Birds around the yard

Not much birding was done during the last week and a half. We learned that Sharon’s mother was in grave condition in a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania. We immediately left for Erie and arrived on March 19th. After a battle with a bad heart, diabetes and other health problems, she passed away peacefully on March 21st. We returned home on the 26th.

This post is dedicated in memory of Phyllis Sulzycki.

This weekend, we observed and photographed birds that visited our yard here in Bath, Maine. The high point was the close flybys of a 2nd Year Bald Eagle, 3rd Year Bald Eagle and an Adult Bald Eagle today. Ducks and Geese fleeing from the river was the only warning that these Eagles were around.

An influx of Fox and Song Sparrows arrived this weekend.  Singing from the bushes and scratching around under the feeders, I estimated 25 Sparrows. Quite a few American Robins also stopped by, with a vigorous flock of approx. 50 taking a few minutes to look for food on the small patches of yard not covered by snow. I could not believe my eyes as I watched a Robin pull a worm from the ground. I figured with the ground still frozen solid, worms would not be anywhere near the surface, but I was proved wrong.

Sharon and I got good looks at a Northern Shrike, Ring-Necked Duck, Red-Tailed Hawk and a Great Blue Heron today. Other birds visiting the feeders were Nuthatches, Titmice, Gold Finches, Chickadees, Brown Creepers, Blue Jays, Cardinals and that dastardly squirrel.

Last night, White-Tailed Deer came through our yard, flipped the large covered platform feeder and ate every bit of seed. They also knocked around one of our hanging feeders and helped themselves to what fell to the ground.

The Kennebec River continues to be a hot spot for hundreds of Ducks and Geese. American Wigeons, Pintails, Mallards, Black Ducks, Green-Winged Teals, Canada Geese and Ring-Necked Ducks are present every day. It is comical to watch them waddle on the mud flats during low tide.

The following are photos of birds viewed in and from our yard. Comments and criticisms are always welcomed!

Happy birding!

Technorati Tags: birding, birds, Maine, Bald Eagle, photos

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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!

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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

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Happy New Year

Wishing all of you a very happy and prosperous New Year!!

 I leave you with a few images of a Red-Tailed Hawk that we happened upon on the way back from Bath, Maine Sunday. My last bird photo of 2007. Click a thumbnail for a larger view.

Happy birding!

Technorati Tags: images, Hawk, Maine, bird, birding

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A Cape Cod Christmas

Tiring of the snow and cold here in Maine, and wanting to see what grass looks like, we spent our holiday weekend on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. With no snow on the ground and temperatures in the 50’s, it felt as if it were the first day of spring. We lodged in Harwich and spent several hours each day bird watching from Chatham to Provincetown. Sharon came down with the flu while we were there and as I write this entry, I myself feel as if I am coming down with the dreaded ailment.

The highlight of our trip was the sighting of a Peregrine Falcon in Provincetown (see photo below). As we rounded the traffic circle at the terminus of Province Lands Road, I spied the Falcon perched on a wire. I parked the car and slowly tried to position myself for a photograph. The sunlight was on the opposite side of the bird from where I was, so I slowly worked my way around to get a better shot. But a jerk in a big dump truck who saw what I was doing decided to make as much noise as he possibly could with the behemoth vehicle and scared the Falcon away. It was Christmas Eve, so I kept my thoughts about this to myself and did not run after the truck shaking my fist.

Saturday afternoon, just before sunset, we were at the lookout parking lot across the street from the Chatham Lighthouse. Sharon was watching for seals and I was watching ducks fly in and out of Chatham Harbor. We saw what looked like rocks on a sandbar, but remembering from other times that we visited the area, there were no rocks at that particular location. We decided to go to a better vantage point. A narrow street took us to a point directly across from the “rocks”, which were in reality seals! There were close to 300 Harbor and Gray Seals hauled out on the sandbars, resting and sleeping, a few of them playing in the surf. Those that were sleeping were lined up in rows and all were facing the water in case a quick escape were imminent. This was, by far, a record number of seals for us.

We visited several lighthouses and a wildlife refuge in Wellfleet. An adult Bald Eagle was soaring over the marsh in the refuge and a Red-Tailed Hawk was hunting over the pine forest at the same location. A couple of hardy Great Blue Heron were seen here and there, and a drake Barrow’s Goldeneye was seen in the Salt Pond. Large numbers of Buffleheads and Red-Breasted Mergansers were seen at just about every location that had water.

The following is a tally of species we recorded while on Cape Cod.

• Greater Scaup
• Lesser Scaup
• Common Eider
• Long-Tailed Duck
• Surf Scoter
• Common Goldeneye
• Barrow’s Goldeneye
• Great Cormorant
• Great Blue Heron
• Mallard
• Mute Swan
• Canada Goose
• American Black Duck
• Bufflehead
• Common Merganser
• Red-Breasted Merganser
• Hooded Merganser
• Bald Eagle
• Red Tailed Hawk
• Peregrine Falcon
• Ring-Necked Pheasant
• Wild Turkey
• Black-Legged Kittiwake
• Mourning Dove
• Red-Bellied Woodpecker
• Hairy Woodpecker
• Downy Woodpecker
• Northern Flicker
• Blue Jay
• American Crow
• Black-Capped Chickadee
• Tufted Titmouse
• Red-Breasted Nuthatch
• White-Breasted Nuthatch
• Carolina Wren
• Golden-Crowned Kinglet
• American Robin
• Northern Mockingbird
• Cedar Waxwing
• European Starling
• Yellow-Rumped Warbler
• Northern Cardinal
• American Tree Sparrow
• Song Sparrow
• Dark-Eyed Junco
• House Finch
• American Gold Finch
• House Sparrow

Not a bad tally with 47 species! I have included some of the photographs that were taken on Cape Cod. A larger view may be seen by clicking a thumbnail. As always, comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated!

Happy birding!

Technorati Tags: Maine, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, bird watching, bird, wildlife, photographs, birding

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