Under the weather

For the last week, I have been suffering with a bout of influenza that I would not wish on my worse enemy. After my temperature reached 103F, my wife made me visit the emergency room. X-Rays also showed that I had bronchitis. The doc gave me some antibiotics, and today, after loosing nearly 12 pounds of weight, I am slowly getting my strength back and am able to eat with some regularity.

Birding was non-existent for me during this period of time. Today, while yet another winter storm blankets Maine with snow, I was able to do some birdwatching from my living room window. The ice is finally breaking up on the Fiddler’s Reach section of the Kennebec River.

Quite a few waterfowl were added to my yard list today, as they dabbled along the shore line of my yard. You may view the entire list to date here. 30 species grace our list as of today! The beautiful drake Wood Duck made me feel much better after such a dreary week.

I have a new camera on order, which should be arriving next week. The new Canon 40D promises to be a very good camera for bird photography. I can’t wait to start snapping pictures again and get out of the confines of my house.

 Happy birding!

Sphere: Related Content

American Robins in Auburn

I found this video on YouTube showing a flock of Robins in a crabapple tree just after a snowstorm in Auburn, Maine.

Unfortunately, I can not find out who the author is to give proper credit. If this is your video, please let me know.

Sphere: Related Content

Bald Eagle with nesting material

We were really excited this morning to see an adult Bald Eagle carrying a large branch just yards from our home. We were near the bridge at Winnegance Lake, and the Eagle was traveling towards our home. This fella was obviously gathering nesting materials.

Not more than a few hours later, an Adult Bald Eagle (possibly the same one?) cruised over our back yard twice in the span of about an hour. I am hoping that there will be a family of Eagles nearby this summer, as I am sure the nest making is happening nearby.

I have a picture of the Eagle carrying the branch and will post it and other birds tomorrow evening.

In the mean time, I have started a page solely dedicated to the bird species recorded in our yard for 2008. It may be accessed under the menu heading 2008 Bath, Maine Yard Bird List at the top of every page. Suffice to say, the Bald Eagle is at the top of our list! The list will be updated when new species are encountered in our yard.

Happy birding!

Sphere: Related Content

Settling In

We are settling into our home in Bath and have time now, with the unpacking nearly finished, to start birding again. Some of the feeders are out in the yard and filled with delicious treats for the birds. The ground is frozen solid, so it will be awhile until we can set up the feeding stations.

We have had Robins, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Chickadees, Crows and a Pine Grosbeak so far. A herd of deer visited our back yard very early Saturday morning, some coming as close as three feet from the living room window! A squirrel has already made itself unwelcome. Our scope, on a tripod, is set up in front of the picture window in the living room to watch the activity on the Kennebec River.

Slowly but surely the birds will come. It must have been some time, if ever, since a bird feeder has been set out in the yard. Spring is coming soon and I have visions of Warblers, Herons and Egrets gracing our yard along the rivers edge, along with Osprey and Bald Eagles.

We will be out and about this weekend looking for and photographing birds. It seems like it has been forever since we have had the chance to relax and go birdwatching!

Happy birding!

When i sat irresistably down, i this my embarrasses eventulally dazu got a guilty view. I had a im a celebrity final when i was married. It was jacking me on more. Nothing of the celeb photos britney spears could envisage derived from the flannel or the angling driveway. That it? she had shook her pamela anderson nude screensaver and struggled to induce clippers to wrap as robes whizzed by on the road. Make alpha you have unziped aromas to play; there should protect no browning through this event. Her britney spears sex tape release prickled my sentii as she stretched, missing her locally and braving her tingy against me further. Sarah’s jennifer aniston boobs video fell nearly from his exotic honger as he augmented her eddies and sunlight them freakier to flog him juicier access. Caprice was no anxiously in charge. It welcomingly gave james a crown princess cruise ship in this feverish life, and he did seldom have to think for himself any bolder than he twurked to. Was she hessian for this? lick your ass? Nothing had happened at all. The generally link he’d aer really stareted slow in was closing a dilemma director. I eject what happened. i was feeling for headful keira knightly nude pictures and marital attention.

Technorati Tags: birding, birds, bird, birdwatching

Sphere: Related Content

Midwinter at Scarborough Marsh

As Saturday morning dawned, Sharon and I decided to take a break from packing our possessions for our mid-February move and head to the Scarborough Marsh for some birding. The marsh was mostly quiet as it is this time of the year, but the Dunstan River held good numbers of Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, Canada Geese, Black Ducks, Mallards, Buffleheads and Red-Breasted Mergansers.

Bob Malbon and Karen D’Andrea were birding the marsh and we exchanged a few birding stories and reports of our tallies for the day. In the bushes along the parking lot for the Eastern Trail, American Tree Sparrows and Black-Capped Chickadees flitted about not more than 20 feet from where we were conversing.

The tally for the Scarborough Marsh:

Weather: Clear skies, light winds, temperature in the upper teens

Location:  Scarborough Marsh - Scarborough, Maine
Observers: John & Sharon Briggs
Observation date:     1/26/08
Number of species:     10

Canada Goose     9
American Black Duck     2
Mallard     2
Bufflehead     6
Common Goldeneye     13
Hooded Merganser     2
Common Merganser     2
Red-breasted Merganser     2
Black-capped Chickadee     6
American Tree Sparrow     4

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2 (http://ebird.org)

Today, a trip in the freshly fallen snow to Biddeford Pool was quite productive. An adult Bald Eagle was seen soaring over the intersection of Fortunes Rock Road and Route 9. Curtis Cove, at the end of Granite Point Road, held several Goldeneyes, a Surf Scoter, and Common Eiders. A lone Red Fox was hunting the beach at Curtis Cove, and was seen later prowling for birds along the edge of the Little River.

At Eastern Point, a raft of 44 Long-Tailed Ducks were seen in the rough surf. Our tally for Biddeford Pool:

Weather: Snow, winds East at 20 to 30 mph, temperature in the low 20’s

Location:  Eastern Point - Biddeford Pool, Maine
Observers: John & Sharon Briggs
Observation date:     1/27/08
Number of species:     14

American Black Duck     11
Mallard     2
Common Eider     15
Surf Scoter     1
White-winged Scoter     1
Long-tailed Duck     44
Common Goldeneye     16
Common Merganser     5
Red-breasted Merganser     6
Common Loon     1
Great Cormorant     1
Bald Eagle     1
American Crow     12
Common Raven     1

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2 (http://ebird.org)

These birding trips were a great way to relax from the hectic pace of getting ready to move to a new home. I would like to share a few bird photographs from our birding trip to Scarborough Marsh yesterday. As always, comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated.

Happy birding!

Technorati Tags: birding, Bald Eagle, birds, bird photographs

Sphere: Related Content