Evergreen and Capisic Park

 UPDATE: The Hawk in question is an immature Cooper’s Hawk. Thanks to Stella, Luke and all the others who helped us out with the ID of this bird.

Early to rise this Sunday morning, my wife and I traveled to Portland and took a walk through Evergreen Cemetery and Capisic Park looking for Warblers. Maybe it was the cold front that went through the area last night, bringing with it cooler temps and winds from the NNE, that caused a poor showing of Warblers that had been reported from the area on the Maine BirdList all week long.

We did have a good time regardless, meeting birders from the Portland area and talking about our birding experiences.

At Evergreen, a large Snapping Turtle surfaced in the large pond that is nearest the woods, Kingfishers chattered and splashed into the pond, Mallards chased each other, and mostly Ruby-Crowned Kinglets and Yellow Rumped Warblers flitted about the trees. I did hear a report about a Blue Throated Green flying across the pond, and a Water Thrush seen in a small stream on the woods side of the large pond.

A Double-Crested Cormorant and a single Spotted Sandpiper occupied the small stony island in the large pond.

At Capisic Park, an immature Hawk was seen and photographed near the entrance to the park. I am not quite sure which species of Hawk this is, so a little help is appreciated. The first four pictures below show four different views of this hawk, so please comment on this article with your ID guesses.

Red-Winged Blackbirds were everywhere in the park, along with Ruby-Crowned Kinglets and Yellow-Rumped Warblers. A pair of Kingfishers chattered here and there, and Fox and Song Sparrows were seen on numerous occassions. A Lesser Yellowlegs was seen feeding in the brook that feeds the pond.

While I was walking up the hill that is mid-way into the park, I saw some movement along the waters edge. Investigating, I found the movement was an American Bittern, so blended in with its surroundings that it was nearly impossible to see. The photo is included below.

We will return to Evergreen and Capisic Park when the Warbler migration is in full swing, which will be in the next two weeks or so. There are still plenty of species of this bird to see!

Below are pictures taken today. Simply click a thumbnail for a larger view. Comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated. Don’t forget to scroll down the page for an article on Saturdays outing.

Happy birding!

Technorati Tags: Warblers, birders, Portland, Hawk, bird, birding

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Warbler Mania

Warblers are a strange lot. Moving around as if they had drank massive quanities of coffee, darting about feeding on the insects that they crave, they must burn a lot of energy. They will also fly within inches of where you stand if you are still enough.

My wife and I had a wonderful morning of Warbler watching along First Avenue in Biddeford Pool Saturday morning. Hundreds of Warblers flitted about the narrow treeline along Great Pond. Some of the Warbler species seen:

• Yellow-Rumped
• Golden-Winged
• Nashville
• Golden-Crowned Kinglet
• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
• Blue-Headed Vireo

Some were cooperative when it came time to snap a photo, others were not. The Ruby-Crowned Kinglets were the most photogenic bird, sometimes coming so close that my camera could not gain a focus on them. The Nashville and Golden-Winged Warblers allowed a good look or two through the binoculars, but just would not cooperate when the time came for a photo.

While watching the Warblers for over a hour and a half, flocks of Double-Crested Cormorant flew overhead along with a pair of Great Blue Herons. A lone Kingfisher chattered while in flight over Great Pond on several occassions, eventually landing in a snag near the Spiritual Center.

While leaving the area to head back home, we watched several White-Throated Sparrows enjoy some grit from a driveway near Bay Street.

Later in the day, we were treated with great views of a Black-Crowned Night Heron in a pond on West Street in Biddeford. Several Snowy and Great Egrets were feeding in the pannes on Granite Point, along with 10 Savannah Sparrows feeding along the high tide line on Curtis Cove. Also on Curtis Cove, I watched and photographed a pair of Killdeer mating.

I received an email from fellow birder Bob Malbon which contained a beautiful picture of a Palm Warbler taken in Biddeford Pool Saturday morning. I will post a link here to it when he uploads it to his site.

Enjoy the photos below by simply clicking a thumbnail for a larger view. Comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated.

Happy birding!

Technorati Tags: Warblers, bird, birding

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Birding club thoughts

The idea of starting a birding club in the area has been discussed several times with a few friends of ours, and now I believe it is time to ask our readers if anyone would be interested in such a venture.

Starting a birding club in our area can be a very rewarding project. Making new friends, learning about birds and sharing experiences are just a few of the benefits a club can provide.

We are open to any and all suggestions to make this work. Field trips, public bird walks and guest speakers are just a few of the rewarding experiences a birding club can bring.

I will gladly provide the web space for a birding club and will advertise the club’s existence (and what it stands for) on a regular basis and via a variety of channels.

Some thoughts: Maximize access to club activities. Move indoor meetings and field excursions meeting points around the area to allow those who live on the fringe areas to participate. Schedule field trips for Saturdays and Sundays to take in different work patterns of members and sometimes schedule mid-week evening outings.

Build confidence in birdwatching newcomers. Welcome newcomers to club meetings by assigning experienced members to talk to them. Also assign a member with good people skills and birding experience to be ‘field mentors’. Advertise field outings as being suitable for ‘beginners’. Increase recreational birdwatching activity.

Creation of a club newsletter, field trips to noted birding hotspots and setting up local ‘user-friendly’ bird counting scheme i.e. a gardenwatch. Undertake training sessions for the various bird-counting schemes, such as the GBBC, Breeding Bird Survey, etc. Get new members to accompany experienced survey workers to de-mystify the process of survey work.

There are so many things a local birding club can bring to beginners and the experienced alike! Let’s hear from you and get the ball rolling. Simply click on “Leave a passing comment” at the end of this article and let us know what you think and if you would participate.

Happy birding!

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