Tag Archives: Common Eider ssp borealis

This Week’s Highlights 1/31– 2/6/2026.

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Redpolls were our most numerous finch during a day of birding Long Falls Dam Road in Somerset County this week.

With three tours in 4 days, never reaching 20-degrees last week through this weekend, my face needed a couple of days break! I took one. And then, on the “warmest” day of the week, Jeannette and I drove north to spend the day in the field. Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.

  • 1 hen “NORTHERN” COMMON EIDER (ssp borealis) and 1 drake Barrow’s Goldeneye, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/31 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 continuing 1st-cycle Glaucous Gull and 4-5 1st-cycle Iceland Gulls, Old Port, Portland, 2/1 (with Gull Identification Workshop tour group).
  • 1 pair Lesser Scaup with 4 Greater Scaup, along with 24 Brant, Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, 2/1 (with Gull Identification Workshop tour group).
  • 1 drake Barrow’s Goldeneye is back at the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge in Lewiston-Auburn as of the 6th.
  • 2 Fish Crows, Auburn Riverwalk, 2/6.
  • At least one Turkey Vultures continues along the I-295 corridor between Cumberland and Freeport as of this week.

Feeder-watching at home in Durham has been the name of the game on most mornings this week. The excitement came on the 5th, when an immature Cooper’s Hawk took a run at something. Everything flushed. Then, a Barred Owl came gliding in and either landed on the Cooper’s Hawk or immediately next to it. The Cooper’s Hawk flew away, the Barred Owl looked around in snow for a moment before flying into tree.

Was this attempted kleptoparasitism (stealing food) instead of a predation attempt? A Barred Owl has been regularly sunning itself in a spot that would provide a good sightline to where this occurred, so it was probably seeing a potential opportunity for brunch. I am just unsure what opportunity it saw.

This Week in Irruptives.

Here in Greater Freeport, a few more Purple Finches have been around and we had a single Red Crossbill in our yard on the 2nd. Scattered Evening Grosbeak reports continue as well.

Meanwhile, Jeannette and I headed north to Long Falls Dam Road in Somerset County on the 3rd. Birding for most of the day, focusing on irruptives, we tallied:

  • 43 “Common” Redpolls – scattered small flocks (largest was 12) all day.  Not including the 1 roadkill.
  • 8 Evening Grosbeaks – two small groups at feeders in North New Portland.
  • 6 Red Crossbills – gritting on Back Road.
  • 2 Pine Grosbeaks  -flyovers at North Bowtown Road
  • Only 4 American Goldfinches and 1 Purple Finch
  • Well above average numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatches but only average – or slightly below – numbers of Black-capped Chickadees.
  • Red Spruce cones were abundant, Black Spruce was patchy, and there was plenty of alder and birch, but no cones of White Spruce, White Pine, or Balsam Fir.

This Week’s Highlights, 1/28-1/31/2025

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This handsome drake Green-winged Teal was with a relatively small flock of Mallards
along the Auburn Riverwalk on the 30th.

We returned from our winter vacation late Monday night, and most of the week was spent catching up. But of course, I needed to catch up on some local birds as well. Not surprisingly, waterfowl continue to concentrate with the growth of ice cover on rivers and sheltered upper corners of the bay. Here are a few observations of note over the past 4 days.

  • 1 GRAY CATBIRD (continuing since 1/2) and 1 Fox Sparrow (continuing since early December) continue at our feeders in Durham.
  • 1 Fox Sparrow (since 12/21) continues sporadically at the feeders here at the store, but has become more regular in the latter half of this week.
  • 1 drake WOOD DUCK, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Lewiston/Auburn, 1/30 (likely same bird as Jeannette and I found at the North River Road Boat Launch on 1/13).
  • 1 continuing drake RING-NECKED DUCK, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Lewiston/Auburn, 1/30. First observed at the Lincoln Street Riverfront Park on 1/14.
  • 1 hen WOOD DUCK, Anniversary Park, Auburn, 1/30.
  • 1 drake Green-winged Teal, Auburn Riverwalk, 1/30/2025
  • The Winslow Park Barrow’s Goldeneye flock increased to 8 by 1/31 with 4 females, 3 males, and 1 immature male.
  • 1 female COMMON EIDER spp BOREALIS, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/31.
  • Still some Turkey Vultures in the area, despite the severe cold spells.

Upcoming Tours

1. Our Birds on Tap – Roadtrip “Harlequins and Hops!” scheduled for this Sunday, 2/2 has been postponed due to the dangerous cold weather until Sunday, February 23rd.

2. Winter Waterbirds Workshop with Down East Adventures: Sunday, February 9.

3. Gull Identification Workshop: Freeport, Saturday, February 15, 2025 (1:00-4:00pm) and Part II in Portland: Sunday, February 16, 2025 (8:00am-12:00pm).

Recent Highlights, 2/8 – 2/14/2024

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This Northern Hawk-Owl has been present for a while in Piscataquis County where it has been seen by many. Jeannette finally took a ride up to see it on the 12th, making our “weekend” out of it.

I enjoyed a great week of birding, both locally and with a trip to north-central Maine. Winter irruptives  and the first migrants of spring were among my many highlights over the last seven days.

  • 1 Hermit Thrush, North River Road, Auburn, 2/8.
  • 1 continuing female Red-breasted Merganser, Lincoln St Waterfront Park, Lewiston, 2/8.
  • 5 Northern Pintails (FOY), Flying Point Preserve, Georgetown, 2/9.
  • 1 hen COMMON EIDER SSP. BOREALIS and 1 pair BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Winslow Park, Freeport, 2/10 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 continuing NORTHERN HAWK-OWL and 1 Northern Shrike, Piscataquis County, 2/12 (with Jeannette). Photo above.
  • 1 Northern Shrike, County Road, Milford, 2/13 (with Jeannette).
  • 100+ BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS (FOY), downtown Old Town, 2/13 (with Jeannette).
  • 140 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS and 1 NORTHERN FLICKER (great winter bird away from the coast!), Riverside Park, Veazie, 2/13. Waxwings relocated on Thompson Road where we enjoyed an immersive photo session!
  • 1 Northern Shrike, Gustafson Rd, Clinton, 2/13 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 male Red-winged Blackbird (first of spring), here at the store on 2/14. Arrived on 2/12 – one of our earliest records here.
  • Scattered Turkey Vultures and increasing reports of prospecting migrant flocks suggests I will forgo Turkey Vultures on the highlights list for the next 9-10 months already!

TOURS AND EVENTS:

Please join me on Thursday, February 29th at Maine Beer Company to celebrate the release of the completely revised 2nd Edition of Birdwatching in Maine: The Complete Site Guide!