On Sunday, Ed, Luke, Ian and I did a “Big Day.” A Big Day is an attempt to see as many birds within a single day within some boundaries, usually a specific state. The World Series of Birding in New Jersey is midnight to midnight. Winter Big Days, however, are not quite as big – with few birds vocal at night, no nocturnal migrants, and no “dawn chorus,” there’s little reason to become completely sleep-deprived. Therefore, we began listening for owls at 5:15am, and finished – again, listening for owls, at about 7:00 pm.

Not only are winter Big Days a little less intense; they produce far fewer birds – at least in Maine (and most of the temperate world). February is often of the least species-rich months, so we decided to hold our “Little Big Day” (in honor of our friend Rich, who moved away last year) this last Sunday in February. Our goal was 75 species.

We began at Florida Lake Park in Freeport, quickly hearing Northern Saw-whet and Great-horned Owls. A stop for Barred Owl was unsuccessful, however, but we figured we had the evening as well, if we didn’t run into one during the day. Working our way to Warren, we picked up Pine Grosbeaks (2) in downtown Wiscasset and twitched an early Northern Pintail in the Warren River in downtown Warren. Our next stop was surely a highlight of the day, the Maine-ly Poultry farm, where we quickly tallied 31 Bald Eagles, and spotted our main quarry – the Black Vulture.

Flyover Bohemian Waxwings (about 75) in Damariscotta (plus some more Pine Grosbeaks here and there), but we missed a few things between Brunswick and Freeport, before adding Dunlin (32) at Winslow Park. But, then things turned a bit cold, as two Yarmouth feeder stops (one, at a friend’s house for Red-bellied Woodpecker and Pine Siskin, and the store for Carolina Wren and White-throated Sparrow) were fruitless, but 15 Greater Scaup off the Cousin’s Island bridge did make things in Yarmouth a little better.

No Merlin, but instead a Northern Shrike, in a Falmouth Foreside neighborhood, and then great luck in Portland: 2 Iceland Gulls and the rather-undependable Glaucous Gull in Old Port, plus scoring the Peregrine Falcon on the Casco Bay Bridge (after missing it in Brunswick) without having to walk in from South Portland was big.

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!

Jeannette and I just returned from three days of visiting friends, family, and rare gulls in Gloucester, Mass. My friends from New Jersey Audubon were leading their annual trip to Eastern Mass this weekend, Jeannette’s Aunt from Norway was visiting, and there were a ridiculous number and variety of gulls – both regular and rare – this winter in and around Gloucester. As if we really needed an excuse to visit Cape Ann in winter, now we had three excuses, so off we went!

The gull-watching has been a larophile’s dream this winter, with unprecedented numbers of Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, huge numbers of the usual abundant species (Herring and Great Black-backed, plus smaller numbers of Ring-billed), and a few “Megas.” Three or more Thayer’s Gulls have been seen on occasion, but the real headliner has been a Slaty-backed Gull, a very rare visitor from Siberia, (or two, as there had been two earlier in the winter) that has been frequenting the various Gloucester gull hot-spots, including Niles Pond and Eastern Point Light, both of which are in my in-law’s neighborhood. While I have seen a number of Slaty-backs during my stints on St. Paul Island in Alaska, Jeannette has not seen one, so this was a primary target.

My hypothesis as to why this amazing aggregation of birds is occurring here this year is related to the fishing industry. Groundfishing boats from Maine are fishing in the Gulf of Maine, but bring their landings to Massachusetts, especially Gloucester, because they are allowed to land by-catch lobsters in the state – and that is strictly prohibited in Maine. I’ll avoid the politics of all of this, but as it relates to gulls, it only makes sense that all of these white-winged gulls are following these boats out of more northerly Maine waters to Gloucester. The rarities are following as well, and/or are simply attracted by the masses of birds in and around Gloucester. Then, there's the "Cape May Effect" - lots of great birders birding an area and finding even more great birds. The occurrence of Slaty-backed Gulls, meanwhile, on the East Coast is an ongoing event – which my co-author Marshall discussed in our Changing Seasons essay in North American Birds (by the way, I’m still waiting for that to go on-line so I can offer a link here on the blog).

Gloucester.

On Sunday, we met up with my friends from NJ Audubon in Gloucester for a day of birding around the Cape. The Jodrey Fish pier, Niles Pond, and Eastern Point Light all held some Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, while a 3rd Cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull was also present on Niles Pond. But, no Slaty-backed Gull.

1st Cycle Glaucous Gull at the Jodrey Fish Pier.

Birding around South Portland on Friday morning did not produce anything out of the ordinary, but I did spot a single first-cycle Iceland Gull off of Mill Creek Cove. Our Saturday morning birdwalk was eventful, with some very good birds, and some good adventures (snowshoeing in an old orchard and pushing my car out of a snowbank. Oops). I had also arranged to visit a very birdy yard on Cousin’s Island with the group this morning, and this stop was very productive, highlighted by this most cooperative Pine Siskin sipping from a heated bird bath.

