First of Year 2009 maine birds

John Briggs — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:31:29 +0000

Happy New Year

Here at Fiddler’s Reach, it is ridiculously cold this morning! At 6:40 a.m., when we saw our FOY bird (Mourning Dove), it was -1° F. with a windchill of -26° F. The landscape is frozen, as is the Kennebec River.

We have a fire going in the fireplace. Sauerkraut and Pork is in the crock pot. (A Pennsylvania tradition is to have sauerkraut on New Years Day. Supposed to bring good luck.) We didn’t see pork roasts and sauerkraut flying off the shelves at Shaw’s Market, so I don’t know if it’s a tradition here in Maine or not.

Never-the-less, the birds are cold and hungry this morning. High energy food is a must to keep them warm. We made sure that all feeders were full before dark last night. Deer made sure that they cleaned out the ground feeders last night, so we bundled up at 5 a.m. and went out and refilled them.

The following are birds that visited our feeders this morning just after sunrise.

FOY (First of Year) 2009 Birds

DE Juncos: 16
American Goldfinches: 6
Tree Sparrows: 4
Pine Siskins: 11
Cardinals: 2
Chickadees: 7
Hairy Woodpecker: 1
Downy Woodpecker: 2
Blue Jays: 6
Titmouse: 5
Red-Breasted Nuthatch: 2
White-Breasted Nuthatch: 2
American Crows: 5
Red-Tailed Hawk: 1 (Chased by Crows)
a single Song Sparrow
a seemingly out of place White-Throated Sparrow

Click photos for a larger view.

Happy New Year and happy birding!

Birds around the yard

John Briggs — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:49:57 +0000

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!

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First of Year 2009 maine birds

Birds around the yard