Last night we had a big storm with the wind kicking up to 40 miles an hour with heavy rain. I got up early hoping that the weather would create a fallout and have migrating birds dropping into ocean front tree groves. I did see lots of warblers . . . but they all were […]
With Ingrid hosting her annual 4th grade open house, I took a drive down to Popham Beach to do a little birding at dusk. I watched a flock of Semipalmated Sandpipers and Plovers perform high speed maneuvers for about 5 minutes. Photographing it was pure luck. Lots of birds in the air . . . but […]
After a morning meeting in Bath, Maine . . . I took a quick drive over to one of my favorite birding sports . . . Butler Head for a quick 15 minute stroll. Birding in a business suit is a bit unorthodox but I soon heard a rhythmic chirp that I was unfamiliar with […]
I’m down in St. Petersburg, Florida on business and had a little time free in the late afternoon. Braving the 92 degree sun I walked five minutes from the hotel to nearby Mirror Lake. In 45 minutes I got seven first of year birds including two lifers (Wood Stork and Nanday Parakeet). The Nanday was […]
We took Maine Audubon’s pelagic trip out of Bar Harbor this morning. An amazing 8+ hours on a high speed Cat (33+kt/p/h) took us into Canadian waters. We saw numerous seabirds . . . many of which spend 10 months a year in the ocean and only return to land to nest. The highlight was […]
Ingrid recommended a new birding spot this morning, Ferry Beach in Scarborough, Maine. In the distance I saw the biggest congregation of Herons I have ever seen . . . dozens of Snowy Egrets; a bunch of Great Egrets; a handful of Great Blue Herons; and even a Little Blue Heron. Unfortunately the convention was a […]
Daily runs have been a part of my life since middle school . . . and Ingrid and I ran together most days since we met. Unfortunately I had to get my left knee replaced last March and my right knee goes under the knife in January . . . so Ingrid is running alone […]
Ingrid recommended a new birding spot . . . Crystal Beach in Cape Elizabeth . . . and boy was she right. House Wren, Brown Thrasher, flycatchers and shorebirds galore . . . what a morning.
Birding early this morning in Cape Elizabeth on the first day of school. The sunrise was great and lots of gnats were in the air . . . but didn’t see many birds.
I had read some posts about a colony of Fish Crows at the Windham Mall . . . a town thirty miles inland from Portland. On Labor Day afternoon I braved 90 degree weather and tourist traffic to add this unusual bird to our life list. Drove in behind the Bank of America branch (as […]
Ingrid and I were up at the crack of dawn for to look for migrating warblers. Within a few minutes of arriving we were thrilled to see the trees filled with Cape May, Black-throated Green and Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats and American Redstarts. On the way home we saw a beautiful American Bald Eagle.
Recent sighting of a Prothonotary Warbler led me to Butler Head in Bath, hoping to see this rare bird (at least in the northeast), Arriving at sunrise, I saw a wide variety of warbler . . . and was thrilled to see the Prothonotary high in a pine tree. Unfortunately upon returning home and reviewing […]
With temperatures hitting 90, Ingrid and I realized that we needed an air conditioner for the Condo Bedroom. So I was up early to check Lowes, Home Depot and Walmat (all out of stock). Naturally I had to do a little birding at Capisic Pond and got a first of the year Solitary Sandpiper.
This evening when I was driving to our condo in Cape Elizabeth, I noticed a small flock of birds flying a few dozen feet above the road. Instinctually I assumed they were pigeons or starling . . . but then I looked again and was thrilled to realize they were Common Nighthawks. This is […]
At the break of dawn this morning went out to Butler Head to see it the Prothonotary Warbler was still around (it wasn’t) but its clear the warblers are beginning to move through. Saw Yellow-Rumps, Black-and-Whites, Yellow and a bunch of Common Yellowthroats. The highlight was a Rose-breasted Grosbeak (which looked enormous after scanning warblers […]
BigYearBirding.com crashed on August 23, 2018 and we decided that this an opportune time to redesign the site. It may take a while . . . thanks for your patience.
For the last week, Ingrid and I have been taking a motor coach tour of Scotland . . . a non-birding vacation (gasp). Of course we still managed to see and photograph a bird of two. Our Scotland List One of the most beautiful and historic nations in the world . . . we had […]
I was jogging today at a nearby nature preserve (and started hearing a bird singing that I didn’t recognize. A zee-zee-zee sound, ascending the scale and repeated 9 or 1o times. It was very incessant and since I was running with my phone I tried a new app called Song Sleuth which quickly told me […]
Went for a morning jog on my new knee and heard Black-throated Green and Black-and-White Warblers singing all around me. When I got home (now my other knee is hurting), I rush back out with my camera and got photos of the two warblers (plus a Common-yellow Throat and Yellow Warbler), Cedar-waxwings and the Ospreys […]
The Maine birding community is all “a flutter” (that never gets old) about the White-faced Ibis being seen at Scarborough Marsh. The problem is . . . I don’t think it’s a White-face Ibis. I’ve made multiple trips to the Marsh and on the hike in birder after birder told me excitedly that they had […]
For almost six years, Ingrid has been commuting from our home in Wiscasset, Maine to Pond Cove School in Cape Elizabeth . . . and hour each way. In the last few years the commute has lengthened, and she has been spending two and a half hours a day in her car. This past winter […]
With most birds on their nests and spring migration in the rear view mirror . . . I headed up to headed up to the Hidden Valley Nature Center in nearby Jefferson, Maine to check out their bog. Saw a Canada Warbler, a Broad-winged Hawk and a variety of other warblers. [ngg src=”galleries” ids=”346″ display=”pro_mosaic”]
So it’s my 60th birthday and Ingrid said she’d go birding with me to celebrate . . . but first she wanted to running. So I birded from the deck. Then Ingrid had to stop for groceries . . . so I continued to bird from the deck. When she got home she had to […]
For Christmas 2017, Ingrid gave me a birding trip to the White Mountains of New Hampshire with a goal of getting the elusive and high elevation Bicknell’s Thrush. The trip was led by renown bird guide Derek Lovitch; another 8 birders; all transported in a big white van . . . ultimate destination . . […]
| Copyright 2024 |