Birding in Maine» Birding Videos

Juvenile Bald Eagles

John Briggs — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:10:46 +0000

Bald Eagle -- Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Since mid spring, I’ve been watching a successful Bald Eagle nest not much more than a stone’s throw from where we live here on the peninsula south of Bath. The nest is some 40 feet off the ground and it’s impossible to see inside. I knew there were chicks in the nest, because the adults brought food on a regular basis, and I could hear the chicks calling when the adults were not around.

While taking a break from my studies this weekend, I finally got to see the young, pre-flight Bald Eagles. Just before sunrise Saturday morning, I set up my tripod and camera and waited. I could see wings flapping in the nest, and I heard a few calls, but nothing worth photographing. Finally, after an hour or so wait, one of the juvies hopped out of the nest onto a branch. Lovingly named Butchie and his other brother Butchie by Robin Robinson over at The Back Story -- My Controlled Chaos, I expect them to take their first flight any day now. Many thanks Robin, for giving me the heads up on the nest! I can only hope I will be nearby when they take their first flight.

The young Eagles were very cooperative for nearly an hour. I filled a 16gb CF card with many photos and videos of the pair; capturing preening, head and chin scratching, yawning and several wing stretches. While I enjoyed the Eagles, plenty of other birds were on the move. Cedar Waxwings and Red-winged Blackbirds were everywhere, the forest floor seemed alive with Chipping Sparrows, and I caught a brief glimpse of a Black-crowned Night Heron in flight. All and all, it was a great morning to enjoy Mother Nature!

Some of the following images are tall. Tap your f11 key to open your browser to its fullest size before viewing. Simply click a thumbnail for a full-sized view.

Dimension: 560x480 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | File Size: 24.6mb
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Video: Juvenile Bald Eagles | ©2010 John Briggs Photography
Watch in full-sized HD at YouTube by clicking video screen after playback begins.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCmTukjjezA

Happy birding!

Slide Show: Northern Maine and New Hampshire

John Briggs — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:22:32 +0000

I thought I would take a different approach in presenting some of the photos taken while we were in the north woods of Maine and New Hampshire. This is my first attempt at a video slide show. The video is hosted on my server and should stream well enough for all but those with a slow dial-up connection.

You will see images from the Mt. Washington Auto Road (the peak was socked in with clouds, so no views from the top), Beaver Brook Falls near Colebrook, NH, the Umbagog Lake Region of New Hampshire and Maine, and Screw Auger Falls at Grafton Notch State Park in Maine. The sunset photo was taken after the sun had set. Further to the west, a lake reflected the sun back into the atmosphere making it look as if the sun had yet to set. You will also see a moose crossing sign that someone decided to have a little fun with. It’s not right to deface signs, but I couldn’t help but to laugh when I saw it.

I would greatly appreciate feedback on what you thought of the slide show and if you had any issues during playback. I used AVS Video Editor 4 to put together the slide show. Music score by Bandari – The Foggy Dew.

Dimension: 560×480 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | File Size: 19.6mb
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Video slide show: Northern Maine & New Hampshire | ©2010 birdingmaine.com
Photos taken with a Canon 7D camera.

Happy birding!

BPW: Gray Catbird

John Briggs — Mon, 17 May 2010 15:02:20 +0000

The Gray Catbird is named for its cat-like mew call. Like the Northern Mockingbird, the Gray Catbird is regarded as a mimic. Like many members of the Mimidae, it also mimics the songs of other birds, as well as those of the tree frog, and even mechanical sounds. Because of its well-developed songbird syrinx (the vocal organ of birds), it is able to make two sounds at the same time. The Gray Catbird’s song is easily distinguished from that of the Northern Mockingbird or Brown Thrasher because the Mockingbird repeats its phrases or 3 to 4 times, the Thrasher usually twice, but the Catbird sings most phrases only once. The Catbird’s song is usually described as more raspy and less musical than that of a Mockingbird.

The following is an audio clip of a Gray Catbird’s song and call. Click the play button.
Download audio file (catbird.mp3)

Just over half of the Gray Catbird’s diet consists of insects, such as beetles, caterpillars, cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, moths, ants, aphids and spiders. The rest of the diet consists of fruit such as wild berries, especially blackberries, berries of sweet gum, grapes and seeds of grasses. We attract this bird to our feeders by offering grape jelly, orange halves and a sprig of grapes fastened to a perch with a clothes pin. Northern Mockingbirds and Orioles will also eat these offerings.

Gray Catbird -- Dumetella carolinensis

Click a thumbnail to view photo full sized. Once a photo is open in the shadowbox, navigation arrows are at the bottom to go to the next photo. All photos taken with a Canon 7D camera and Canon 100-400mm f/4 L IS lens.

To end this post, I have included a short video clip of our backyard resident Gray Catbird sitting in a blueberry bush near the cove.

Click the play button to begin the video. To watch in HD, click 360p on the player to select HD quality. Video taken with a Canon 7D camera.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiSeWbOT12s

Happy birding!

Hummingbird Preening

John Briggs — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:59:56 +0000

This little jewel loves to perch on the very tip of one of our feeder branches and sits there looking pretty. She is only 6″ from a fresh supply of nectar. With the Hummingbird activity around our feeders this past week, she gets harassed on occasion. I was able to capture this female Ruby-throated Hummingbird preening during a break in the activity.

Once the video has started, clicking on the video will take you to You Tube where the video is hosted. Once on the You Tube site, clicking the HD icon will place the video in HD widescreen mode, which is the best playback.

Dimension: 520×390 | Video length: 1:17
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Streaming HD Video of Hummingbird Preening | ©2009 birdingmaine.com

Happy birding!

Hummingbirds and Cardinals

John Briggs — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:19:52 +0000

Ruby-throated Hummingbird | Click photo for larger view

Hummingbird migration is underway here along the midcoastof Maine. Since the beginning of the week, Ruby-throated Hummingbird activity has increased 3 fold. My estimates put the yard population of these jewels at 20 individuals which include the 3 nesting pairs who have been around all summer, their young and others coming through to fatten up on nectar. (One of the nesting pair had a nest failure.)

With 10 nectar feeders spread throughout our yard there are still issues. As soon as a hummer lands on a feeder, others descend onto the offender from the trees and shrubs and the chattering and chasing begins.

There are times when I have been in the yard refilling feeders and feared getting run over by these little rockets. They want nothing at their feeders, yours truly included. Sitting on the back deck has become a lesson in the art of dodging these buzzing beauties.

Hummingbirds are not the easiest birds to photograph. Ideally, you would like the bird to land on a natural perch but this is not always the case. Lately I have been using my HD camcorder to capture video of Hummingbirds.

While in the yard Tuesday, a recently fledged female Northern Cardinal was sitting in a shrub looking as if it was lost to the world. The poor soul looked around as if looking for it’s mother. Occasionally, it’s beak would open as if it was saying “Mama… where are you?”

I am shooting plenty of video of the Hummingbirds that are visiting our yard. I hope to have a compilation ready in a week or two. In the mean time, I put together the following HD video.

The first part of this video highlights a Ruby-throated Hummingbird feeding at one of our nectar feeders. The second part captures a juvenile female Northern Cardinal. For a wide screen view, click the video to go to the You Tube page that it’s hosted on. Once there, clicking on the HD icon will put the video in wide-screen mode.

Enjoy!

Happy birding!