Tag Archives: Northern Pintail

This Week’s Highlights 12/13– 12/19/2025.

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These tarrying drake Green-winged Teal were snoozing in the Mallard flock along the Auburn Riverwalk on the 16th (above) and at Mill Creek Cove in South Portland on the 18th (below).  I don’t like to disturb birds, so I have lots of sleeping duck photos! I enjoy the calmness of it, and one can really take in the intricacies of the rest of the plumage that way.

A frigid start to the week yielded to a warming trend by week’s end. Will we see a “stirring of the pot” with the warm-up and upcoming storm system? My observations of note from the past seven days included concentrating waterfowl and a brutal, but productive day on the Southern York County CBC. Here are the highlights:

  • 1 drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE (first of season locally), Broad Cove Preserve, Cumberland, 12/13 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Southern York County CBC, 12/15: Moody Sector with Jeannette:

2,168 individuals of 54 species, led by 440 Mallards, 272 Canada Geese, and 258 European Starlings. Landbirds – especially resident “yard birds” – and oceanfront waterbirds were insanely low, even given challenges of a bitter cold day with strong winds. Almost all landbirds besides starlings, Rock Pigeon, House Sparrow, and Song Sparrow were very low for us. Exceptions include a very high count of 23 Yellow-rumped Warblers (Ogunquit Beach dunes) and a total of 28 Horned Larks. Nonetheless, our roster of notable birds was above recent average, with highlights including:

_2_ ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS (been a long time for us in this territory! Only 2nd time there was been more than on on this CBC!) one dark morph (probable immature) and 1 light morph immature, both seen soaring and hunting late in the afternoon from the north end of the Footbridge parking lot. Dark-morph spotted around 2:30pm, and seen again at about 3:30pm when the light morph appeared. We lost the dark morph, but the light bird eventually glided overhead and disappeared over the treeline, heading south.

1 KILLDEER, Ogunquit River Marsh from Bourne Ave

2 hen and 1 drake NORTHERN PINTAIL, Ogunquit Rivermouth

2+ Red Crossbills, flying over Bourne Ave.

1 Savannah Sparrow, Furbish Ave.

13 Sanderlings, Ogunquit Beach.

  • 2+ Fish Crows, Anniversary Park, Auburn, and 2-3 along Auburn Riverwalk, 12/16 (see last week’s Highlights for a FICR discussion).
  • 1 drake GREEN-WINGED TEAL, Auburn Riverwalk, 12/16. Photo above.
  • 16 Snow Buntings, North River Road (in parking lot next to boat launch), Auburn, 12/16.
  • 1 Swamp Sparrow, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 12/17
  • 1 Evening Grosbeak, here at the store, 12/17.
  • 2 drake GADWALLS, 1 continuing pair Green-winged Teal, and 1 1st-cycle Iceland Gull, Mill Creek Cove, South Portland, 12/18 (photos above and below).

This hen Green-winged Teal, her plumage no less detailed and intricate than the male’s, was also dozing at Mill Creek Cove on the 18th. She woke up and took a swim though!

This Week’s Highlights, 1/4 to 1/10/2025

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This spiffy adult Red-shouldered Hawk in Freeport on the 10th was a nice finale to a pleasant
morning of birding with a friend.

Well, that was one windy and bitterly cold week, wasn’t it? Strong winds most days precluded productive birding, or at the very least, precluded motivation to do much birding!  Feeder-watching was the name of the game on many mornings for me, but despite the cold, “half-hardies” dominated the highlights for me, and for most birders around the state. Lighter winds on Saturday and Friday, relatively speaking, allowed for some much more enjoyable and productive birding.

