Despite a few wintery days this week, spring is most definitely in the air. As I have finally seemed to have turned the corner with my dreadfully slow recovery, I am also getting out a lot more. Therefore, with more to report, and more changes week-to-week, I’ll try to get back into my old habit of weekly posts here.
Observations of note over the past seven days:
increasing number of blackbirds
first trickle of migrant sparrows
1 SNOW GOOSE, our property in Durham, 3/27.
increasing number and diversity of waterfowl inland.
1 Tree Swallow (FOY), Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch, 3/31.
Despite only getting out into the field twice this week, I enjoyed some good birding. For now, my birding remains primarily feeder- and yard-watching, but this week, it was more evenly split between our feeders at home in Durham and here at the store in Freeport. Blackbird flocks are officially “in” and several species of sparrows are on the move.
At home, Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds are now present daily, in varying numbers (between 4 and 56 and between 3 and 26, respectively), with one or two Brown-headed Cowbirds on most days. Similarly, at the store, small flocks of Common Grackles come and go, but 7 Red-winged Blackbirds are more consistent. One Brown-headed Cowbird made only one appearance here.
A Fox Sparrow that arrived last Friday departed on Tuesday night, and a second Song Sparrow arrived this week. Dark-eyed Juncos continue, with fewer by week’s end. However, a third White-throated Sparrow arrived on the 30th. Here at the store, four Song Sparrows continue, and 2 American Tree Sparrows arrived on the 26th– surprisingly our first two of the entire winter.
At both locations, breeding activity is heating up, too, with more territorial and courtship behaviors observed each day.
The yard highlight, however, was the Snow Goose – Yard Bird #125! -I spotted passing low over our yard on the 27th. While I didn’t technically see it from bed, I did get out of bed – where I was doing some of my physical therapy exercises to look at a large group of geese passing overhead. You may not be surprised to know that we have a pair of binoculars in every room, which is a good thing, as I was able to pull out the lone Snow from a flock of about 75 Canadas.
Speaking of binoculars, I need to take a moment to plug my Zeiss SFL 8×40’s. I fell in love with them when they came out last year, and I was very thankful for them when my shoulder was in pain. They’re just so incredibly lightweight, but I have found minimal tradeoff in brightness, color, etc. Since I am still a one-armed birder, they have been absolutely critical for my ability to look at birds when out and about now. Great balance combined with the light weight just makes them perfect for holding steady with one hand. I do need to rebuild my stamina, however, as there has been a lot of atrophy of field birding muscles over the last 2+ months!
Anyway, back to waterfowl….another highlight this week was the arrival of Wood Ducks in our backyard. A pair have been frequenting a vernal pool we can see from the house for the last few days, and Jeannette spotted them sitting in the trees just off of our porch on the 29th. Three more drakes are frequenting a pond across the street, where a pair of American Wigeon (my first of the spring) plopped in on the 30th).
Finally this week, I was able to get back up to the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch for a couple of hours on Friday. A few raptors were on the move (much less than we expected given the conditions), but I did pick up my first Eastern Phoebe and Tree Swallow of the year. Later that afternoon, another phoebe was staking out a territory around our house.
Quite likely the same individual that was first found in Portland before relocating to Thornhurst Farm in North Yarmouth, this Barnacle Goose was found on North River Road in Auburn on the 22nd. Dan Nickerson and I caught up with it two days later, here, on the 24th.
This (Two) Week’s Highlights:
Birding in Kentucky with the Beckham Bird Club
Changes at the feeding station.
Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch gets underway!
American Woodcocks are going wild!
2 Brown-headed Cowbirds (FOY), our feeders in Durham, 3/17 (with Dan Nickerson)
2 Common Grackles (FOY), our feeders in Durham, 3/18.
3 displaying American Woodcocks (FOY), our property in Durham, 3/18.
1 continuing BARNACLE GOOSE, North River Road, Auburn, 3/24 (with Dan Nickerson).
