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 1^st-cycle Glaucous Gull and 4-5 1^st-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 6^th.
• 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 5^th, 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 2^nd. Scattered Evening Grosbeak reports continue as well.

Meanwhile, Jeannette and I headed north to Long Falls Dam Road in Somerset County on the 3^rd. 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.