Birding the storm

The storm that came through the area this past weekend was a doozy! Winds were reported gusting at 70 mph at Cape Elizabeth. Nearly 3″ of rain fell here at home and waves were on the order of 20 feet along the coast.

Birding in this kind of weather is difficult at best. Try opening your window when parked near the beach and a gale is blowing with horizontal rain. Add to that waves breaking over seawalls, hurling rocks and debris onto the road.

Although not many birds were seen Saturday, we did happen upon a huge flock of Cormorants, numbering approx. 150, trying to fly in the fierce winds and driving rains.

The Cormorants came across Eastern Point and tried to head toward Fortune Rocks Beach. These birds are not the most graceful fliers, and in a driving storm, they are worse yet. Tumbling in mid-air was common with this bunch, at times seemingly stalling during a particularly strong gust. Some landed in the rough surf, only to be buried time and again with huge waves.

During storms like this, few birds are flying, save for a few seagulls who think they are hang gliders. Crows were being pummeled, and to me, what looked like Divine feather removal at work from the strong winds.

I witnessed today, for example, a dead seagull wedged into some rocks, either blown into the predicament, or washed there by heavy seas. I also saw a dead Cormorant driven into a foot hold on a telephone pole. This situation was too high off the ground for some prankster to have accomplished.

On Sunday, the sun made an appearance, but the winds and seas were still high. We birded Granite Point early in the morning, thanks to the clocks being turned back and the sun rising once again before 6:15 a.m.

Birds we witnessed at Granite Point were:

• Green Winged Teals
• Red-Breasted Mergansers
• Hooded Merganser
• Lesser Yellow Legs
• Canada Geese
• Kingfisher
• Merlin

We saw our first Common Goldeneye of the season near Eastern Point in Biddeford Pool on Sunday.

The following pictures were taken both during the storm and the day after. Not many bird photo oppurtunities presented themselves while trying to shoot from the car on Saturday, and Sunday, the species listed were just too far away.

Simply click a thumbnail below for a larger image. Happy birding!

 

 

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Birding discussion forums

From the lack of responses to an article I wrote about a birding forum on this site, I may be forced to take down the forum. I do want to thank those who have responded, as it is greatly appreciated.

I will give it two more weeks for your input. If you could take just a few seconds of your time and place your vote under the question “How likely are you to use this birding forum?”. No signing in is required! It’s free!

Myself, along with some others, believe this could be a wonderful resource for birders in Maine and the northeast US as a whole. Time is at a premium for a lot of us these days, so I understand that you may not have time to participate in a Birding Forum every day. We don’t ask that you post everyday, just to provide some input occassionally as to your sightings, tips, stories and anything else to do with birding.

You can also comment about such a forum by either posting in the forum or clicking “Leave a passing comment »” at the end of this article. Remember, you don’t need to register at this time. You may post all you want in the forums without an email address, username or password.

Happy birding!

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Squirrels and Blue Jays

 

My feeders were quite busy today, but not with a lot of birds. Squirrels!

Two of them have been trying to raid the feeders for the past few weeks. This fella decided to help himself to the woodpecker feeder.

I watched as the squirrel would scurry to the ground and hide a seed under a leaf, tamp down the leaf with his little paws, and head back for more.

A few chipmunks have been keeping the seed cleaned up under the feeders, and it has been a chore shooing away pigeons.

These pictures were taken from the stairway window, which leads to the second floor of our home.

Blue Jays have been stuffing their bills with peanuts and sunflower seed. I have noticed at least 10 different Jays in our backyard at one time. They are very aggressive toward other birds, but the cardinals will have none of it. I saw a female Cardinal chase away 2 Blue Jays from the platform feeder. The male Cardinal sat nearby on a branch during all this, and then joined her when the Jays were gone.

Winter is near. Birds are fattening themselves up for the shorter days, the bitter cold, the howling wind and the blanket of snow that covers the land.

Please don’t forget our feathered friends this winter!

 

Happy birding!