1 Fox Sparrow (FOY), our feeders in Durham, 3/24.
In contrast to my previous 8 weeks (summarized here and here), this period began with actual birding…in Kentucky! I had the pleasure and honor of giving a presentation at the Annual Meeting of the venerable Beckham Bird Club of Louisville. It was my first time birding beyond Greater Durham in two months; a most welcome change of scenery. But I must say, flying with a recovering shoulder really kinda sucks.
My new Kentucky state list kicked off on the morning of the 14th thanks to a local birding tour from Andrew Melnykovych. Starting at his patch, the Grand Allie section of Beckley Creek Park, I started to familiarize myself with the local wintering avifauna. I enjoyed revisiting with Carolina Chickadees in particular, with Black Vultures joining Turkey Vultures overhead. The weather didn’t feel like it, but I was definitely in the South!
That evening, I spoke to over 100 people at the banquet, offering my program about the Morning Flight at Sandy Point to describe concepts and techniques described in my first book, How to Be a Better Birder.
The following morning, I joined club members on a birdwalk to the delightful Anchorage Trail in the nearby town of Anchorage. Passing through a variety of habitats on an easy, paved, two-mile trail, we spent the morning slowly working through the various species we encountered (43 I believe was the official tally). Being from Maine, it was nice to hear Eastern Phoebes (overwintering and/or returning migrants), oodles of Carolina Wrens, and a nice variety of ducks in the pond: one Green-winged with a half-dozen Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, Gadwall, Hooded Mergansers, Gadwall, Ring-necked Ducks, and Mallards (photo above). I also enjoyed the woodpecker sweep: Downy and Hairy, Pileated and Red-bellied, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Northern Flickers.
While it will be a little while longer before our Saturday Morning Birdwalks return, it was sure nice to get out in the field on a pleasant (by Maine standards that is!) early spring morning to help folks see some birds!
But then it was back to my usual routine. Arriving at home at 1:30am on Thursday the 16th, it wasn’t exactly an early start to my window-watching day, however. Not surprisingly, I spent less time looking out at our feeding station over that week than I have at any point over the past two months. Being out of town for three days coupled with a few visits to the store and lots of physical therapy resulted in fewer hours spent evaluating feeder bird numbers. Sharp-shinned Hawk presence didn’t help either, with our adult male continuing.
This continuing adult male continues to wreak havoc at the feeders, but my consistent observation this winter has offered me insight into this species’ natural history.
Nonetheless, there were plenty of changes in species composition and quantity noticed this week. We only received about 5-6 inches of snow here in Durham as temperatures hovered around the freezing mark for most of the day on the 14th, preventing accumulation until the late afternoon. In fact, there was less snow on the ground two days after the storm than there was the day before the storm (that was far from true for most of the state, however.
Not surprisingly, there were fewer Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows this week. Three Red-winged Blackbirds are regular, while the high counts of Northern Cardinals and Eastern Bluebirds continued to decline as territories began to be established and enforced. We also saw a noticeable decrease in the size of our American Goldfinch flock this week. Then, in the afternoon, my first two Brown-headed Cowbirds of the year (in Maine, that is) appeared.
The following week was much more spring-like, and the avian changes were even more evident. At least here in Durham, and changes to species composition and quantities are happening fast now.
Natural food is becoming more available as the snow recedes and the first “new” food sources emerge. A new uptick in American Goldfinches to 45 on 3/23 saw most of the birds spending most of their time eating aspen buds. Although a Pileated Woodpecker remains in the area, I did not see it visit the feeders once this week. We still have 8-12 Dark-eyed Juncos around, but they are often dispersed under brush away from the feeders. Our overwintering male Red-bellied Woodpecker, pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches, and our Carolina Wren have also spent considerably less time at the feeders this week. And not a single House Finch.
The last of our two American Tree Sparrows of the winter departed on the 17th, but a presumably new bird – a migrant – was at the feeders on the 21st through the end of the week. Our first Song Sparrow of the year arrived on the 18th and has been under the feeders since. Two White-throated Sparrows continue as well, and our first Fox Sparrow of the year appeared in the evening on the 24th.
