Bird Watching: Granite Point

This mornings bird watching trip to Granite Point was spectacular! Many flocks of birds were in the air, including Canada Geese, Double-Crested Cormorants, Tree Swallows, Snowy Egrets, Blue Heron and many unidentifiable ducks.

The weather was cool, with a light breeze and crystal blue skies. I seemed to be the only one birding the area, although a few residents of the point were out and about for their morning walk.

At the end of the Granite Point Road, it was peaceful. A unknown woodpecker could be heard rapping a tree in the distance. Eiders were feeding in the low tide. Chickadees and Song Sparrows sang and flitted around. Snowy Egrets and Cormorants fed in the river, occasionally taking flight for better feeding grounds.

A huge flock of Canada Geese soared into the marsh to feed, numbering perhaps in the hundreds. Noisily they drifted to a landing, as more and more continued to fly overhead.

Quite a few Cedar Waxwings were feeding in the berry bushes along the road, as others preened in the early morning sun. A battle ensued and the acrobatic maneuvers of these beautiful birds had me in awe. Neither of the birds seemed to be the winner of the battle, although one seemed to favor a wing while sitting on a power line. I watched him for several minutes, and then he took flight and seemed to be just fine.

The following pictures are some of the sights I have seen this morning in the tranquility of Granite Point.

Cormorants take flight from a river.

 

A flock of Canada Geese arrives at Granite Point.

 

Close-up of Canada Geese in flight over Granite Point.

 

Canada Geese come in for a landing to feed at Granite Point.

 

A Butterfly warms itself in the early morning sun.

 

A bird feeder has activity on Granite Point.

 

European Starlings preening on a power line.

That’s it for now. Happy birding!

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Big Night For Migration

With a cold front sweeping through the northeast US yesterday and a north wind to help birds along, last night was a big night for migrating birds.

Woodcreeper.com has a great article along with radar images of last nights migration. According to David A. La Puma, last nights migration broke-up just south of New Jersey because of thunderstorms and precipitation from approaching Tropical Storm Ernesto.

Derek Lovitch reports a large passerine migration over Sandy Point, Maine early this morning, many of which were various species of warbler. You may read his article and bird count at Outdoors MaineToday.com.

Locally, I witnessed approx. 20 Hawks of unknown type fly over our home early this morning. Tuesday afternoon, 11 Bluebirds stopped over in my yard here in Biddeford. Four of them had a drink from the birdbath, and the others rested in a tree.

I was suprised the bluebirds stopped here in Biddeford, although I do live towards the edge of town. I managed to photograph one of the bluebirds, before they fled the scene.

 

Maybe I am wrong, but I would assume at this time of year the Bluebird would be beginning to molt, losing some of the vivid blue of its feathers. But not this fella! I did do some post-processing in Photoshop CS2 for sharpening and cropping.

 

The time of the year for migration is here and has been for a few weeks. This mornings low here in Biddeford was a very cool 45 F. with inland areas reporting even lower temps. Sanford and Fryburg reported a low of 39 F. this morning!

 

This morning, I am venturing to Granite Point for a little birding. Will report on the trip when I get back.

Happy birding!

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Raiding the feeder

Since moving to Biddeford, Maine nearly seven months ago, we have been blessed with not having squirrels raid our feeders. Well that changed this morning when one came through and decided to try our bird offerings for half an hour.

We have gotten a little loose on our squirrel protection apparatus since none seemed to be raiding our feeders. While living in Pennsylvania, it was a constant battle with the bushy tail. Keeping these critters out of the bird feeders, even when offering them their own feeder, is nearly impossible.

Baffles, guards, hot pepper… you name it, it was tried in the Keystone State. And being on the doorstep of the cold howling winds and snow of winter, these squirrels will hide mouthfuls of bird seed to use later on.

Sometimes you just have to live with it. I have to admit that some of the shenanigans and the acrobatic finese of these creatures are a joy to watch.

