seed when there is an abundance of natural crops like thistle, primrose, birch, and alder. Therefore, when nature’s bounty is available, our offerings are less important.

Greetings from Atlanta . . . Stuck indoors for only 1 1/2 of 3 1/2 days so far, but I am already showing symptoms of birding withdrawal!

Luckily, I had a couple of hours of pseudo-birding before the conference started. After arriving 3 hours EARLY in Atlanta (how often do you hear that?) when the flight we were supposed to be on never made it to Portland due to fog and we were placed on a much quicker, non-stop flight instead. Darn.

Jeannette and I used that little time for a brief "vacation." We hopped on the subway and headed to explore downtown Atlanta. OF COURSE, I had binoculars packes, so I was able to do a little birding in Centennial Olympic Park - which, despite the park being more concrete than vegetation, produced a dozen species, including Gray Catbird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, White-throated Sparrow, and Northern Mockingbird . . .and of course Rock Pigeon, House Sparrow, and European Starling.

Anyway . . .

Here's an article that I found quite interesting. Humans may be feeding birds now - hence why we are in Atlanta for a bird feeding and bird watching trade show, BUT, 2 million years ago, we were REALLY FEEDING birds!

Eagles Used to Prey on our Ancestors

Most birders have a “nemesis bird.” A bird that, despite significant effort, eludes observation. Jeannette’s “nemesis bird” is the Varied Thrush. She has only heard, but not seen them in California, and attempts to “chase” them elsewhere have been unsuccessful.

Last winter, we chased one in Newburyport, MA only to later find out that we missed the bird while we helped to dig a car out of a snowbank! We were not rewarded for our good Samaritan efforts that day! This year, two Varied Thrushes have been turned up within about 2 hours of our home. But, with the holiday shopping season, we were without a day off for a month. But yesterday, with our regular day off back on schedule, we decided a Varied Thrush chase was in order.

One bird, in Old Town, ME has been present for over a month, reliably visiting a feeder, but it had not been seen in 3 days. (The homeowner, by the way, was welcoming birders to come look for the bird – see the comments from my last blog entry). So, we decided to head south to look for a bird hanging out in Boston’s Fenway section.

The bird has been frequenting a small area of “The Fens,” near the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials. Our plan was to bird a park while rush-hour traffic cleared, head to the Fens, see the Thrush, and then get a good lunch in the North End, and bird our way home. So much for that plan.

We only left about 10 minutes late in the morning, but hit enough traffic on our way down to fall even farther behind schedule. Our first stop was Deer Island in Winthrop, part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Historic Park. We enjoy walking there, as the open fields often contain sparrows, seaducks are abundant offshore, and the panoramic views of the city and the other Harbor Islands are outstanding. (The “hills” at Deer Island, by the way, were created by the excavations for the gigantic sewage treatment plant there that has done wonders to clean up Boston Harbor – remember those devastating ads that George H.W. Bush ran against Dukakis in ’88?) Despite rather slow birding – an American Kestrel was the highlight, a few American Tree and Song Sparrows were in the fields, and Common Eiders, scoters, and Common Goldeneye were abundant offshore – we spent more time here than we planned, so left for the Fens even later than we planned.

Now, usually, when we go into the city we take the “T.” This time, we took our dog, and therefore our car. Mistake. Driving in Boston is no way to relax on a day off. And, as is usual of when we drive into Boston, we got lost. We did eventually find the Fens, and eventually where the monuments were, and we eventually even found parking! But, by this time, it was already 11:30am.

We were most afraid to have heard that others had already seen the bird, and a Cooper’s Hawk had just taken it out. We arrived, but no other birders were present, but there WAS a Cooper’s Hawk – luckily, she had not eaten recently. We were soon joined by another birder, so at least we knew we were in the right place.

A lingering Fox Sparrow was a good find, as was an Eastern Towhee and a Red-bellied Woodpecker (nice for us from up north anyway). Lots of birds were in the area, but no Varied Thrush was to be found. We spent an hour and a half searching, before our stomachs came calling. We found a nearby deli, which took forever to make two sandwiches. We got back to the park - the other birder was no where to be seen - he did say he only had 2 hours before his meter ran out, right? He didn’t see the bird and now went home did he? We were in that deli for a while!