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Support Protections for Shorebird and Wading Bird Habitat

This was sent to me through the Maine-Birds Email List.

This is a very important issue concerning our shorebirds and wading birds here in Maine. There has been articles in the Portland newspaper and on local TV stations. It seems that real estate developers are trying to put a stop to this.

Please show your support by contacting one of the legislators at the end of this article.

Birding In Maine fully supports these rules.

 

Please Support Protections for Shorebird and Wading Bird Habitat
Maine Audubon Action Alert: http://www.maineaudubon.org/act/061017_swh.shtml

Maine rules protecting important coastal habitats for shorebirds and wading
birds have been in the making for decades but are just coming into effect.
The rules are reasonable and protect the last remaining feeding and resting
areas for migratory shorebirds as they travel from the Arctic circle to as
far away as Chile where they spend the winter. Some of these places, like
around Harrington and Addison, are nationally significant to shorebirds. But
the rules protecting these fragile habitats are not well understood and some
Maine residents are objecting to them.

You can help protect shorebird and
wading bird habitat: click here for more info
http://www.maineaudubon.org/act/061017_swh.shtml . ACTION ALERT: http://www.maineaudubon.org/act/061017_swh.shtml Please Support Protections for Shorebird and Wading Bird Habitat

Maine rules protecting important coastal habitats for shorebirds and wading
birds have been in the making for decades but are just coming into effect
but are not well understood.  In fact, some Maine residents are objecting to
them.

Because these fragile habitats (including mud flats and wetlands where birds
nest and feed) are vulnerable to disturbance, development, and environmental
contaminants, the rules require a permit to develop in or near those areas.

The permit will ask that the development occur 250′ away from the habitat
when possible. When this isn’t possible, the landowner will be asked to
minimize impacts.  If the lot is already developed, an expedited permit will
be available with limited standards.The rules are reasonable and protect the last remaining feeding and resting areas for migratory shorebirds as they travel from the Arctic circle to as far away as Chile where they spend the winter.

Some of these places, like around Harrington and Addison, are nationally significant to shorebirds. In fact, in the 1980s, the coastal zone from Trenton Bay east to Perry was
identified as probably the most important fall migratory stopover area in the eastern U.S. for four species of shorebirds (semipalmated sandpipiers, semipalmated plovers, white-rumped sandpipers and whimbrels).

Shorebirds are declining, and once these places are gone, there will be no where else for the birds to go—we risk losing them altogether. Shorebirds and wading birds desperately need this habitat, but we need it,
too—not only to maintain our quality of life, but also to keep drawing the
visitors who bring millions of dollars to Maine each year. It is extremely
important that Governor John Baldacci and your legislators know that there
is strong public support for protecting these special habitats.
YOU CAN HELP!1. Please thank Governor John Baldacci for his strong support of the rules.
Governor John Baldacci:  governor@maine.gov  / (207) 287-3531  / (207)
287-6548 (TTY) / (207) 287-1034 (FAX)

2. Please tell your legislators that the rule is important, supported by
science, and reasonable.
For legislators’ e-mail addresses and home contact info, please visit
www.maine.gov  or e-mail activist@maineaudubon.org with your name and
address.  Or go to http://www.maineaudubon.org/act/061017_swh.shtml  for
links.
THANK YOU.
More Information: go to http://www.maineaudubon.org/act/061017_swh.shtml
for links and background information.

 

 

 

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Birding Discussion Forum up for testing

As noted in yesterdays post, I was toying with the idea of setting up a birding discussion forum. I am depending on visitors to this site to provide feedback as to whether you would use the forums.

I have set up a test forum that you may visit here. Feel free to test it. At this time no registration is necessary. I will clear the posts every few hours to prevent spam and inappropriate images. More categories will be added when I get a feel of how many may use the forum. Included is a poll asking “How likely are you to use this birding forum?” All it takes is a click to let me know if this is worth pursuing.

Thanks for you comments and votes. Happy birding!

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