Egrets and Flickers

A beautiful weekend ends this Sunday evening with a raw east wind and a fog bank backing in from the Atlantic. But before the gloom came some spectacular bird watching this morning at Small Point, Maine.

Sharon and I got into our car at a bright and early 6 a.m. this morning, only to clamber out again to get looks at three 2nd year Bald Eagles who landed on the mud flats behind our house. We watched as one would take flight and land near another, which would lead to a short battle over who would get the spot of real estate. This went on for fifteen minutes or so, each Eagle taking its turn harassing the other. As the Eagles headed toward Winnegance Lake, we drove south down the peninsula to Small Point.

A very small pond on the road to Small Point Beach held a trio of Snowy Egrets. Using our car as a blind, we watched the Egrets eat small fish, chase and fight each other and display, all from not more than 20 feet away. Several pair of Grackle were gathering nesting material, Red-Winged Blackbirds sang from the reeds and Eastern Phoebes were singing from the hedges.

I later walked a dirt lane between some cottages and found many Northern Flickers, who were probing the ground for tasty ants. Osprey flew overhead and a single adult Bald Eagle circled the cove.

A tally of the species we observed are below.

Location:     Small Point, Maine
Observation date:     4/20/08
Notes:     Clear skies, temp upper 30’s, light wind. Observers: John and Sharon Briggs
Number of species:     30

American Black Duck     6
Ring-necked Duck     3
Bufflehead     6
Red-breasted Merganser     1
Double-crested Cormorant     2
Great Blue Heron     1
Snowy Egret     3
Turkey Vulture     1
Osprey     2
Bald Eagle     1
Mourning Dove     4
Northern Flicker     8
Pileated Woodpecker     3
Eastern Phoebe     4
Blue Jay     2
Tree Swallow     12
Barn Swallow     1
Black-capped Chickadee     5
Red-breasted Nuthatch     1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet     12
American Robin     3
European Starling     4
American Tree Sparrow     2
Savannah Sparrow     3
Song Sparrow     4
Northern Cardinal     1
Red-winged Blackbird     18
Common Grackle     15
Brown-headed Cowbird     1
American Goldfinch     8

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2

Enjoy the bird photographs we have posted below. Click a thumbnail image for a larger size.

 

Happy birding!

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