Well, nothing we can do except eat. So we did. Uh, let’s just say that the sandwiches were NOT worth waiting for. In fact, they were terrible – not that great Boston Deli sandwich we were planning on. So, not only did we (so far anyway) miss out on the Varied Thrush, we missed out on our great lunch that we were equally as excited about! By 2:00, we decided to throw in the towel and head north.

We stopped at Dunback Meadows in Lexington, where – thanks to information from the birder that we ran into in the Fens – has been hosted a number of Long-eared Owls. We wandered around that park for a while. Although we didn’t find any Long-ears (a birder we ran into there told us none have been seen in a couple of days), Jeannette did spot a Northern Saw-whet Owl WAY up in a Red Pine - far higher than I have ever seen one of this little gnomes. (Jeannette's on a roll with these guys - two within a week!). A cooperative Northern Shrike was also seen, for another consolation prize.

“This is why I don’t chase birds,” exclaimed Jeannette on multiple occasions.

Common Eider, Deer Island:

Boston skyline:

The Hills of Deer Island:

That's a LOT of poo!!

By the way, Jeannette and I leave tomorrow morning for 4 days in Atlanta. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how I am going to escape to get some birding in - this is for a Convention and Trade Show. Ugh, four days indoors. See ya Monday!

A Western Tanager has been frequenting a feeder in South Portland since the middle of last week. This wayward visitor from the West breeds between the Rockies and the Pacific Coast, from southernmost Northwest Territories into northernmost Mexico. It normally winters from Central Mexico south, but a few each year wander eastward and will even overwinter in the Northeast. Last year, one spent a part of the winter at a Georgetown feeder. Right now, there is one hanging out Downeast at a Winterport feeder.

This morning, I decided to have a look at the bird. It is apparently most dependably seen between 8:00 and 9:00am, so I arrived at about 8:10. Coincidently, Marian, on her way to work pulled up less than a minute later. We were told to watch the feeders behind the cedar. So we did.

After waiting for about 5 minutes, a CMP Meter Reader came by, and when he pushed some branches of the cedar aside to look at the meter, the Tanager flew out. Luckily, it soon returned. Eight minutes later, the Tanager dropped over to feed on suet for a bit. It would then return to the cedar, and remain motionless for up to 10 minutes, before again returning to the feeder. I snapped some poor, but adequate for documentation, photographs and then moved on. A nice treat on another snowy winter morning!

The bird is on the lower right of the suet cage, by the way. Look for the bright orange bill.

Here's another attempt; also taken by holding my camera up to my binoculars. More of the bird is visible here, but it is not as sharp:

Also, directions to the bird, and viewing suggestions can be found on our store's website

My next stop was Bug Light Park. I was very disturbed at what I saw. Half of the park’s trees - scrubby Scotch Pines - had been thinned and cleared of all of their lower branches. The stand of sumac – popular with Robins and Waxwings - was gone, as was the scrubby vines and saplings that were slowly, but surely, forming an understory. While there may be a practical reason for this “landscaping,” I sure hope it’s a better reason than that someone thought it looked better this way (The classic “European Parkland” style of clear sight lines and no understory that impacts management of a number of parks in the area). Either way, the value of the park to both birds and birders has been significantly diminished. It’s too bad, I have enjoyed many-a-mornings of birding Bug Light during migration as the thick pines harbored lots of bugs for hungry warblers and lots of good cover for other migrants – from Long-eared Owls to tons of sparrows.

Here’s what it used to look like – and ½ of the park still looks like.

Here’s what it now looks like – and I fear the other ½ will look like soon.

This morning’s destination was Biddeford Pool. Light snow began to fall soon after I arrived. It was cold, temperatures were only around 20. It was gray. It felt like, looked like, and smelled like winter in Maine. It just had that feel of a day meant for sightings of Shrikes, Redpolls, alcids, Rough-legged Hawks, and maybe even a Gyrfalcon! It was a day to look for birds from the north.

