Western Reef Heron still hanging around

Received an email from the Maine Bird List and the Western Reef Heron was still off Kittery Point, Maine as of 6:35 a.m. this morning. The reported sighting was on Fishing Island.

The news of the Western Reef Heron sightings has hit news stations and newspapers across the country. Here is an article from a newspaper in Corsicana, TX.

It is reported that the sighting drew Don and Lillian Stokes, authors of bird field guides and hosts of a Public Broadcasting Station show on bird watching

Any of you who has seen the Western Reef Heron and want to share with us about the experience, please respond by clicking “Leave a passing comment” at the end of this article. We would love to hear from you!

Happy birding!

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Plum Island, Massachusetts: Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

Finally a little time to post about our trip to Plum Island, Massachusetts on August 12th. Have been very busy at work as of late, working 12-13 hour days.

Those of you who live in Massachusetts and New Hampshire should be on the look-out along coastal waters for a very rare visitor to the USA. A Western Reef Heron has been hanging around the islands just off Kittery Point, Maine (in Maine waters) this weekend. The above link also has some great pictures! It is only a matter of time before this rare visitor moves along on his migration. This sighting is only the second or third time this species has been sighted in the USA!

Now on to the Plum Island trip…

Just after sunrise on Saturday August 12th, we arrived at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island, Massachusetts.

The weather was spectacular! Clear skies, light winds and cool temperatures greeted us.

After passing through the gate to the refuge, imagine our surprise when we encountered hundreds of Tree Swallows on the road. What they were doing or why they were there is still a mystery to us, but I surmise that maybe they were warming themselves in the early morning sunlight, as the morning was very cool. I estimated that between 500 and 600 Tree Swallows were on the ground and in the air in this area.

All throughout the day, Tree Swallows were everywhere, hundreds of them flying here and there.

The tree swallow is a diurnal migrant and birds often congregate in large flocks during the early evening to share nocturnal roosts usually located in dense woody and emergent vegetation.

Flocking behavior along the outer coast of Massachusetts is a well-documented phenomenon with some flocks estimated in the hundreds of thousands as birds gather to exploit ripening bayberry and insect swarms.

Tree swallows are able to return to their breeding grounds earlier than other swallow species due to their ability to subsist on fruit. In New England, tree swallows arrive on territories in early April.

Just after the main road turns to gravels, we spotted some deer in the high grass. As I was setting up to get some pictures, we heard a commotion on the hill west of us. Three Broad-Winged Hawks were flying around at each other. As one would land in the field, the other two would dive-bomb it. We watched this activity for quite some time before they settled down, after which they sat in the field to preen.

I tried to get some footage with my camcorder, but the action was just a little to far away. Watching through the binoculars was excellent! (If only I had my scope!)

Our next stop was the Hellcat Wildlife Observation Area.

As we were walking the trail to the observation tower, we spied a fledgling Mockingbird.

He allowed a few photos to be taken along with some video, and then we were on our way.

 

 

Video clip of a Fledgling Mockingbird

When we arrived at the observation tower, the pond below the tower was a flurry of activity. Canadian Geese, Cormorants, Egrets and Herons were feeding. We even watched as a Snowy Egret tried to chase away a Double-Crested Cormorant as seen in this next video.

Video clip of a Geese, Cormorants and Snowy Egrets Feeding

Many ducks were seen throughout the refuge, including Blue and Green Winged Teals, Pintails, Mallards and Black ducks. Most were feeding in the many pannes of the marsh, others were busy preening. This next video clip shows a few ducks in one of the pannes, cruising around looking for food.

Video clip of a Ducks cruising and feeding in a pond

As we were leaving the Hellcat area, another mockingbird, this time an adult, posed long enough for a few photos.

The songs of 36 other species were recognized from the recording of one mockingbird in Massachusetts.Birds in the western part of the species’ range have less musical songs and are less imitative. Mockingbirds are strongly territorial and, like a number of other birds, will attack their reflection in a window, hubcap, or mirror, at times with such vigor that they injure or kill themselves. At mating time, the male Northern Mockingbird becomes increasingly exuberant, flashing his wings as he flies up in an aerial display, or singing while flying from one song post to another.

Many Mockingbirds were seen on this journey, including this one who flew straight at the camera!

It is not a pin sharp picture, but you get the idea. Surprised me when I viewed the photo the first time!

When my wife and I visited Wild Birds Unlimited in Portland, Maine a few weeks ago, we witnessed first hand the many sounds a mockingbird can imitate.

