Monthly Archives: November 2021

Black-headed Gull

In July of 2018, Ingrid and I took a non-birding (gasp) motorcoach tour of Scotland. One day we drove through the coastal town of Leith . . . only memorable for two reasons. It was the birth place of the Proclaimers (I would roll 500 miles) and the hundreds of Black-headed Gulls sitting on every […]

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Red-headed Woodpecker

One of the frustration of a Big Year is looking for the same bird day after day after day. It takes on a Captain Ahab mentality where you hate the bird but become obsessed with finding it. Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s […]

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The Things One Finds Birding

The things one finds birding . . . This afternoon, Ingrid and I were out birding on Mackworth Island, a 40 acre, causeway accessible, wooded state park just north of Portland. In 1943, Maine Governor and Philanthropist Percival P. Baxter deeded the island to the state. The island is also home to the Governor Baxter […]

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Tundra Swans

In October of 2020, three juvenile Tundra Swans landed on Little Ossipee Pond in south-central Maine.  Tundra Swans are smaller cousins of the Mute Swans that are so iconic in the Northeast (think of the Boston Public Gardens). Tundra Swans, breed on . . . I bet you can guess . . . THE TUNDRA!!!! […]

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Ash-throated Flycatcher

“It’s right there.” “Where?” “Right there on the gravestone.” “Still not seeing it.” “It’s close to the fence by the church.” “I see it!!!!” So thats how I got Maine Big Year Bird #318 as fellow birder Leon Mooney helped me get my eyes on an Ash-throated Flycatcher. Ninety minutes earlier, I got my first […]

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Barnacle Goose

So I’m sitting in the stands looking out at the football field. Someone is shouting: “He’s at the 30”, “He’s at the 35”, “The 40”, “The 45”, “Across Mid-field”!!!! No, I didn’t give up birding for a day to go to a High School Football Game . . . I was watching a super rare […]

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Golden Eagle

I think I saw my first Bald Eagle when I was about thirty. Back then, before the internet and indoor plumbing, DDT was prevalent in the environment making Eagles shells both thin and brittle . . . causing the eggs to shatter long before the eaglets were ready to hatch. After DDT was banned, the […]

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