I began at East Point Sanctuary, searching through hundreds of Common Eiders, hoping to find a King Eider. No luck. One Razorbill fed close to shore and at least 4 Black Guillemots loafed on the calm ocean waters. On the exposed rocks offshore a flock of about 75 Purple Sandpipers were scattered by a hunting Northern Harrier.

A lone Snow Bunting flew over the neighborhood, and one Yellow-rumped Warbler foraged in some Pitch Pines. The “bird of the day” honors goes to an immature Northern Shrike that perched atop a small tree at the corner of Ocean Avenue and L.B. Orcutt Boulevard, looking for birds or rodents in the bushes below.

Not much was to be seen at Hattie’s Deli, one male Harlequin Duck was off of Biddeford Pool Beach, and Hill’s Beach only hosted the usual cast of characters today. I poked around various access points to the Saco River – nothing out of the ordinary there, and a quick spin through Laurel Hill Cemetery produced plenty of fruit, but no fruit-eaters.

Well, I got a shrike and some alcids on this wintery day - guess a Gyrfalcon will have to wait.

I began my day at Kettle Cove. Not too much around, but a Lapland Longspur flew over, calling. I walked down the beach of Crescent Beach State Park – one Snow Bunting and 6 Horned Larks, and a Hooded Merganser flew by. The pinewoods were quite – no crossbills or any other finches as I had hoped.

But, the scrubby area inland from the dunes was much more productive. Winterberry, Multiflora Rose, and Oriental Bittersweet provided a bounty of berries for hungry frugivores (fruit-eaters) and today, a flock of at least 100 American Robins had descended upon them.

While it is not completely unexpected to find a Gray Catbird along Maine’s coast in winter – when there is a good supply of fruit around – this year are being found a little more often (likely a combination of the good fruit crop and a mild fall). So, when I observed one in the bushes today, I was not surprised. But, I was surprised to find two more. 3 Gray Catbirds in January in Maine is not to be expected. A lingering Hermit Thrush also joined in the festivities.

Meanwhile, off of Two Lights State Park the large raft of Black Scoters numbered between 800-900 birds. This is the most of this species that I have seen in one spot in winter in Maine. They were being quite vociferous as well, and many males were beginning to display. Toss in a few hundred Common Eiders, a few Harlequin Ducks, White-winged Scoters, Common Loons, Horned Grebes, Surf Scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, and Red-breasted Mergansers and you have quite a sight to see!

I finished off the morning at Village Crossings, where a low pass by a Cooper’s Hawk caused 55 American Robins, 30 Cedar Waxwings, and a small number of European Starlings, House Finches, and American Goldfinches to take flight.

On a cold, mid-winter morning, there is little that I enjoy more than a visit to Freeport’s Winslow Park. And this morning was no exception.

Waterfowl are abundant at Winslow in winter. In another few weeks, as the ice of the upper rivers, bays, and coves freeze, ducks will be even more concentrated here. At the tip of the park, between the park and Pound of Tea Island, a strong current keeps the water open in all but the coldest of seasons. While there isn’t too much ice on the bay yet, there are still plenty of ducks around Winslow right now.

This morning, two huge flocks of Common Eiders totaled at least 3,000 birds – an impressive sight. Among about 1,000 of them, at the tip of the park, I found a needle in a haystack – a Common Eider of the northern “borealis” subspecies. The drakes of this subspecies differ by having an orange-yellow shield (instead of the pea green) above the bill that tapers to a fine point (as opposed to rounded on the “regular” eiders). Borealis Common Eiders are very rare south of Downeast Maine, but they are probably a bit more regular than reports would suggest (how many of us really take the time to look at Eider noses – I know I usually don’t!). They breed in high Arctic Canada, and are sometimes known as “Arctic” or “Northern” Common Eider.

And of course, there are the local Barrow’s Goldeneyes. I have mentioned these gorgeous ducks a few times before, but I will mention them again – and likely mention them again and again for the next few months. For one thing, I like them. Two, they’re absolutely stunning. And three, they’re not all that common. In fact, the flock that overwinters at Winslow Park is the southernmost wintering flock on the East Coast. Last year, I had up to 24 birds at one time, with the high count coming in the midst of a deep freeze in late February. Today, I had my largest count so far this season - 15 ¾. 9 adult males, 1 subadult male, and 5 females, along with a continuing hybrid that appears (after some lengthy discussion with a number of excellent birders) to be a hybrid between a Common and a Barrow’s Goldeneye that then backcrossed with a Barrow’s – or so we hypothesize anyway.