  • Single Fox Sparrows continued through week’s end at our feeders both at home in Durham and here at the store.
  • 2 Turkey Vultures continued in the I-295 corridor between Brunswick and Cumberland into the New Year, and scattered others continue in the area.
  • There was a nice influx of American Robins into the area this week, with some large flocks arriving. Single-flock high count of 138 over the Yarmouth Town Landing on 1/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group). Keep an eye out for vagrants among them!
  • 1 GRAY CATBIRD, continued from last week at our feeders in Durham through week’s end.
  • 1 drake Barrow’s Goldeneye, Broad Cove Preserve, Cumberland, 1/4 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 1 Northern Flicker, McGraw Park, Lewiston, 1/5.
  • 1 female Barrow’s Goldeneye, Bull Rock Road Boat Launch, West Bath, 1/10 (with Dan Nickerson).
  • 1 continuing female Northern Pintail, Maine Street Pump Station, Brunswick, 1/10 (with Dan Nickerson).
  • 1 adult Red-shouldered Hawk, Murch Road, Freeport, 1/10 (with Dan Nickerson). Photo above.

2025 Tours

Most of our tours and workshops for 2025 are now posted and accepting registration. Several others will be available by the end of next week.

Upcoming Tours

1.Winter Waterbirds Workshop with Down East Adventures: Sunday, February 9: https://www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/downeast-adventures-tours

2. 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): https://www.freeportwildbirdsupply.com/workshops-and-programs

This Week’s Highlights, 12/28/2024 to 1/3/2025

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This cooperative hen Northern Pintail was one of the number of “late” dabblers that I encountered this week.

Far from the winter doldrums, a productive week of birding -especially at feeders – produced the following observations of note:

  • Single Fox Sparrows continued through week’s end at our feeders both at home in Durham and here at the store.
  • 2 Turkey Vultures continued in the I-295 corridor between Brunswick and Cumberland into the New Year.
  • We tallied 16 species of waterfowl, highlighted by an impressive-for-the-date 5 species of dabbler (inc 1 continuing GADWALL, 1 Northern Pintail, and 3 Green-winged Teals), all in Brunswick during our Saturday Morning Birdwalk on 12/28. Details and locations here.
  • 1 Swamp Sparrow, Lower Mast Landing Road and 2 Northern Flickers, Tidal Brook Preserve, Freeport, 12/29 during about 3 hours of coverage for the Freeport-Brunswick CBC.
  • 10 Green-winged Teal, 12 Horned Larks, etc, Webhannet Marsh, Wells, 12/31.
  • 1 pair American Wigeon, MacDougal Park, Rockland, 1/1 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 GRAY CATBIRD, our feeders in Durham, 1/2. A fascinating time for it to show up. Presumably, it was pioneering locally and perhaps consumed the rest of a food source (like a cluster of Winterberry) and had to wander to find sustenance. It continues through the 3rd, eating jelly, suet, and nuts. The significant tail molt might be part of the reason it’s still around.

Annual Prediction Blog Now Posted.

And finally this week, it’s that time again: my annual Predictions blog where I look back at the Mega Rarities of 2024 and make my usual Top 25 predictions for the next species to be added to Maine’s list, and my own.

2025 Next Maine Birds Predictions Blog

This Week’s Highlights, 12/14– 12/20/2024

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Is mid-December even winter anymore? Do these Red-winged Blackbirds that we found during the Southern York County CBC on 12/16 count as “late,” “lingering,” or “pioneering?”

With the exception of the Southern York County CBC on Monday the 16th, my birding this week was limited to short early morning outings. Nonetheless, I had some good seasonal observations of note.

  • 1 Fox Sparrow continued at the feeders here at the store through the 15th.
  • 1 Swamp Sparrow, Wolfe’s Neck Center, Freeport, 12/14 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Southern York County CBC, 12/16: “Moody” Sector with Jeannette. 2437 individuals of 62 species, led by 189 Herring Gulls, 182 Mallards, and 177 Rock Pigeons. Other high counts included 126 House Finches and 46 American Tree Sparrows. Particularly low counts for our section included only 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler and only 8 Great Black-backed Gulls. Highlights included: 5 NORTHERN PINTAIL, 4 Red-winged Blackbirds, 1 Savannah Sparrow, and 1 Green-winged Teal. But overall, it was just a really birdy day for us in our usually fun and productive section.
  • 1 drake and 2 hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Winslow Park, Freeport, 12/18.
  • 1 Fox Sparrow, our feeders in Durham, 12/19.
  • 1 female NORTHERN PINTAIL, Cedar Pond Road, Durham, 12/19.
  • 2 continuing NORTHERN SHOVELERS (1 immature male, 1 hen), about 15-20 scaup (both present, mostly Lesser, but just too far to be sure of proportion), 5 Dunlin, etc, Maquoit Bay Conservation Land, Brunswick, 12/20.
  • Plenty of Northern Flickers and Turkey Vultures continue around the area this week.