Meanwhile, there has been quite a bit of stuff about birds in the news of late.

But first, here’s another article about the ethanol boondoggle.

Then, there’s the Horseshoe Crab and Red Knot issue in the Delaware Bay. If you have not seen the excellent Nature episode on the Knot – which first aired this past Sunday – I highly recommend it.

Jeannette and I just returned from a very brief 2-day “vacation” to Belfast. For one thing, we’ve wanted to go birding there for a while (I’ve never birded the area). Secondly, we wanted a brief break to recharge from the business issues of the past couple of weeks. And finally, the inside of our house is being painted, and we wanted to get away from the fumes and drywall dust (While I hate to pay someone to do something I COULD do, they have gotten more accomplished in the past three days than we would have done in three weeks. Plus, it looks a lot better. And, I flat out suck at mudding dry wall!)

So, on Tuesday morning we set out, despite the forecast for Wednesday. After breakfast in Damariscotta, our first stop was the Maine-ly Poultry farm in Warren that has been hosting a Black Vulture all winter. This was only the second “BV” that I have seen in Maine, and for this southerly species to be overwintering is truly a rare event indeed. But, more impressive, really, was the conglomeration of Bald Eagles that has built up here this winter – we tallied at least 29!

Our next stop was a snowshoe trek at the Beech Hill Preserve in Rockport (producing a Northern Shrike and a couple of large flocks of American Robins foraging on Staghorn Sumac). This was a really great park, despite the bitter cold wind today. And, the views were breathtaking – or was that just the bitter cold wind? Anyway, this was a great spot, and we’ll definitely visit here again – the birding potential looks enormous; just wish it was closer. Meanwhile, we spotted another shrike along Rte 1 in Northport, as we continued our way east.

We arrived at Belfast Harbor just after lunch, and quickly spotted the targets of the visit here: Barrow’s Goldeneye and gulls: lots and lots of gulls. Four hens and two drake Barrow’s were present – a rather low tally for the locale, no doubt due to the lack of ice along the coast this winter. About 2,000 gulls were present, roosting on piers and rooftops. While the number of birds was not shocking, what was most surprising was the fact that out of all of those gulls, every single one – except for one lone Ring-billed Gull – was a Herring Gull. Not a single white-winged gull to be found.

(Photos by Jeannette)

Saturday provided a short respite from the snowfall, with some very comfortable weather (low to mid-30’s for highs, very little wind, and even some sun in the morning) and it produced a very productive birdwalk. Later in the day, Jeannette and I enjoyed a flock of about 10 Pine Grosbeaks gorging on crabapples outside the store’s window.

Three inches of snow had accumulated in Pownal by Sunday morning, as I set off for my 6-mile “neighborhood loop.” The highlight was a Northern Shrike along Hodgson Road, my 20th of the winter in Maine. I was also impressed by the overall activity from resident species this morning – Tufted Titmice, Black-capped Chickadees, and White-breasted Nuthatches were especially vociferous, and many were singing up a storm.

Temperatures quickly rose to around 40 degrees by mid-day, before the second half of the latest storm system arrived. Last night’s snow was from warm-air advection ahead of a warm front, while this afternoon’s activity was associated with the trailing cold front. Speaking of afternoon activity, the feeders here at the store were quite busy today - plus quite a few robins in the bushes, but nothing out of the ordinary, except for the Meadow Vole that was busy under the snow-encrusted brush pile. This was definitely my longest, and best, view of this secretive – yet extremely abundant – species. Meanwhile, our resident Carolina Wren has been especially frequent of late – especially since we added a dish of dried mealworms (in addition to the offerings of live mealworms that get gobbled up immediately each morning) to the smorgasbord outside.

While on the subject of feeders, a new study that was just published details "the first large-scale experiment to prove that extra food put out in winter not only helps these birds to survive harsher weather but also enables them to have a more successful breeding season."

So, anyway, at 1:30pm in Yarmouth, the temperature was 41 degrees, there was a small patch of blue sky, and the winds were dead calm. Then, the snow began to fall once again, and I decided to pack it in and head home before the real nasty stuff arrived. The snow was accumulating quickly, and the wind picked up. Strong gusts ripped off a few pine branches and slapped them against the house, and whiteout conditions ensued (I’m really glad I left the store when we did!). There were even a few cracks of “thunder-snow.”

With a couple more fresh, fluffy inches on the ground this morning (and more light snow continuing through the afternoon), I FINALLY got out on my new cross-country skies for a short outing at Old Townhouse Park.

With errands to run in Portland, I first made a detour out to Capisic Pond Park in search of frugivores. I was not disappointed. In fact, I swept the roster of winter frugivores in Maine: 150+ American Robins, 35+ Cedar Waxwings, 8 Bohemian Waxwings, 6 European Starlings, 2 Northern Mockingbirds, and 2 Pine Grosbeaks.