And let’s not forget the dozens of Mallards, American Black Ducks, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneyes, and Red-breasted Mergansers, as well as Long-tailed Ducks, Canada Geese, Surf Scoters, Common Loons, the occasional Bald Eagle and all sorts of other fun things.

It’s only January 3rd, and I already have my second cold of the winter. Argh, I hate being sick. This one has hit me pretty hard too. But, today, being sick paid off!

If I wasn’t sleeping in, I would have likely been out seawatching at dawn (there was a stiff northeast wind this morning). If I was seawatching at dawn, I wouldn’t have been home to see what Jeannette found while walking Sasha at Hedgehog Mountain:

(This photo was adjusted for contrast in Photoshop)

Jeannette raced home, got my lazy butt out of bed, and we refound this yellow-eyed gnome of the north woods, the Northern Saw-whet Owl. An exciting addition to my Hedgehog Mountain Park list! . . . And any owl is always a treat to see!

Jeannette found the owl by observing the mobbing behavior of a flock of Black-capped Chickadees. The bird was not asleep, either because it was still hunting after dawn, or because the chickadees had found its roost. The answer to that question was readily apparent by the time we returned – it has moved a few fir trees away, but in the meantime it had found breakfast – a shrew – which it was clutching in its tiny, yet powerful, talons.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Many birders keep “Year Lists.” All of the species that they have seen within one calendar year, usually within a specific area, such as the state of Maine, or North America. One of the intrigues of “year listing” is that each year, you’re basically starting from scratch – on January 1, the slate is cleared, and you need to see a Chickadee again for the first time! Effort must be made to “clean up” all of the regular wintering birds, the passage migrants, and the localized breeders. And then there are the rarities – do you chase a spring Lark Sparrow Downeast, or do you hope for one to show up in Scarborough Marsh in October?

Year listing is a popular pursuit of many birders. Personally, I have never caught the year listing bug – I stick to my dedication of building my Patch Lists – but I tend to always have a mental list of what I have and have not seen yet in a given year. Even though beginning our new year list was not the motivation, the chance to enjoy a leisurely day off and do some birding was more than enough to convince us to bundle up and head out to the frozen tundra of Scarborough Marsh. And, it was a very rewarding outing.

The extremely high tides would hopefully force birds such as Horned Larks up to the edges of the marsh, so we began on the raised bed of Eastern Road. Robby had the same idea – he was however, beginning his new year list - and so the three of us (and Sasha as well of course) headed down the trail. 10 Horned Larks flitted about, and we tallied an additional 19 from various other non-inundated corners of the marsh throughout the day. A real treat was our prolonged observation of an actively hunting immature Northern Shrike that has been hanging out along the trail there. We watched as it made repeated short flights to hover-hunt over the marsh grasses. A few minutes later, we watched as the Shrike struggled to carry a hearty breakfast of fresh vole to the treeline – it was trying to gain altitude, but for every few feet it rose, it seemed to drop a few feet lower as it’s undulating flight finally carried the shrike and it’s meal to the cover of some pines.

Shrikes are such awesome birds! These little wanna-be raptors will sometimes take birds nearly their own size, and some small mammal foodstuffs can even weigh more than they do! They also eat large insects. Their nickname, the Butcherbird, derives from their habit of caching uneaten food items in a “larder,” usually a thorny bush or tree -but sometimes a barbed wire fence – where they will store uneaten food by impaling it on a thorn! Despite their size (smaller than a Robin) these are fierce little predators!

Another highlight of our outing was absolutely stunning views of an adult Bald Eagle that made multiple passes overhead as it scanned the marsh for an unsuspecting duck or gull. Bathed in the bright sunlight, with a backdrop of the deepest blue sky you can see, the majestic eagle effortlessly glided overhead, inspiring Robby to hum the national anthem.