Name that Sparrow

 We hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend. There will not be many more like this before winter sets in. Looking at the long-range forecasts, the first flakes of snow may fall next weekend even along coastal areas.

Sharon and I made a trip to the Green Point WMA in Dresden, Maine this morning. Clear, calm and frosty with a very light fog greeted us as we walked down the trail to the weedy fields looking for fall migrating Sparrows and anything else that may be present.

Above map is scrollable and zoom able

Once the sun burnt off the fog, Sparrows were everywhere. Warblers flitted about and a single Merlin flew across the fields looking for breakfast. A flock of Red-Breasted Mergansers flew over, heading for the Kennebec River, as did Canada Geese.

Our tally from this morning:

Location:     Green Point Farm WMA
Observation date:     10/12/08
Observers:   John & Sharon Briggs
Notes:     Clear / Light Fog. Temp 38 F. with light frost. Winds calm
Number of species:     25

Canada Goose     12
Red-breasted Merganser     5
Merlin     1
Red-bellied Woodpecker     1
Downy Woodpecker     1
Pileated Woodpecker     1
Blue Jay     4
American Crow     16
Black-capped Chickadee     5
White-breasted Nuthatch     1
Golden-crowned Kinglet     2
American Robin     4
Brown Thrasher     1
Cedar Waxwing     4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)     3
Palm Warbler     1
Eastern Towhee     1
Chipping Sparrow     10
Clay-colored Sparrow     3
Savannah Sparrow     6
Song Sparrow     10
Lincoln’s Sparrow     3
White-throated Sparrow     3
White-crowned Sparrow     2
Dark-eyed Junco     6

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

I thought we could have a little fun with the pictures that I am posting of the Sparrows that we saw this morning. Each picture is identified 1 through 8. Guess which Sparrow is in each picture and reply by submitting a comment on this article. Remember to reference the number for each guess! Click a thumbnail for a larger view.

 

Happy birding!

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Pileated Woodpecker and Cedar Waxwings

After being away for a few days, we returned home today to a few surprises in our yard. Cedar Waxwings were everywhere, including a lone Bohemian Waxwing. Juvenile and Adult Cedars were eating blueberries that we left on our high bush plants, swallowing the berries whole and getting into fights with each other and the Gray Catbirds who liked them also.

While I was in the yard trying to photograph the Cedar Waxwings, a Merlin flew by within two feet of where I stood and chased down a Song Sparrow. Narrowly missing the sparrow, the Merlin disappeared into the trees near the Winnegance Bridge.

Quite a few Warblers and Blue Jays were around, but the Warblers were to panicky to get good id’s. Tree Sparrows were very numerous along with a Savannah and Lincoln’s Sparrow.

During low tide, the river held 38 Canada Geese, one Green-Winged Teal and a lone Greater Yellowlegs.

On our way home today from our trip, we pulled off the side of the road to look at a map. As we were preparing to pull back out onto the road, a movement caught my eye. A Pileated Woodpecker was working a rotting tree stump no more than 15 feet away.

I must have looked suspect to passer-bys as I had half my body protruding out of the moon roof in our SUV taking pictures and video of this large woodpecker. At one point, a Bald Eagle flew overhead and the woodpecker slid around to the other side of the stump until all was clear. We would have never known that this fella was there if I had not seen the movement out of the corner of my eye.

Enjoy the photos and video below. *Tip* For full view of the pictures that are “tall and narrow”, press F11 on your keyboard to make your browser window as large as possible. If you do not do this, the picture will resize within your browser and you may not get the full size.

 

 

The following steaming high definition video portrays a Pileated Woodpecker searching for food in a rotted tree stump. A broadband connection is recommended to view the video.

Dimension: 518×291 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | File Size: 12.6mb
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Streaming Video of Pileated Woodpecker | ©2008 birdingmaine.com

 

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

 

Happy birding!

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T.S. Hanna Aftermath

New England survived the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna last night. Here at home, we received 5.80″ of rain in under ten hours and had a high wind gust of 31 m.p.h. The highest rainfall amount locally that I heard about was 6.92″ in Gray, Maine. At times last night, the torrential downpours woke me up but no lightning or thunder was observed.