The following is a video I took of the squirrel this morning. I shot hand-held, so some of it is a little jumpy.

 

Video clip of a Squirrel raiding the feeder

 

Happy birding!

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Weekend birding on Granite Point

Migration continues full swing in Southern Maine. My wife and I birded Granite Point Saturday and Sunday morning and witnessed hundreds of birds of all types making their way to their wintering grounds.

Hundreds of Egrets, both Great and Snowy, were in large groups flying over the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge on Granite Point Road near Biddeford Pool, Maine. Also seen were Great Blue Herons, Double-Crested Cormorants, and unidentifiable ducks in large flocks making way to milder climates.

 

Saturday morning was foggy with visibility fair. Noted was the absence of Tree and Barn Swallows.

A bush with many berries along Granite Point Road held many birds eating their breakfast. Noted was Cedar Waxwings, Catbirds, Mockingbirds, Black Capped Chickadees and this Downy Woodpecker, having a snack of ants.

A few Snowy Egrets flew to and fro, along with the sighting of a Great Blue Heron.

Double-Breasted Cormorants and Eiders were numerous along the small bay at Granite Point.

Otherwise, it was a fairly quiet Saturday morning, which may be due to the fog and our late arrival to the area.

 

 

 

Sunday morning brought much more activity. The weather was cool and mostly cloudy, but without the fog. We arrived just after sunrise.

Our first sighting was this Belted Kingfisher, who sat on a power line just outside of good photography range, next to the grassy parking area along Granite Point Road.

The bird watched one of the pannes below, and suddenly, dove into the water for food but came back up empty handed. (or should I say empty billed!)

When the Kingfisher hit the water, it sounded as if someone had dropped a large rock into it. Graceful this fella was not.

He flew back upon the wire, watching and waiting, but soon decided to check elsewhere as he took flight. These birds never fail to amaze me. How, while in flight, they will hover above a prospective feeding area and then dive straight into the water for a fish. Not as graceful as say a Least Tern, but fun to watch never-the-less.

My wife and I met a fellow birder named Bob. (visit his site, he has spectacular pictures!)We talked for an hour about our birding adventures at Granite Point. My wife spied several deer near the pumping station, so out came the spotting scope.

A doe and 3 young ones were feeding. After several minutes, 2 more young ones came from across the marsh to join the buffet. As the newcomers approached, the others began a game of tag. Running around chasing each other, it reminded me of puppies playing. At one point, a Great Blue Heron was among the activity, although he did not participate. After playing for awhile, dogs began to bark, and the deer retreated to the relative safety of the woods.

Many flocks of birds, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, were in flight over the marsh. A large flock of Tree Swallows were present, more than likely stopping over from Downeast Maine, feeding to gain strength for their long migration.

Just before leaving the area, we sat in our car looking sea-ward at the end of Granite Point Road.

A Catbird landed on a rock within 20 feet of us. I began talking to him, taking pictures as I did so. It was comical as the Catbird would cock his head and look at me like, “What is this guy saying to me”? He would then disappear, only to return again. I was thinking that just like a feline cat, curiosity was in this bird also. Here are a few pictures of this beautiful bird.

We saw several American Goldfinches, who were molting, loosing their bright yellow plumage to be replaced with their much duller winter plumage.

All in all, it was a decent birding weekend. This Cedar Waxwing was in the berry bushed mentioned earlier in this article.

As a side note, I have ordered the Cannon Rebel XT DSLR camera. Although it is on backorder, I expect it to be shipped around the beginning of the month. I am anxious to put it to use, as with the zoom lenses that I already have along with the spotting scope, I should be able to post some spectacular pictures.

Happy birding!

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Western Reef Heron or Southern Little Egret

There seems to be some debate as to whether the rare visitor to the Maine and New Hampshire coasts this week is a Western Reef Heron or a dark morph Southern Little Egret.

A very interesting article can be read at Lillian and Don Stokes site concerning the debate as to what this bird may be.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this.

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