Shorebirds at Goose Rocks Beach

Fall migration is underway as the shorebird numbers continue to rise at area beaches, marshes and mud flats.

Goose Rocks Beach is no exception. My wife and I spent several hours at the beach Saturday morning, and Sunday morning, Bob Malbon and I sat on the rocks and filled several compact flash cards while photographing the shorebird activity.

Species recorded at GRB:

• Piping Plovers
• Least Terns
• Common Terns
• Roseate Tern
• Great Egrets
• Snowy Egrets
• Great Blue Herons
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Semipalmated Plovers
• Semipalmated Sandpipers
• White Rumped Sandpipers
• Eastern Willets
• Spotted Sandpipers
• Short-Billed Dowitchers
• Long-Billed Dowitchers
• Double-Crested Cormorants
• Common Eiders
• Stilt Sandpiper
• Glossy Ibis
• Least Sandpiper
• Barn Swallows
• Cliff Swallows
• Tree Swallows

Not every species listed was photographed. We did, however, gets photos of most of them. Watching the behavior was very rewarding. Everything from adults feeding the young, to fights breaking out over a morsel of food, or territorial issues.

As the tide fell, the mud flats became the focus point. Hundreds of “peeps” were feeding, many were airborne, and others wading in the shallow waters. Terns hovered and then dove into the water, taking with them a small fish to satisfy their hunger. Snowy and Great Egrets could be heard squabbling just over the dune from where we sat.  An adult Short-Billed Dowitcher brought five of its young to the mud flats to feed. It was by far one of the best birding days so far this summer!

 Enjoy the photos that I have included below, and as always, comments and criticisms are always welcomed.

For those of you looking for the “Maine Birds” series, it will now begin the week of July 23rd, 2007. I was too busy birding this weekend to begin as promised, but it will be here this week.

Happy birding!

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Shorebirds

My wife and I explored Goose Rocks Beach near Kennebunk, Maine for shorebirds Saturday morning, and we were not disappointed.

We observered Whimbrel, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Short-Billed Dowitchers, Long-Billed Dowitchers, Glossy Ibis, Piping Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, White-Rumped Sandpipers, Snowy Egrets, Willets and Least Terns. All these birds were feeding during low tide in the Batson’s River and in the many tidal pools on the back side of the beach.

Photographing the many birds that were present had to be quick because of a cloud bank moving in that promised to block the sun. Twenty minutes later, the sun was behind the clouds and I didn’t get the chance to get a representative picture of each and every species listed. What I did manage to photograph are in the images below.

This morning, fellow birder Bob Malbon and I birded in the fog at Goose Rocks Beach and Granite Point. Clouds completely obscured the sun, but we managed to photograph an adult Snowy Egret with 3 juveniles feeding in the tidal pools at GRB.

Over at Granite Point, we watched fledgling Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows flit about and being fed by adults. Nearly a constant flow of Egrets were seen flying along the Little River, and a lone Glossy Ibis made an appearance. I will work on these photos later and post them on a rainy day.

Speaking of rainy days, many of you are probably unaware that I have a weather site on the web at BiddefordWeather.com. This site is completely automated with live uploads of the current conditions in Biddeford every second of every day. This is possible with a Davis Vantage Pro wireless weather station which is located at my home. An on-board radar software program uploads the latest radar data either as a still image or looped, which is animated radar images for the last several hours. Tide info, satellite data, watches and warnings, a weather cam and the latest National Weather Service forecasts are also available. A lot of the information is very useful for birders in the area.

Posted below are images I captured Saturday morning at GRB. Simply click a thumbnail for a larger view. Comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated.

Happy birding!

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Fishing Egrets

Photographing Egrets fishing in a panne is a lesson in patience, along with a very fast shutter speed. Two weeks ago, my wife and I watched 16 Snowy and 3 Great Egrets forage for food in a panne out on Granite Point near Biddeford Pool, Maine. The sun angle was perfect and the food was plenty for these birds.

Standing in the shadows with the sun behind me, these creatures never knew we were there. Wearing camouflage from head to toe and moving very slowly is the trick to getting close enough to get good photos of any bird. And being quiet is a must! If you sound like a herd of elephants while moving to a vantage point, you may as well turn around. Leave the perfume, aftershave, deodorant, etc. at home. It was once thought that birds had little if any sense of smell. During the past 2 decades, sophisticated tests have identified more and more avian species that use a sense of smell.  One thing to never forget, never get close enough to stress the birds.