The bird we saw did every bird sound my wife did, and then countinued with a car alarm sound. It was simply amazing to watch this Mockingbird imitate the sounds my wife made. I love watching them in-flight, flashing the tell-tale white bullseye patches under their wings. At times they can be friendly, allowing you to appraoch within a reasonable distance.

Our trip ended with a stroll along the beach on Plum Island. We saw many Plovers and Sandpipers. Black-Backed Gulls were also plentiful. My wife found a few sand dollars while roaming the beach.

The time had come to leave with the rewards of watching many species of birds doing what they do best. Leaving us in awe at the amazing beauty and complexity of nature.

Birding is what we do, what we live for, it is never a dull moment! What some may think as a day wasted birding when only a few common species are seen, we take it in stride when this happens to us. We are grateful to be able to get out and about, seeing, feeling and experiencing nature in all her glory!

Happy birding!

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Western Reef Heron seen in Maine!

Update 9:25 a.m.: Reports still coming in this morning that the Western Reef Heron is still being seen off Kittery Point, Maine. Some great pictures of this bird are at MaineToday.com|Field Notes.

 

Reports from the Maine-Birds List state an adult dark-morph Western Reef Heron was seen Friday in the a.m. just off Kittery Point, Maine.

It was first observed on Gooseberry Island east-southeast of the Kittery Point Town Landing. It then flew to nearby Fishing Island, about 1/3 mile south of the pier at the Town Landing.

The bird was viewed from the piers, as well as a local charter boat, until about 9:30 a.m. It then disappeared into taller grass on the island. As of 10:45 a.m., the bird had not been relocated. Since the Snowy and Great Egrets that were also there similarly had vacated the island, it is likely that the Western Reef Heron also left to feed as the tide receded.

It is reported that this may be only the second or third time a Western Reef Heron has been spotted in the USA! This map shows the reported location.

Birders in coastal Massachusetts and New Hampshire should be on the lookout for this bird, as it could be the sighting of a life time!

Portions of this post are from emails I received from the Maine-Birds List.

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Molting Little Blue Heron

While birding at the Scarborough Marsh last Saturday morning, my wife and I spotted what we thought was a Snowy Egret with a complexion problem.

Approximately the same size as the Snowy Egret, this bird has splotches of blue on an otherwise white-feathered body.

As luck would have it, the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center was having a bird walk at the time and the leader of the group identified it as a molting Little Blue Heron.

Thanks to the group leader Turk for clueing us in on this bird.

 

As seen in the picture on the right, both species look simular and basically their behaviour was the same.

These pictures were taken the same evening just after sunset. The pictures I took of the Little Blue Heron that morning were not very good as I was shooting into the sun.

I assumed the wrong bird this time, but in my defense, I have never seen a Little Blue Heron in molt. I would have never dreamed of this bird ever having white feathers!

It has been a busy week at my job, working 12-13 hour days, so I am a little behind on my Plum Island, Massachusetts trip post. I will get to that this weekend, but first, we must go birding!

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Spotting Scope

When you step into a deal, you can do it big time like my wife and I did yesterday at Rivers Camera in Dover, New Hampshire.

After visiting Plum Island, Massachusetts for some birding, (more on this trip in another article soon to come) we decided to head to Rivers Camera to see the Celestron Ultima 80ED spotting scope in action. We have been wanting to see this scope after reading many wonderful reviews, but had trouble finding a dealer. After searching the internet for a dealer that didn’t require driving too far, we came across the Rivers Camera shop.

This place is a birders and astronomers dream come true! Binoculars, telescopes and spotting scopes galore. There are many different brands and styles to choose from, many of them high quality glass.

To make a long story short, the shop had many Meade and Celestron spotting scopes in stock that were ordered by customers, but never picked up. So, they decided to have a sidewalk sale, available in store only. (Sorry, internet orders do not apply.)

This great spotting scope that retailed for the great price of $499.99, was now 40% off! Final cost: $299.99! They have a few more left in stock, so if you would like this scope, don’t tarry too long, when the stock is sold out, the sale is over.

This scope in the reviews that I read, put it up there with the high quality optics such as the Swarovski spotting scopes. In side by side comparisons, it performed just as well as the higher end optics, with very subtle differences.

We used it in the field this morning at the Scarborough Marsh, and the sharpness, clarity and colors seen in the birds we viewed took our breath away!

I did purchase a connector to attach my digital camera to the scope, but got the wrong one. So later today, we will return to Rivers Camera to exchange it for the correct size. Look for some great pictures coming soon, because digiscoping is coming to Birding In Maine!

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