Birding gift ideas

It’s that time of the year again. What can you get a birder for Christmas?

Try thinking in broader terms when searching for a gift for a birder. Everything from a feeder to binoculars and scopes will make a birder happy. Guide books, specific species books and ID guides will bring a smile to anyone’s face.

If your birding friend lives in Maine, how about The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer. Another favorite is A Birder’s Guide To Maine.

Does someone you know have the dreaded squirrel problem? Get them a baffle or a squirrel-proof feeder. A lot of feeders have metal seed ports to keep squirrels from chewing holes in the feeder.

From birdsong identifiers to specialty seed, there’s a wide range of gift ideas for your birding friends and family members.

Let’s hear some of your gift ideas. Simply reply by clicking the “Leave a passing comment »” link at the end of this article.

Happy birding!

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Mockingbird Saturday

With such a mild November so far, I was not surprised at what birds are still hanging around the area. Our birding morning started at Granite Point with plenty of hold over birds to view.

The highlight of the day was a Merlin trying to grab a peep in Curtis Cove. Within a few yards of where my wife and I were standing, the Merlin tried to swipe a peep, but missed and plunged into the water. I was fiddling in the back seat of the car attaching a lens to my camera, when my wife called for me. Yes, I walked over to her without the camera to see what the commotion was about, thus missing the opportunity to photograph the Merlin. But I did look in time to see the failed swoop. Afterwords, the Merlin perched on a wire several hundred yards away to preen. Fellow birder Bob Malbon witnessed the Merlin on the perch and commented that he saw it a few days before.

If the Merlin was not enough, a single male King Eider was viewed in Curtis Cove. A life list first for both of us! To top it off, 3 Kingfishers were present, 2 fighting over territory!

Not much later after seeing the kamikaze Merlin, I watched a Northern Harrier flying low over the marsh in the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge. I lost sight of it for a few moments, and then heard Crows making a commotion. The Crows chased the Harrier into a pine tree approximately 200 yards away, and four of us watched it through binoculars. The Crows soon stopped the harassment and the Harrier was on his way.

Simply standing at the end of the road on Granite Point (Maine Atlas Map 3/D-3), is all thats needed to see a plethora of birds. Flocks of Canada Geese, numbering from 14 - 44 individual birds, soared overhead. Peeps probing the sands of Curtis Cove a few yards from where we stood. Red-Breasted Mergansers diving in the cove for a delicious morsel. Common Eiders snacking in the Little River. And sharing these sightings of birds with fellow birders makes the experience even more special.

We left Granite Point and went to Etherington Pond near Biddeford Pool to see what was staging there. Not many ducks to see, but a very curios Northern Mockingbird was present. This bird allowed me to get within five feet of it while exiting my car. He had no concern what-so-ever as I began taking photos of him, at times puffing out his chest to show me that he was king of the tree! When another Mockingbird showed up, the tree was vigorously defended. Pictures of this bird in several poses are below.

A list of birds we viewed after a wonderful morning of birding:

• 1 King Eider*
• 1 Merlin
• 1 Northern Harrier
• 3 Kingfishers (two were fighting over territory)
• 3 Great Blue Herons
• 145 Canada Geese (flocks of 14 to 44 geese)
• 12 Common Mergansers
• 18 Red-Breasted Mergansers
• 21 Black Ducks
• 8 Common Eiders
• 3 Double-Crested Cormorants
• 8 Mockingbirds

Photos below are of the friendly Mockingbird and a few shots from my backyard bird feeders. Click a thumbnail for a larger view.

 

Happy birding!

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Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

Our trip to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island, Massachusetts this past Sunday featured cool temperatures, mostly clear skies, and plenty of birds to view. Quite a few other birders were also present.

Three species were added to our life list; the Swamp Sparrow, Eurasian Wigeon and the American Wigeon. This in itself was well worth the trip!

We traveled the entire length of the refuge, making stops at the Salt Pannes, North Pool Overlook, Hellcat Observation Area, Bill Forward Pool, Stage Island Pool Overlook, and the Sandy Point Reservation.

The following are a list of species we encountered.

• American Wigeon*
• Eurasian Wigeon*
• Swamp Sparrow*
• Canada Goose
• American Black Duck
• Mallard
• Lesser Yellow Legs
• Greater Yellow Legs
• Short Billed Dowitcher
• Peregrine Falcon
• Northern Harrier
• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• Great Blue Heron
• American Bittern
• Double-Crested Cormorant
• Northern Pintail
• Long Tailed Duck
• Bufflehead
• Common Merganser
• Hooded Merganser
• Red Breasted Merganser
• Blue Jay
• Northern Cardinal
• American Crow
• Black Capped Chickadee
• Song Sparrow
• Field Sparrow
• American Robin
• Gray Catbird
• Northern Mockingbird
• European Starling
• House Sparrow
• House Finch
• Cedar Waxwing
• Dark Eyed Junco
• American Gold Finch

Whew! What a list! If only I could have photographed each and every one of these species. One problem was too much glare on the water from the sun. Such as the GBH and Great Egret photos. It was brutal.

Something funny always happens to us when we go birding. We were walking a trail at the Sandy Point Reservation and turned around to head back to the parking area after walking the back side of Stage Island. Not paying attention to what was in front of me and looking out toward the marsh, I nearly trampled an American Bittern! It was standing on the left edge of the trail, and took off across the marsh making its “oong-ka-choonk” call as it fled. It scared us to no end. A bird that big, that close, with its far carrying booming call is enough to send shivers up your spine. I am glad no one else was there! I bet we looked like we just walked into a mine field.

A pair of Northern Harriers flew within 25 feet of us while we were in the blind at the Bill Forward Pool. Not much later, a Peregrine Falcon flew past. The pool held a variety of species, including Hoodies, which is one of my favorite ducks.

At the Hellcat Wildlife Observation Area, we were setting up our equipment just south of the observation tower. My wife tugged at my sleeve to get my attention, and pointed behind me. A Great Blue Heron was at the waters edge just a few feet away from us. A few minutes later, a trio of Great Egrets joined the GBH and began feeding. The glare on the water was terrible, but I did manage to salvage a few good shots.

We would like to return to the refuge sometime during the winter months, and if we do, you will see the report here at Birding In Maine.

The photographs below are from our trip to the refuge. I have made changes in the resolution of the pictures. It seems that there are a few people out there who like to swipe my pictures without permission. These people have been ordered to remove my images from their site, and if they don’t, legal action will be taken. My Copyright Info is on this site and is very easy to understand.

Within the next few days, I will have video from the trip posted in the Birding In Maine Photo Gallery.

The resolution of the photos are lower than in the past. You may give thanks to the thieves for this. If you need a higher resolution photo, please feel free to contact me. Simply click a thumbnail for a larger view.

Happy birding!

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Plum Island report

My wife and I birded the Parker Island National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island, Massachusetts today. Please stay tuned for a report and many pictures and videos in the next few days.

In the mean time, I leave you with a few teaser pictures from our trip. If anyone can identify the sparrow in the third picture, please email me or comment in this article. It will be greatly appreciated!

Happy birding!

 

 

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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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