Saturday morning, Sharon and I met with fellow birder Bob Malbon at the Kennebunk Plains. We walked several paths and saw plenty of fledgling Sparrows and Prairie Warblers. We watched as a Rufous-Sided Towhee fed it’s young. It’s the time of year for fledglings to be out and about. If you are quiet, and find the right habitat with plenty of cover, it’s not that difficult to experience a mother feeding its young. The behaviour of the fledglings should clue you in that you are viewing a young bird. The juvenile will shake and ruffle its feathers, opening its beak towards where the adult is located. Sometimes, you will hear ”cheep-cheep” coming from the young trying to get the attention of the adult. Those who have feeders should also be on the look out as the parents will bring their young to a feeder.

Two of the photos below feature what I belive is a juvenile Clay-Colored Sparrow. See the first and second images in the second row. Comment on this article if you think it is otherwise. As always, comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated.

Happy birding!

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Birding Vinalhaven

After a well deserved vacation at Vinalhaven, Maine, we are back with our regular weekly updates and pictures. For those of you who missed us the last two weeks, thanks for the emails asking if all was okay. I guess I should get into the habit of letting our readers know when we will be away and no posts will be forthcoming.

Vinalhaven is an island 15 miles off the coast of Rockland, Maine. A very friendly and beautiful place, it is also a haven for birds. Eagles, Ospreys and other common birds were tallied during our stay on the island. When we boarded the ferry to return to the mainland on our final day, five Bald Eagles were seen, along with several Harbor Seals.

The weather was incredible, mostly sunny skies and temps a tad below normal for this time of year. We stayed at the only motel on the island, which is the Tide Water Motel in downtown Vinalhaven. The food we enjoyed at area restaurants was delicious!

We took plenty of photographs of birds and the beautiful scenery which can be seen below. Simply click a thumbnail for a larger view.

Today, we went to Evergreen and Capisic Parks in Portland. There were many young birds begging for their parents to feed them. We had great views of a young Baltimore Oriole being fed by a parent, and likewise saw a Yellow Warbler feed its young.

At Evergreen, a pair of Black-Crowned Night Herons were in the lower pond on a deadfall that lays in the water. Several flights were observed between the pair, mostly to perches in trees along the pond.

A walk to the Junk Pond produced several Flycatchers, Bluejays, Chickadees, Catbirds, Robins, Mockingbirds, Goldfinches and Thrushes. We could not view much of the pond because of overgrowth.

Enjoy the following pictures and as always, comments and criticisms are greatly appreciated.

Happy birding!

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Piping Plovers and Least Terns

A beautiful Father’s Day weekend graced the state of Maine with warm temperatures and mostly blue skies. Here is hoping all dads out there had a great day with their children.

Birding around the area was spectacular once again. Eastern Point Sanctuary and Goose Rocks Beach were the focus this weekend, with plenty of birds to see and photograph.

Saturday and Sunday morning both began cloudy, but soon the clouds burned off and the bird watching began. Eastern Point held large numbers of Cedar Waxwings and Yellow Warblers. Flights of Common Eider and Double-Crested Cormorant continually flew just off the point, while Catbirds, Robins and Song Sparrows sang their melodious tunes. A single Palm Warbler was seen on the trail that goes along the mouth of the Saco River. A large Red Fox was seen trotting across the golf course near the entrance to the trail.

We then went to “Hattie’s Beach”, and walked a trail off the parking area that leads to a small pond. A Brown Thrasher left us know that we were in his territory, more than likely trying to lead us away from an unseen, nearby nest. A single Green Heron was seen feeding in the small lily pad choked pond.

The first series of photos below are of common birds seen in the area of Biddeford Pool this weekend.

Our next adventure was Goose Rocks Beach, near Kennebunkport, Maine. Least Terns and Piping Plovers were plentiful in and around an area that is closed off with rope and has cages for the Piping Plovers to nest in. These cages protect the Plover eggs from predators, such as skunks, raccoons and foxes.

Fellow birder Bob Malbon and I photographed the activity from a distance, and I want to assure everyone that we stayed out of the roped off area and did not harass the wildlife. We both were using powerful lenses, mine a 400mm and Bob’s a 500mm.  This is how we accomplished photographing the nesting activity.

A pair of Least Terns were trapped inside of a Plover cage, the poor creatures banging against the top of the cage trying to get out. I sent an email last evening to the Maine-Bird List alerting members of the list to contact Maine Audubon to rescue these two Terns. As of 11:00 a.m. this morning, I received several emails stating that the Terns were no longer trapped in the cage.

The following photos were taken at Goose Rocks Beach Saturday evening. I must admit that I had a great time, but ended up with tired and sore arms trying to photograph the Least Terns in flight. Comments and criticisms are always welcomed.

Happy birding!

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