While one Brown Creeper has been regular in the trees immediately behind the feeding station for a couple of weeks now, we now have a pair, and on the 23rd I spotted one of them creeping on the ground under a hulled sunflower tube. I didn’t see it eat anything, so I won’t count it on the feeder list quite yet, but I can see its bravery increasing.
Red-winged Blackbirds are now here to stay, with 2-3 territorial birds occasionally joined by migrants (high of 14 on the 21st), while we had Brown-headed Cowbirds (1-2) on two days this week. After our first two Common Grackles of the year briefly visited on the 18th, a flock of 22 dropped by on the 21st.Also on the 21st, we had 2 Pine Siskins – our first here since January 21st. I also spotted our first Turkey Vulture over the yard this year later that day.
Meanwhile, my yard-listing gears shifted from sorting through commuting gulls to commuting geese. With growing numbers of Canada Geese beginning to arrive starting on the 17th, flocks would often be visible from the window and over our yard as they commute between the Androscoggin River and local fields.
Our suspicion that the area right around our house would be a perfect place for displaying American Woodcocks was confirmed on the first warm and calm night of the spring: 3 birds displaying closely and vociferously right over our driveway on the 18th with two displaying and one silent fly-by (a female?) on the 22nd. Speaking of American Woodcocks, our first tour of the season is right around the corner: Woodcocks Gone Wild at Pineland Farms is only a week away!
Another sure sign that spring really is here, the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch kicked off on March 15th as usual, albeit delayed by 2 hours as the last of the precipitation cleared. It absolutely pains me that I cannot be up there, but thankfully Zane Baker has returned for his 5th season as Official Counter. While Jeannette and I will be up there much less than usual for a while longer at least, we know the count is in great hands!
I did, however, make a cameo on the 20th, spending an hour and a half to test drive my stamina. A handful of migrant raptors were spotted, and I was rewarded for the effort with a flock of 6 Northern Pintails flying by. This was my personal 144th species at Bradbury Mountain State Park, and we believe a first record for the Hawkwatch -and therefore the park itself!
Speaking of appearances, Jeannette and I appeared on Newscenter Maine’s 207 last week, discussing birds, bird feeding, and the changing climate and bird populations. Check it out!
I think my friend Dan Nickerson took pity on me – or was just tired of reading about our feeder birds? – so he was kind enough to pick me up and take me birding for the morning on the 24th for some local birding. It was great to get out, and I was most appreciative. And what a day we had!
We worked our way up the Androscoggin River, finding one 1st-winter Iceland Gull still at the Auburn Riverwalk and some new arrivals at the south end of North River Road in Auburn, including the boat launch area: a total of 10 Ring-necked Ducks and 3 Double-crested Cormorants (both being my first of the year in Maine), and off the boat launch, a small flock of 5 Lesser Scaup with one female Greater Scaup hanging out with them. The first of our three Ring-necked Ducks joined them briefly.
Further up the road, we looked for a previously-reported Barnacle Goose in the farm fields, but we couldn’t find it. There were a goodly number of Canada Geese around though, and with birds in and out of gulleys and presumably moving back and forth from the river, we decided to check back later.
We looked for Snow Buntings and the like along Upper Street in Turner, kept an eye out for frugivores, and then paid the Lower Street Harris’s Sparrow a visit. I saw this bird back on January 13th, but it was too good of a bird to not see again. When it immediately popped out of its favored bush, Dan got a life bird and I enjoyed a nice long view (but not so much photographs with one hand in a cold and gusty wind!).
We then returned to North River Road where I spotted the Barnacle Goose immediately this time. We savored this sighting – Dan’s second lifer in an hour! – and photographs were more successful (see above). We decided to celebrate with Thai food and broke for an early lunch as my shoulder was starting to whine a little about all of this excitement and activity. Thai food made everything better though, as it usually does.
Hopefully, I have finally turned the corner on my slow recovery, and next week will feature a little more time in the field and at the store, but for now, I will continue to track feeder birds in between.
This adult male Sharp-shinned Hawk was our fourth individual “Sharpie” identified at our feeding station this winter.
