Birding in Maine» Video

The Melodic Song Sparrow

John Briggs — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:09:52 +0000

Song Sparrow – Melospiza melodia

From nearly every prominence on the vegetation that grows in our backyard, a Song Sparrow is singing. The glorious sounds of Spring and the hope that ol’ man Winter doesn’t have any more tricks up his sleeve.

Song Sparrows have the greatest number of genetically distinct populations of any bird in North America. There’s much debate on the total number of subspecies, but a recent study suggests there are perhaps as many as 34.

Song Sparrows are noted for scratching the ground with its feet to expose invertebrates hidden under surface litter. They forage primarily on ground, picking food from the ground or at bases of bushes. These birds also search the mud or shallow water along streams and I have seen them on the mudflats during low tide.

A Song Sparrow apparently has an inborn tendency to sing songs of two general types, but it learns its phrases by listening to other, nearby Song Sparrows. As a result, the songs of different birds in a local population contain similar notes and phrases (but usually arranged differently), while the songs of birds in separated populations contain different phrases. The farther away two populations are, the less likely they are to use similar phrases in their songs.

The following photos and video was taken in our backyard.

Dimension: 560×480 | Length: 26 sec. | File Size: 10.6mb
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Video: Song Sparrow Singing | ©2011 John Briggs Photography

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-bEIhfqQng

Happy birding!

Video of the Day: Sharp-shinned Hawk Enjoying Breakfast

John Briggs — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 15:36:45 +0000

Sharon and I were watching a pair of first year Bald Eagles harassing ducks from our picture window Saturday morning. Suddenly, all of the birds in our backyard took off in a frenzy. A Sharp-shinned Hawk came from seemingly nowhere and snatched a Mourning Dove. Feathers floated everywhere as the hawk flew off with its prize.

We thought the hawk had left the area. Upon further investigation from our deck, Sharon spied it under a spruce tree and motioned for me to come outside to check it out. I grabbed my camera rig and went out onto the deck and there it was, ripping feathers from the fresh kill. I followed one of the paths, that I shoveled clear of snow, to one of the birds feeders and took the following video.

Simply click the photo below. When the new window opens for the video, open window to full size to see the larger HD version.

Dimension: 560×480 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | Length: 36 sec.
Click photo to watch video | Broadband Connection Recommended
Video: Sharp-shinned Hawk | ©2011 John Briggs Photography
Video will open in a new window. Playback is at my SmugMug site.

Happy birding!

Video of the Day: Common Redpoll

John Briggs — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:21:35 +0000

Common Redpoll (male) – Acanthis flammea

While a light snow fell across mid coast Maine this morning, we were greeted with 30+ Common Redpolls. After 11 years of submitting check lists for the Great Backyard Bird Count, we were finally able to add this beautiful bird. We have had the Common Redpoll visit our feeders many times, but it’s a first for the GBBC.

Simply click the photo below. When the new window opens for the video, open window to full size to see the HD version.

Dimension: 560×480 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | Length: 16 sec.
Click photo to watch video | Broadband Connection Recommended
Video: Common Redpoll | ©2011 John Briggs Photography
Video will open in a new window. Playback is at my SmugMug site.

Happy birding!

Wordless Wednesday: Female Northern Cardinal Video

John Briggs — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:49:50 +0000

Click photo to play video.

Get Wordless over at Wordless Wednesday.

Slide Show: Northern Maine and New Hampshire

John Briggs — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:22:32 +0000

I thought I would take a different approach in presenting some of the photos taken while we were in the north woods of Maine and New Hampshire. This is my first attempt at a video slide show. The video is hosted on my server and should stream well enough for all but those with a slow dial-up connection.

You will see images from the Mt. Washington Auto Road (the peak was socked in with clouds, so no views from the top), Beaver Brook Falls near Colebrook, NH, the Umbagog Lake Region of New Hampshire and Maine, and Screw Auger Falls at Grafton Notch State Park in Maine. The sunset photo was taken after the sun had set. Further to the west, a lake reflected the sun back into the atmosphere making it look as if the sun had yet to set. You will also see a moose crossing sign that someone decided to have a little fun with. It’s not right to deface signs, but I couldn’t help but to laugh when I saw it.

I would greatly appreciate feedback on what you thought of the slide show and if you had any issues during playback. I used AVS Video Editor 4 to put together the slide show. Music score by Bandari – The Foggy Dew.

Dimension: 560×480 | Video bit rate: 1000Kbps | File Size: 19.6mb
Playback: Click Play Button | Broadband Connection Recommended
Video slide show: Northern Maine & New Hampshire | ©2010 birdingmaine.com
Photos taken with a Canon 7D camera.

Happy birding!

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