This Week’s Highlights, 1/29-2/6, 2022

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While not the rarest bird this week, I have been thoroughly entertained by this Brown Creeper who has taken to picking up bits of seed from under a feeder at our home in Pownal. The horizontal position makes the bird look so different! Sorry for the lousy photos though…they were taken through a screen during the ice/snow storm on 2/4.

The Blizzard of 2022 provided some great opportunities for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing locally for the first time this winter, so I took full advantage of that, even if it did further limit my dedicated birding during this busy week plus.  Interestingly, my most “serious” birding was a half day (post-snowblowing and shoveling) on Sunday searching Portland through Cape Elizabeth for storm-related birds, but that effort turned up nothing at all of note! Here are my observations of note over the past 9 days:

  • 5 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, 2 COMMON REDPOLLS (FOY), 6 Pine Siskins (FOY), and 1 Purple Finch, Long Falls Dam Road area of Carrying Place Township, 1/31 (with Jeannette).
  • The Androscoggin River between the downtowns of Lewiston and Auburn remain a surprisingly productive mid-winter hotspot. On 2/1, Jeannette and I discovered an incredible (especially for the interior of Maine) five species of dabblers from the Auburn Riverwalk!  Amongst the Mallards and a couple of American Black Ducks, there were single female GREEN-WINGED TEAL, AMERICAN WIGEON, and NORTHERN PINTAIL.  Making this even more interesting is the fact that it’s usually the drakes that we find overwintering in Maine.  Additionally, the drake RING-NECKED DUCK continues, and we had a single 1st-winter Iceland Gull. Two Bufflehead and 5 Hooded Mergansers joined the usual Common Goldeneyes and Common Mergansers for a goodly inland total of 10 species of waterfowl. A unusually conspicuous Beaver continues to amuse here as well.
  • 3 drake and 1 hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYES and 8 Dunlin (FOW here), Winslow Park, Freeport, 2/13.

Other Notes:

  • My article – a 13-page photo salon – on the Hybrid Herons of Scarborough Marsh (Patches!) has finally been published in the most recent issue of North American Birds. In it, I lay out the theory that at least 5 different individuals have been seen in Scarborough Marsh since I first found an odd juvenile heron in July of 2012 that we now believe is a hybrid between a Snowy Egret and a Tricolored Heron.

I made the case that the two current birds are backcrosses, one with a Snowy Egret (SNEG X TRHE X SNEG) and the other with a Little Egret (SNEG X TRHE X LIEG). I’ll be watching them carefully for the potential of a developing hybrid swarm.

Unfortunately, at this time, the journal is only available online to members of the ABA. However, digital e-memberships (with access to all of the ABA publications) are only $30 a year, and you can purchase issues of the magazine directly from the ABA by emailing info@aba.org. Also, if you wanted to take a peek at the article, I do have a couple of extra copies here at the store for you to peruse.

Believe it or not, a hybrid heron is much rarer than a Steller’s Sea-Eagle, at least from a world perspective…in fact, it’s possible these birds are one of a kind!

North American Birds: Vol. 72, No. 2

This Week’s Highlights, 1/8-14, 2022

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My observations of note over the past seven days are as follows. With the first real cold spell of the winter, it’s not surprising that many of the noteworthy observations this week were of “lingering” or “pioneering” individuals that were moving around or seeking more tolerable locales. Of course, my two (almost) full days of birding this week were focused on the Boothbay area.

