This weekend has been beautiful, if unseasonably cold. With Ingrid busy doing class work I did some pretty heavy birding. With the winter birds arriving and some late migrators hanging around . . . I had fun. Late on Sunday after a couple hours at Reid State Park I was getting in the car when […]
Winter in Maine is long, cold and dark and for a birder spring migration seems a long way away. But along the coast there are a lot of winter sea birds to keep us company. Yesterday I saw my first Harlequin Ducks of the season (dozens and dozens of them). My first Long-tailed Duck. And […]
In Maine, you know that winter can’t be far away when the American Tree Sparrows begin to appear. Their reddish cap and two white wing bars set them apart from our other cold weather sparrows.They breed in the Arctic.
Ruddy Ducks occasionally are seen in Maine during migration . . . but not very often . . . except . . Each year on a large Pond in the center of the State, hundreds of Ruddy Ducks descend upon Sabattus Lake to feast on Chinese Mystery Snails . . . an invasive species that […]
Four days ago, Maine was hit by a destructive wind storm that knocked out power for days. The winds remained high until yesterday when it was finally safe to explore the woods for birds (fallout conditions???). Nothing extraordinary was seen . . . but Ingrid found a rare (for Maine) Red-bellied Woodpecker in a […]
I was in Puerto Rico part of this week on business . . . and as I grow older business travel is becoming just plain miserable. Once I learned of the trip, poor Ingrid (my wonderful and under appreciated wife) . . . in order to get me to shut up and quit whining suggested […]
Monhegan Island is a relatively small island ten miles off the coast of Maine. While only a little over a mile and a half long and under three quarters of a mile wide . . . it has endless well maintained trails through a variety of habitat . . . and is one of the […]
A couple weeks ago, Hurricane Dorian swept up the eastern seaboard after devastating parts of the Bahamas. Its often overlooked the effect that a big storm has on wildlife and this week birders along the coast of Maine have been reminded of this fact. Black Skimmers are peculiar looking bird that uses their enormous bill […]
This morning I was looking for migrating warbler at a local hots spot (Butler head) when I started hearing a weird gurgling sound from the nearby marsh. It was a happy sound coming from a handful of location across the quarter mile expanse of reeds. As listened I began to suspect a Wren and putting […]
For us, one of the highlights of September each year (other than the return of the New England Patriots) is Maine Audubon’s Deep Sea Pelagic Trip. In years past we’ve seen Jaeger, Shearwaters and Skuas up close and personal while sharing comradely with other birders. Yesterday’s trip was completely different. . . the seas were […]
This afternoon I was birding at Timber Trail in Biddeford. Didn’t see much until I was heading back to the car. I was looking at some Peeps with my binoculars when they all flew at once as a falcon buzzed them. I tracked the attacker back to a power pole . . . and […]
As shorebird migration continues all around us . . . I’ve spent a lot of time looking for a Western Sandpiper in the thousands of peeps. The Western Sandpiper, true to its name, rarely migrates through New England. Last year I got one late in October and a number of them have been sighted this […]
Several months ago, Jeff (our financial advisor) offered to take us out into Casco Bay for a little pelagic birding. After several “no goes” due to scheduling conflicts we finally found a Friday that works for both of us. When it comes to the birds of Maine, offshore is my real weakness. The birds […]
This is one of the two Marbled Godwits that have been hanging around the lagoon at Popham Beach State Park for the last couple days. The lagoons are roped off this summer for dune restoration so I was only able to observe one of the birds at a distance with a scope . . . […]
This morning Ingrid and I went to a Maine Audubon Lecture and Birdwalk on Shorebirds. Led by staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox, we learned a lot. At the beginning of Birdwalk, four American Oystercatchers flew in and fed for about 15 minutes. Only our second sighting of this species in Maine (I have searched for it […]
Off and on this summer there have been reports of people hearing Bobwhites in the Newagen neighborhood of Southport. In years past, I have heard a single Bobwhite calling over at Green Point in Dresden . . . clearly a hunter release bird that disappeared after a few days (as do Pheasants and Chukars). Anyway, […]
Only a very ill person would set his alarm for 4:30 a.m. so he could drive an hour north (before work) to get a Pectoral Sandpiper. Imagine this image: The alarm goes off. Ingrid: Where are you going birding? Ethan: Weaskeag Mash Ingrid: That’s an hour away . . . you’re crazy. Anyway, the Marsh […]
Each summer our house on the coast of Maine seemingly becomes a Bed and Breakfast as friends and relatives descend upon our waterfront home to “visit us”. It’s weird how nobody visits us in February. Playing tour director and couple that with a prolonged case of bronchitis . . . meant I haven’t really been […]
Yesterday evening, Ingrid and I were at Popham Beach watching some young Piping Plovers running back and forth along the shore line when we heard a a series of loud whistles coming across Morse River. We watched three Whimbrels land amid a group of Black-backed Gulls. The Photo above is at the extreme distance of […]
It’s July 15, the middle of the summer but incredibly . . . the first birds of the fall migration have begun to move south. As always the tip of the spear is led by the shorebirds. So early this morning I headed to Popham Beach to see if the Whimbrels seen there yesterday were […]
Last night Ingrid and I participated in Maine Audubon’s annual sunset cruise around Eastern Egg Rock. Eastern Egg is the world’s first first seabird restoration island and certainly one of the most successful. The Atlantic Puffin once nested on the island in great numbers but hunting in the 19th century ended all Puffin nesting on […]
As I implied earlier . . . we have virtually no open Bluebird appropriate land . . . but after a few failed attempts I finally nailed the Box to an old Well Post that fronts onto 50 yards of lawn and driveway. And for a couple months it sat empty. I checked it […]
In the winter of 2015 we had an influx of Pine Siskins on our feeders in Wiscasset, Maine. In the previous 16 years in the house I don’t recall ever seeing a Pine Siskin (granted I didn’t know much about birds prior to 2013). Anyway, during the winer of 2015, the Siskins were the […]
In 2000 when I moved our house on Back River in Wiscasset, there was a Great Blue Heron Rookery a mile down the river on Berry Island. Even though I wasn’t a crazy birder at that time, a regular part of our evening boat trips was cruising around the island to watch the GBHs come […]
Ingrid and I just spent a three day weekend on Cape Cod . . . not planning to bird all that much . . . but enjoy some together time; good food and some shopping. That said . . . we spent all day on Saturday birding . . . we just couldn’t help it. […]
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