I took a ride this morning to Popham Beach State Park. Several low lying areas had water across the road, a few branches and limbs were down and light beach erosion was evident at the park. We have a new pond beside our driveway, but it is receding nicely.

The birds seemed to fare well here at home. Hummingbirds and juvenile American Goldfinches were at the feeders before the sun came up this morning. Eleven Green-Winged Teals with 2 Blue-Winged Teals mixed in were observed this morning in the river just off our back yard.

Down at Popham Beach, not much activity was observed. A few Dunlin and a smattering of Semipalmated Plovers were feeding on the exposed flats.  A lone Osprey was seen hovering near the Seguin Island Lighthouse and several Double-Crested Cormorants were seen toward the Morris River. We had a juvenile Herring Gull follow us around like a puppy while we were on the beach.

All in all not a devastating storm except for a few flooded roads and basements.

The view early this morning from Popham Beach State Park:

Happy birding!

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Labor Day Birding

Today: Sept. 6th, 2008: As I watch our feeders being over-run with Juvenile American Goldfinches, you can’t help but wonder if they know that the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna is coming. A literal feeding frenzy has been going on since first light here at Fiddler’s Reach.

 

Even through the gloom of fog and showers, many species of birds are feeding. In anticipation of the four to five inches of rain and strong winds that are expected, I made sure the feeders were filled to the brim early this morning.

 

As Hanna nears, you can watch the progress of the storm on the BathMaineWeather.com Nexrad Radar. Also, as an added bonus, there is a page on the site with Live Buoy Observations.

It’s 1:00 p.m. and we have a influx of Warblers coming to the trees and feeders. As we are trying to identify the Warblers, a Hawk came screaming in to the finch feeder, not snagging any prey and just avoiding a collision with our house.

I have been using a mixture of Niger Seed and Sunflower Chips in my Finch feeders. In our other feeders, we use a regional blend from Wild Birds Unlimited. Choice Blend has nuts, blackoil sunflower seed, safflower, cherries, rasins and suet nuggets.  This mixture is a hit for the birds visiting our feeders. Squirrels love it also, so it’s a good idea to put it in feeders that the Squirrels have no access to.

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Over the Labor Day Weekend, the weather was beautiful. (Saturday morning was cloudy and foggy, but it all burned off by noon.)By simply walking out onto our back deck Saturday morning, we were treated to a Warbler fall out. The action was nearly impossible to keep up with!

Bird watching from your deck or back yard takes little effort, causes no pollution and you have the added benefit of having all of your tools of bird identification on hand.

As all good things come to an end, so did the plethora of birds. A Red-Tailed Hawk flew in and just missed grabbing a Wilson’s Warbler. The Hawk then decided to sit in the tree in the middle of our yard, which in turn kept all birds away for the rest of the morning.

We did manage to tally 50 species!

Location:     Home (Fiddler’s Reach section of the Kennebec River, 2 miles SE of Bath, Maine)
Observation date:     8/30/08
Notes:     Cloudy, light fog, Temp. 60 F. Wind: Calm, Low Tide
Number of species:     50

Canada Goose     35
American Wigeon     1     With Green-Winged Teal and American Black Ducks
American Black Duck     90
Mallard     15
Green-winged Teal     6     With American Black Ducks
Common Loon     1     In Flight
Double-crested Cormorant     16
Great Egret     1
Snowy Egret     9
Little Blue Heron     2
Osprey     1
Bald Eagle     1
Red-tailed Hawk     1     Attempted to grab a Wilson’s Warbler without luck
Semipalmated Plover     13
Lesser Yellowlegs     4
Semipalmated Sandpiper     6
White-rumped Sandpiper     2
Mourning Dove     3
Ruby-throated Hummingbird     7
Downy Woodpecker     2