Then, while walking around downtown Portland, I noticed there were still a lot of crabapples around One Portland Square. 6 American Robins were present, along with two overwintering White-throated Sparrows. However, when I walked by again an hour later, the trees were swarming with another 150+ American Robins and at least 100 Cedar Waxwings.

So, it looks like the big mid-winter flocks of Robins – arriving from point north, west, and east – are now upon us. I’m seeing a lot more in the past weeks, and the sightings reports are flooding into the store.

It’s been a rather busy few days, and combined with the rather sloppy weather, has limited my birding – much to my dismay. Originally, Jeannette and I were planning to take a couple of days off to go to Belfast. With the weather, and some important business at hand, we postponed that trip to next week. As the weather forecast continued to decline – from a traveling perspective – this idea was looking better and better.

On Tuesday, Jeannette and I stuck close to home, spending a couple of hours out and about in the morning. (14 Pine Grosbeaks were in the crabapples at the Pine Tree Academy on Pownal Rd as we headed out, by the way.) We decided to check two “new” spots. First up was Hidden Pond preserve in Freeport. This park looks like it holds a lot of potential for migrants, and perhaps localized breeders. But, it sure didn’t shine this day: 1 bird – a heard-only American Crow – in 35 minutes of wandering.

The next stop was a trail off of Bunganuc Rd in Brunswick that I believe is owned by the local land trust. Although the woods weren’t very birdy today, as expected for the season, the 20-minute walk out to Maquoit Bay was enjoyable, and the view of the water was superb. Over 100 American Black Ducks and 50+ Red-breasted Mergansers, along with smaller numbers of Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, and Long-tailed Ducks were present, and I am intrigued about this overlooks potential for closer views of shorebirds at low tide (and therefore not visible from Wharton Point) in the proper season. We also flushed two Ruffed Grouse from the promontory.

Meanwhile, light snow continued to fall. At least in Pownal, it never completely turned to rain – as predicted – and we ended up with a total of 3 very heavy and slushy inches, which was a real pain in the butt to clear from the driveway!

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.

On Sunday, I led a Gull Identification Workshop for York County Audubon. This outing was a bit different from my usual birdwalks and field trips, as it was very narrowly focused on just a few species. In fact, I didn’t even identify species at the first stop!

The reason? Gull identification begins with age identification. Since gulls take 2-4+ years to reach adulthood, and therefore adult plumage, there are not only many species of gulls (11 regularly occur in Maine), but also each species has up to 4 distinct plumages! However, once you can properly age each gull, identification to species becomes much easier. As we saw today, this can be learned relatively easily at any number of locations. The first step is a loaf of cheap bread or some stale popcorn. Throw it a few feet, step back, and learn your gulls!

With some cheap bread and nine budding larophiles (gull-lovers), we began at Back Cove, learning how to age the local Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, aided by a couple of loaves of cheap bread. Then, it was on to East End Beach, where we also worked through the ages of Great Black-backed Gulls as well. Although we barely looked at non-gulls today, I did have to stop and put the scope on a Northern Shrike here, since this was my 158th Eastern Prom Bird! (And, a few minutes earlier, I had another shrike fly over us as we were leaving the Back Cove parking lot, putting me at 19 for the winter!). But soon, it was back to focusing on larids!

After a spell at East End Beach – including the first round of the day’s quizzing! – we checked the piers and wharfs of Old Port. Unfortunately, few gulls were around – but that is to be expected on a Sunday when there’s no fishing activity at the docks. We did, however, enjoy good looks at one 1st Cycle (we also learned terminology like “cycle” today) Iceland Gull – one of at least four individuals of this species that has been hanging around the harbor this winter.

In the calm before the storm this morning, I ventured down to Biddeford Pool. Beginning at East Point, I quickly spotted the spiffy drake King Eider in his usual spot – with a small group of Common Eiders just off of the rocky ledge marked by the tall, rusting pole. A handful of Razorbills and a few Black-legged Kittiwakes were also present offshore, but the combination of heat shimmer off the water and scope-shake from the increasing wind made for rather difficult seawatching condition. Therefore, I soon moved in from off the point.

75-100 Purple Sandpipers were foraging on the rocks along Ocean Avenue, a single hen Greater Scaup continues there as well. The edge of the beach parking lot was its usually birdy self, but nothing out of the ordinary could be teased from the brush. And finally, at the Pool itself, three Ruddy Turnstones were foraging in the recently exposed flats – this is the only location in Maine where these pebble-flipping shorebirds overwinter.

I then began to work my way back to Yarmouth, with various stops including the Biddeford Boat Launch, Water Street in Saco (a previously reported Barrow’s Goldeneye was not present here this morning), and the Saco Yacht Club (one drake Common Merganser).