With the dreadfully slow pace of recovery following shoulder surgery, my birding these past three weeks was once again mostly outside our windows here at our home in Durham. One unseasonably mild week was followed by a week of below normal temperatures and several snow events. Then, the period finished out with spring-like feel. It was fascinating to track the ebbs and flows of feeder activity with each change in the weather and the progression of the season.
Highlights over the last 3 weeks:
2 Red-winged Blackbirds (First of Year), our feeders in Durham, 2/23.
Continued Sharp-shinned Hawk saga at our feeders.
Scattered Turkey Vultures and more Red-winged Blackbirds returning the area in the second week of March.
1 hen Barrow’s Goldeneye, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Auburn/Lewiston, 3/7 (with Jeannette).
Compared to the previous weeks –which I summarized in my last blog – unseasonably mild weather and a rapidly diminishing snowpack, activity at the feeders here in Durham continued to decrease during the week of the 2/13. The mixed-species foraging flocks had mostly broken up already, so it became harder to tell how many of each resident are around. However, a female Red-breasted Nuthatch rejoined our overwintering male, and we do have at least 12 Black-capped Chickadees now. There still seems to be two pairs of Tufted Titmice, but they no longer tolerate each other’s company.
Eastern Bluebirds (down to a pair daily) and Northern Cardinals (down to two pairs) decreased, but there was a noticeable increase in Dark-eyed Juncos this week: I saw around 20 under the feeders on 2/19 (up from 10-16), but there were more in the bushes. We have a little “evening flight” where the juncos leave our yard and scrub, fly down our driveway, and across the street into woods with thicker evergreen cover to spend their winter nights. I counted 34 that day as they departed the feeders and the woods behind it. With more bare ground, a lot of our ground feeders (also including Mourning Doves) were not frequenting the feeders as much, as expected. We still had 5 American Tree Sparrows and 2 White-throated Sparrows, however, carrying over from last week.
Signs of spring were everywhere. I caught a pair of Mourning Doves copulation on the 19th, and I began to see daily Canada Goose flocks moving between the river and the opening nearby farm fields. Common Mergansers returned to the Androscoggin River across the street from our property the next day. Woodpeckers were drumming more this week, and birdsong noticeably increased.
Then came the snowfall on the 23rd, and the accumulation brought a renewed surge of activity to the feeders, and a return to winter. The highlight was my first two Red-winged Blackbirds of the year, adding more color to a birdy day. Northern Cardinals jumped back up to 7, American Tree Sparrows increased to 10, and a third White-throated Sparrow arrived. Mourning Doves increased to 24, Eastern Bluebirds were back up to 7, and 3 House Finches returned.
Other than the Red-wings, these are mostly local birds that had begun to spread out, but returned to the supplemental food with the fresh snowfall. There did seem to be a legitimate increase in Dark-eyed Juncos that week, however, which may have included some early migrants. Meanwhile, 30-40 American Goldfinches continued daily, although once again we were sans winter finches except for a single female Purple Finch on the 21st.
Now, with a return to some significantly cold temperatures and more rounds of snow, I expected feeder-watching to be excellent during the week after that first storm. And sure enough, three bitter cold mornings followed by two more bouts of snow resulted in increased feeder activity overall yet again.
We continued to see 16-20 species a day at the feeders, although the wintery week pumped the breaks on new arrivals. Last week’s Red-winged Blackbirds likely turned back around when the snow began to accumulate, for example. A small bump in daily counts of Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows could involve some northbound migrants, but probably more likely were local birds concentrating again as snow piled up. Our 3 White-throated Sparrows continued. There was a definite uptick in American Goldfinches, however, with a high count of 46 on the 28th.
We saw fewer Eastern Bluebirds, Northern Cardinals, and Blue Jays most days that week compared to weeks prior, likely as these birds start setting up territories and/or begin to disperse. Lots of Hairy Woodpecker drumming and Tufted Titmouse singing this week, too, despite the return to full-on winter weather. Our lone overwintering male Red-breasted Nuthatch has also become less frequent. Unfortunately, 2-5 European Starlings became more regular – come on Sharpie, help me out here!