Hairy Woodpecker     1
Eastern Phoebe     4
American Crow     8
Fish Crow     1     Vocalizing
Common Raven     1
Black-capped Chickadee     7
Tufted Titmouse     6
Red-breasted Nuthatch     1
White-breasted Nuthatch     3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     2
Gray Catbird     2
Cedar Waxwing     1
Northern Parula     1
Chestnut-sided Warbler     2
Black-throated Blue Warbler     1
Yellow-rumped Warbler     4
Blackburnian Warbler     1
Palm Warbler     1
Blackpoll Warbler     1
Black-and-white Warbler     2
Common Yellowthroat     2
Wilson’s Warbler     3
Chipping Sparrow     8
Clay-colored Sparrow     2     With Chipping Sparrows allowing us to differentiate between the two species.
Savannah Sparrow     1
Song Sparrow     7
Northern Cardinal     2
Purple Finch     2
House Finch     4
American Goldfinch     8

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

 

Sunday morning, we took a short drive to Atkins Bay. The tide was at low, and shorebirds were out on the mudflats some distance from the shore.

Large flocks of Bonaparte Gulls were competing with shorebirds for space and food. One group of Snowy Egrets in flight numbered 15.

Whimbrels, Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, Great Blue Heron, and many “peeps” could be seen from Green Point. Two first year Bald Eagles were seen flying over Atkins Bay, disappearing over the spruces towards Parker Head. A lone Osprey was seen fishing near Coxs Head where a few Black Ducks and Canada Geese were resting.

Not a bad three-day weekend!

Happy birding!

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Maine Shorebirds

From the south coast of Maine to the Mid-Coast, shorebirds were on the move these last two weekends. Fall migration is well underway and shorebird numbers are not disappointing. (This is a double post for last Saturday along the south coast and this Saturday along the Mid-Coast.)

Last weekend, we visited Goose Rocks Beach, Granite Point and Pine Point to observe the “peeps”. The highlight of the trip was the sighting of a Western Willet, which happen to land a few feet from where I was standing at the Lobster Co-op.

We watched a pair of juvenile Green Herons take turns atanding on a wire out on Granite Point. Also at this location, Northern Harriers were searching the marsh for food, as were Osprey and an immature Bald Eagle.

Goose Rocks Beach held its fair share of shorebirds, but as it was dead low tide while we were there, counts were difficult as the birds were fairly far out on the mudflats.

I have misplaced the list of birds we observed last Saturday morning. Hopefully I’ll find it and amend this post at a later time. In the mean time, enjoy the following pictures from last Saturdays bird watching trip to the south coast of Maine.

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(Click on map and use your up and down arrow keys to view the 3 locations on this map)

Yesterday, Sharon and I followed the peninsula south of Bath for our bird watching trip. It was such a beautiful morning, with bright sunshine and light winds. We birded Tottman Cove. Atkins Bay and Small Point for the first 2 hours after sunrise.

Our highlights were the sighting of a single Great Egret and Solitary Sandpiper at Tottman Cove (Maine Atlas, page 6 D-4) and 3 first year Bald Eagles on Lee Island near the Squirrel Point Light (Maine Atlas, page 6 D-5).

The following is our tally:

Location:     Small Point
Observers:  John and Sharon Briggs
Observation date:     8/23/08
Notes:     Clear Skies; Temp: 58 F.; SSW winds @ 3-5 mph
Number of species:     26

Canada Goose     30
American Black Duck     4
Common Loon     1     (Near pier at Ft. Baldwin)
Double-crested Cormorant     15
Great Egret     1     (Tottman Cove)
Snowy Egret     12
Great Blue Heron   1
Osprey     2     (1 Head Beach; 1 Tottman Cove)
Bald Eagle     3     (3 - 1st year on Lee Island near Squirrel Point Light)
Northern Harrier     3     (1 Sprague River; 2 Atkins Bay)
Red-tailed Hawk     1
Merlin     1
Black-bellied Plover     1
Semipalmated Plover     10
Solitary Sandpiper     1     (Tottman Cove)
Greater Yellowlegs     2
Willet     2
Lesser Yellowlegs     7
Whimbrel     3     (Atkins Bay)
Least Sandpiper     2     (Tottman Cove)
White-rumped Sandpiper     6
Short-billed Dowitcher     5
Long-billed Dowitcher     1
Mourning Dove     8
Belted Kingfisher     3
American Crow     18

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

The following are photos of some of the birds we observed during yesterdays bird watching trip. The Snowy Egret was very cooperative as I stood within 20 yards of it, the sun directly behind me. The bird more than likely had no idea that I was there.

Happy birding!

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