  • 1 American Pipit, 1 Turkey Vulture, 100+ distant scaup, etc, Maquoit Bay Conservation Trail, Brunswick, 1/8 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk Group).
  • 1 Double-crested Cormorant, inner harbor, Boothbay Harbor, 1/10 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Double-crested Cormorant, Knickercane Island, Boothbay, 1/10 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 drake Greater Scaup, Swinging Bridge, Brunswick, 1/10 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 drake NORTHERN PINTAIL, 29 Horned Larks, and 8 Snow Buntings, Rte 136, Durham, 1/13.
  • 1 GADWALL, unexpected fly-by at the Maine State Aquarium, Boothbay, 1/14.
  • After not seeing it on Monday, I went back to the Boothbay area today, 1/14 to see the Steller’s Sea-Eagle again, because, well, there’s a Steller’s-friggin-Sea-Eagle in Maine. Luckily, I was rewarded with a 20-25 minute observation of it perched and in flight from Spruce Point. The more I see this bird, the more I want to see this bird!
  • Unfortunately, I did not get any photos of it – it was too far, and I was just enjoying it in the scope. But I got a new camera, and I did take it out to play for the first time! This Common Loon made for an excellent subject for a test-drive.
No Zoom.
Camera-only Zoom. Not additional cropping. My first impression is that it’s much slower than my previous camera, and the resultant image is not as crisp. But, the zoom is stronger, and the maximum optical + digital zoom produces a better image, at least for “documentation.”

This Week’s Highlights, 12/29-31, 2021

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At this point, this bird really needs no introduction. Here are Jeannette’s photos of the famous Steller’s Sea-Eagle that we caught up on the morning of on New Year’s Eve at Five Islands in Georgetown.

What an incredible bird!
  • 1 drake Northern Pintail, Harraseeket Yacht Club, Freeport, 12/29.
  • 1 Double-crested Cormorant, dusk at Five Islands, Georgetown, 12/30.
  • 5 Double-crested Cormorants, 4++ Razorbill, etc, Five Islands, Georgetown, 12/31.  Oh yeah, that bird in the photos above, too.
While spending Christmas with family in New Jersey, Jeannette and I successfully chased this Wood Stork at my old stomping grounds of Sandy Hook. It was my 350th species in New Jersey.
Not bad for a place that I haven’t lived in over 20 years!

This Week’s Highlights, 12/18-24, 2021

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After receiving photos of what appeared to be an all-dark Euphagus blackbird reported as being “glossy” at times- and without the bill visible – a few of us went out to get better looks in the freezing rain on the 22nd. It wasn’t until the bird showed up at a feeder and we were able to photograph it at close range that we confirmed it was just a truant, exceptionally dark-for-the-season Rusty Blackbird (note the very subtle rufous fringes
on the head and breast and the thin, slightly downcurved bill).

Southern York County CBC, “Moody Sector” of Wells and Ogunquit, 12/20 (with Jeannette).

As usual, our incredibly productive territory produced a number of “good birds” and a decent 57 total species:

  • 144 Canada Geese
  • 232 Mallards
  • 2 Mallards x American Black Duck hybrid
  • 81 American Black Ducks
  • 3 NORTHERN PINTAIL (Beach Plum Farm)
  • 4 GREEN-WINGED TEAL (Furbush Avenue)
  • 64 Common Eider
  • 46 Surf Scoter
  • 31 White-winged Scoter
  • 287 Black Scoter
  • 39 Long-tailed Duck
  • 22 Bufflehead
  • 9 Common Goldeneye
  • 22 Red-breasted Merganser
  • 3 Red-throated Loon
  • 5 Common Loon
  • 9 Horned Grebe
  • 26 Red-necked Grebe
  • 1 Northern Gannet
  • 1 Great Blue Heron
  • 1 Bald Eagle
  • 78 American Crow
  • 1 Northern Harrier
  • 1 Cooper’s Hawk
  • 2 Red-tailed Hawks
  • 1 WILSON’S SNIPE (Wells sewerage. 5th count record.)
  • 22 Ring-billed Gull
  • 161 Herring Gull
  • 1 Great Black-backed Gull
  • 2 Razorbill
  • 67 Rock Pigeon
  • 2 Mourning Dove
  • 1 SNOWY OWL (Bourne Ave)
  • 1 Belted Kingfisher
  • 12 Downy Woodpecker
  • 6 Blue Jay
  • 19 Horned Lark
  • 65 Black-capped Chickadee
  • 16 Tufted Titmice
  • 11 White-breasted Nuthatch
  • 1 Brown Creeper
  • 4 Carolina Wren
  • 3 Golden-crowned Kinglet
  • 1 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (Seaview Street).
  • 12 Eastern Bluebird
  • 1 HERMIT THRUSH (Wells sewerage)
  • 3 Northern Mockingbird
  • 97 European Starling
  • 1 AMERICAN PIPIT (Bourne Avenue)
  • 16 American Tree Sparrow
  • 1 CHIPPING SPARROW (Wells sewerage)
  • 17 Song Sparrow
  • 48 Dark-eyed Junco
  • 5 White-throated Sparrow
  • 25 Northern Cardinal
  • 48 House Finch
  • 22 American Goldfinch
  • 137 House Sparrow

8 hours: 13.3 miles by car; 9.5 miles by foot.

  • No Steller’s Sea-Eagle in Massachusetts, 12/21 (with Weston Barker, Michael Boardman, and Matthew Gilbert)…but we had to try!
  • 1 RUSTY BLACKBIRD, Cathance River Preserve, Topsham, 12/22 (with Weston Barker and John Berry. Photos above and below).
  • 1 continuing drake NORTHERN PINTAIL, Androscoggin River along Rte 136, Durham, 12/23.

A January Big Day

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luke-at-sunrise_edited-1

Yesterday, (Monday, January 10, 2017), Luke Seitz and I partook in a semi-serious Big Day, attempting to see as many species as we could in one day. Winter Big Days are tough because the days are short, rarities are usually relatively few, wintering birds tend to move around a lot more than territorial songsters, and it’s often firggin’ cold.

And it was certainly cold to start – 11 degrees to be exact as we greeted the sunrise seawatching at Dyer Point. Heat shimmer and sea smoke impacted our tally, but much worse was finding our second stop, Grondin Pond, completely frozen! Just 2 days ago it had at least three “good birds:” American Coot, Lesser Scaup, and Ring-necked Duck!
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We then dipped on the long-staying Orange-crowned Warbler at Pond Cove, but the unexpected fly-over Northern Harrier plus Northern Mockingbird, Red-throated Loon, and Golden-crowned Kinglet put us back in the game. We then found a female Wood Duck at Mill Creek Cove in South Portland – our 50th species of the day, and it was only 9:53.
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Phone-binned by Luke

Hmmm…maybe we should start taking this a little more seriously.

We started to clean up with a slew of successful twitches of very good birds: Green-winged Teal and Northern Pintail in South Portland, King Eider in Portland Harbor, Barrow’s Goldeneye in Cumberland, Great Blue Herons in Yarmouth, and Ruddy Turnstones and Dunlin at Winslow Park.

We even celebrated our good fortunes with a fueling, hot breakfast sandwich from Maple’s Organics in Yarmouth.
breakfast-sandwich_edited-1

Unfortunately, we then hit a cold stretch, striking out on Purple Finch and Hermit Thrush in my yard, and Evening Grosbeaks at a Pownal feeder. Snowy Owl and Snow Bunting at Brunswick Landing was followed by a strategic error – the absolute slowest service in history at the Five Guys in Brunswick!

Like I said, we were only so serious about this Big Day, as exemplified by stopping for food…twice! But a to-go order of some fries, a veggie sandwich, and a milkshake should not have taken so long. First, our sandwiches were left on the counter as they forgot to bag them with fries. Then they had to wait for more fries to cook, and then it turned out someone had accidentally switched off the milkshake machine.
veggie-sandwich_edited-1

Although that whole event really only wasted about 10 minutes, it was 10 minutes further behind schedule…our Pownal swing was a time suck, and the walk at Winslow took much longer than planned. And the days are short this time of year!