On Saturday the 4th, 12.5 heavy, wet inches accumulated here in Durham, burying our brush pile once again. Not surprisingly, ground-feeders didn’t appreciate that very much, especially with the continuing Sharp-shinned Hawk activity. Two “Sharpies” were present this week (see below) both an adult male and the return of a sub-adult male. Our brush pile is critical -as it often is in open areas and following new construction – for birds’ safety, and when buried under snow, it didn’t have a lot of accessibility to hide.
On the 5th, for example, the subadult male was seen for the first time in a few weeks, and after just missing a Tufted Titmouse diving off the feeders, it perched conspicuously next to the brush pile for over an hour. The next day, the adult male was staking out the feeders during my prime feeder-watching time of the morning, dramatically reducing my day’s tallies once again. There were times this week when the only bird in view out the window was a Sharp-shinned Hawk!
As the weather improved and snow began to melt rapidly as the week went on, Dark-eyed Juncos and Northern Cardinals in particular returned to previous weeks’ highs, finding safety when necessary in the brush pile once again. American Tree Sparrows had decreased to only 2 by week’s end, however, this may reflect the season more than anything; tree sparrows are among our first birds to start heading back north. Overall though, daily averages were down, but when all was said and done, the week’s high counts were very similar to previous weeks for most species.
Eastern Bluebirds have been fewer this week, likely as birds begin to disperse to breeding territories. And I have officially lost control of counting the number of Black-capped Chickadees and Tufted Titmice that are now visiting as they come randomly now instead of as a tight-nit mixed species flock(s) as they do in the winter. Another sign of the season was the arrival of 5 male Red-winged Blackbirds this morning (3/10), our first here since one on 2/23. Now, it’s possible they are here to stay.
In addition to marked changes in the weather, daily activity and consumption ebbed and flowed with Sharp-shinned Hawk presence and activity as I mentioned above. I would say my most fascinating observations this constant feeder-watching vigil provided was the Accipiter drama. I am sure this is happening everywhere, all of the time, but my unusual observation duration and frequency offered the rare opportunity to study the predator presence.
The adult female that has been present most of the winter and has provided much of the said drama continued to be spotted in the yard through the end of February. However, much to my surprise, yet a different bird was present on a couple of days during the week of the 27th: a new adult male. This makes the fourth different Sharp-shined Hawk that we have hosted this winter. Then, during the snowstorm on the 4th, a poor view of a Sharpie strongly suggest the subadult male that I saw only one day about three weeks prior. The saga continues! That ID was confirmed the next day, and he was seen repeatedly for the rest of the week. The adult male was also spotted a few more times through at least the 6th.
A second-winter male Sharp-shinned Hawk also returned to the scene this week.
Meanwhile, at the store in Freeport, two Red-winged Blackbirds that first appeared on the 19th increased to 7 during the snow, and a second Song Sparrow joined our single overwintering individual that week.
I have started to spend some time at the store in my continued limited-capacity, enjoying the feeder activity there was well. I was treated to the most activity that we have had there in a while on the 3rd, for example. We need our local Cooper’s Hawk to return as the Rock Pigeon flock is building again. But unlike at home, Red-winged Blackbirds continued, with 2-3 still present from a high of 7. We had a surge of American Goldfinches (from only 2-4 for most of the last few weeks to 12+. Our single overwintering Song and White-throated Sparrows continue, and 4 Eastern Bluebirds are now regular. I also welcomed back to work that day by a flock of 12 Cedar Waxwings descending on our Highbush Cranberry in the yard – a most welcome visit from one of my favorite birds!
And yes, I got out for a little birding this week, finally, as Jeannette and I visiting Auburn’s Little Andy Park and the Riverwalk, catching up with a few continuing winter birds: 1 Barrow’s Goldeneye and 3 Iceland Gulls. And when I was out and about this week (mostly being driven to and from appointments!), the renewed presence of Turkey Vultures was readily apparent.
I will be out birding a little more next week, but based on my visit with my surgeon yesterday, it looks like I’ll be forced to focus on feeder-watching for a while longer. Stay tuned!
Maine Birding Field Notes 