A Gadwall in Damariscotta was a nice pick-up, and we added a few en route twitches, but we got to Rockland with way too little time. We failed in our search of the harbor for the Pink-footed Geese and Snow Goose (they weren’t on the school fields due to the recent snow cover), and dithered on our decision to head to Camden, picking up a nearly-drive-by Bonaparte’s Gull on the way.

We didn’t run into any Bohemian Waxwings or Pine Grosbeaks on our drive, and we arrived way too late in the day to be graced with a visit from the Bullock’s Oriole. The thickening clouds ahead of the approaching storm was rapidly bringing the birding day to an early end. Quick-thinking rewarded us with the female Greater Scaup which we relocated in the Megunticook River after not seeing her in the harbor, and in very last light we somehow picked up American Wigeon in Rockport Harbor (not one as had been reported, but three, plus another Green-winged Teal), our 73rd and final species of the day.

We had hoped for a Barred Owl on the drive home; surprised that we didn’t run into one during the day, but the arrival of a mix of ice pellets, sleet, and dreezing rain didn’t help matters. However, with almost no scouting, no owling, and only about 9 hours of daylight, we agreed that this day was really an extraordinary success. 22 species of waterfowl in the middle of winter is pretty darn good, and we saw some great birds over the course of the day.

It’s almost certainly a record – if only because we don’t think anyone has done a January Big Day before (or submitted to the ABA as such!), even if it fell short of our goal of 75. And with quite a few misses and birds “left on the table,” we can’t help but wonder what a little planning, more discipline, and a packed lunch could have resulted in? (Or, having run it a couple of days earlier when Grondin was open!)

Finally, here’s an annotated checklist of the species we encountered, with notes on the rarities, single-sightings, or species seen only at one location.

Canada Goose
Wood Duck: female at Mill Creek park, South Portland
Gadwall: 1 drake, Oyster Creek, Damariscotta
American Wigeon: 1 male and 2 females, Rockport Harbor
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail: male behind Bay Harbor Car Wash, South Portland
Green-winged Teal: male behind Bay Harbor Car Wash, South Portland and female at Rockport Harbor
Greater Scaup: female, Megunticook River from Mechanic Street, Camden
King Eider: female, Portland Harbor from Fish Pier
Common Eider
Harlequin Duck: Dyer Point, Cape Elizabeth
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Barrow’s Goldeneye: male, Cumberland Town Landing
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Wild Turkey
Red-throated Loon
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Great Cormorant: 1, Dyer Point, Cape Elizabeth.
Great Blue Heron: 2, Lower Falls Landing, Yarmouth
Northern Harrier: male, flying over Pond Cove, Cape Elizabeth
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Ruddy Turnstone: 3, Winslow Park, Freeport
Dunlin: 30+, Winslow Park, Freeport
Purple Sandpiper
Razorbill: several, Dyer Point, Cape Elizabeth
Black Guillemot
Bonaparte’s Gull: 1, Glen Cove, Rockland
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Iceland Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Snowy Owl: 1 Brunswick Landing
Red-bellied Woodpecker: at least 8-9 over the course of the day!
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Peregrine Falcon: 1, Portland Harbor
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper: 2, Winslow Park, Freeport
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Snow Bunting: 20+, Brunswick Landing
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Total=73

Misses: Pink-footed Geese and Snow Goose in Rockland; American Coot, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, and Northern Shoveler at Grondin Pond; Black-legged Kittiwake; Barred Owl; Cooper’s Hawk; Sharp-shinned Hawk; Rough-legged Hawk, Northern Shrike; Hermit Thrush (1); Bohemian Waxwing; Orange-crowned Warbler (1); Bullock’s Oriole (1), Purple Finch, Pine Grosbeak; Evening Grosbeak.

(Also,we posted a little play-by-play in a thread on the store’s Facebook page during the day. Check it out…we added commentary in the comments section, culminating with a video of me doing what it takes to get those wigeon at last light!)

Birds on Tap – Roadtrip: Spring Ducks and Draughts 2016

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NOPI female1, Riverbank Park, 1-9-12_edited-1
One of the trips’ highlights was the two dozen Northern Pintail at the Mouth of the Abby. We enjoyed the gorgeous males, but also took time to appreciate the subtle beauty of the hens. We also learned how to separate “all the brown ducks” but considering shape and size. Female Northern Pintail, April 2009 – Riverbank Park, Westbrook.

On Sunday, our “Birds on Tap – Roadtrip!” tour headed up to the spring waterfowl hotspot of Merrymeeting Bay. The Spring edition of “Ducks and Draughts” focused on the multitudes of waterbirds that congregate on this productive body of water with our partners at the Maine Brew Bus.

With the abnormally (even by modern standard) early spring, ice was out on ponds, lakes, and rivers to our north well over a month ago. Not surprisingly then, diving ducks were few. Dabbling ducks, however, are still present in great numbers, taking advantage of the food resources (last year’s wild rice and other seeds) in the fine mud of the bay’s extensive flats.

After a quick stop at Bowdoinham’s Mailley Park (Double-crested Cormorants, Common Mergansers, and my first Pied-billed Grebe of the year), we moved over to the famous “Mouth of the Abby,” where the Abagadasset River drains into the bay proper. And it most definitely did not disappoint: About 1,000 American Black Ducks were joined by 200 or so Green-winged Teal, at least 100 Mallards, a goodly tally of 24 Northern Pintails, a dozen more Common Mergansers, 8 Canada Geese, a mere 8 Ring-necked Ducks, and a pair of Wood Ducks. 6 Killdeer also foraged on the flats, and the second Bald Eagle of the day passed right overhead.
At_Abby1At_Abby2
With Jill hard at work taking photos for the paper.

The three Wood Ducks in the small pond on Brown’s Point Road flushed as the bus approached, and they didn’t let us get much closer on foot as we walked back. A Cooper’s Hawk was well seen, however.
BrewBus_BrownsPoint

After squiggling cross-country to Newcastle, we pulled into the brewery and rustic tasting room of Oxbow. After a couple of samples – Bandolier, their spring printemps was one of the favorites; it certainly was mine – Rocky took us on a tour of the brewery, and a part of the impressive property.
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Oxbow’s connection to the land is evident, from the sour cherry orchard to the welfare of their livestock (pigs coming soon!). We learned about the philosophy of their beer, and some of the new and creative things they’re working on.
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Sorry folks, not “countable!”

After another round, it was back on the road, as we weaved our way through scenic rural vistas to Brunswick, where we made a quick stop at Bay Bridge Landing Park. We hoped to add a previously-reported Eurasian Wigeon to our waterfowl list, but the tide was already too high, and the low pass from a Bald Eagle – our 6th or 7th of the day – probably did not help matters! However, a low pass of an Osprey, hovering right overhead, was a nice consolation prize.
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Lively Brewing at Ebenezer’s Brewpub was our second brewery stop of the day. Kelso offered up three samples of some of their representative beers, guiding us through the different styles and some of the intriguing and creative options they play with here.
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Whether it’s the birding or the beer-ing portion of these tours, there really is never enough time, so before we all knew it (time really does indeed fly when you are having fun; please excuse the pun) it was time to head back to Freeport and Portland, bringing another fun and successful Birds on tap – Roadtrip! to a close.

So that’s my recap on the trip. But this tour welcomed Meredith Goad, the food writer from the Portland Press Herald on board. You know you have a unique collaboration when you have a food writer wanting write about a birding tour! For Meredith’s perspective, comments from the participants, and more information about this truly unique birds and beer tour concept, check out Meredith’s excellent article in today’s paper!

Needless to say, the rest of the year’s four tours are filling up fast! For more information on those, see the Tours, Events, Programs, and Workshops Page of our website, and check out my blog about all of this year’s journeys. And don’t forget about Birds on Tap – Monhegan! in May.

My beautiful picture

No matter how common they might be, there are few things more stunning than a drake Mallard!