|
|
 |
|
9 September 2010
|
Rockport, Maine, USA
|
|
Posts Tagged ‘red-breasted merganser’
Friday, April 30th, 2010
 Spring wood, Beech Hill. When I first looked out at the sky this morning, I saw that it was cloudless. Wholly cloudless. Not a cloud in the sky. This seemed somehow promising—if somewhat scary—so we took only a few minutes, dog and I, before heading up to Beech Hill. (Although I did take time to make coffee.)
 Mourning dove. No cars in the lot. At first, again, I heard only the commoner birds: chickadee, goldfinch, robin, herring gull down the road. But soon (again) came the voices of towhees. And then, ascending the upper woodland trail, I heard what at first sounded like the song of the catbird I heard the other day. And in just the same place. But again—as the other day—I thought I detected double-phrasing. Like a thrasher. I couldn’t see the bird beyond the tangles along the trail edge, but after passing I couldn’t help asking the dog to accompany back down a ways to take another look.
There it was: brown thrasher. Thus, I’ve gone back and changed my listing of a catbird on 26 April (Monday). None of those just yet. Oh, they’ll be here—but they’ve been beaten by a thrasher.
We came upon a red squirrel hiding just a few feet off the trail. Then just a few paces farther along, I heard the quay note of a hermit thrush—and the bird itself hopped up to a hidden twig (but not that hidden) not twenty feet from us. Good look, no possible photo.
 Chipping sparrow. The air warmed quickly in the sun as we climbed the greening hill. But at the summit a quick wind howled in the little huddle of spruces. A huge wind, racing in from the west or northwest or southwest. I couldn’t listen well for all the wind. But I did hear savannah sparrows. Saw a couple, too, flitting about on the trail in front of us as they are wont to do. Not much else, though, until we reached the base of the open trail on the other side of the hill. The chipping sparrow that’s claimed one particular spruce down there was calling loudly from one of its branches. I caught sight of the bird for a change.
On the trail we met a mother with a young son. She also carried a baby. And a kite. On our return ascent we came upon the little family in a place of sailing wind. Sure enough, she’d managed to get the kite airborne, and the little guy was flying it like a pro. I snapped a couple photos.
There, off in the wind, the field sparrow. Coming back down the wooded trail: a titmouse. And a downy woodpecker. And, rather thrillingly, a blue-headed vireo. As we stopped to listen to the vireo, dog and I were suddenly cloaked in a cloud of black flies. A chickadee flitted in some hardwood branches above us, picking off flies.
I thought I’d be ending up with 17 species today—until I heard the voice of a crow from the parking. Looked up. The crow was chasing a raven.
 Great black-backed gull. I went cycling this afternoon. I spent much of that time working at not getting blown over—but I also came upon a pair of ospreys soaring over a stretch of Route 1 near the Rockville Street farm. Such handsome birds. I’m glad I live among them.
And in late afternoon, dog and I hit the breakwater. Lots of birds today—and still-warm temperatures, and lighter winds. Black-backed gull, eiders, about a half-dozen red-breasted mergansers, a couple guillemots, one in mixed plumage and one in its full summer outfit. From the harbor side, I heard the yodel of a loon.
Yesterday we had sun and drizzle and, in some places, snow and sleet—even what some have called “hail.” Today we had sun and blue sky and wind and warmth. And flies. And an expectancy of warblers.
Beech Hill List
At 7:30 a.m., I walked all trails.
American robin (voice)
Black-capped chickadee
American goldfinch
Herring gull (voice)
Eastern towhee
Brown thrasher
Hermit thrush
White-throated sparrow (voice)
Mourning dove
Eastern phoebe
Common raven
Savannah sparrow
Chipping sparrow
Northern harrier
Field sparrow (voice)
Blue-headed vireo (voice)
Tufted titmouse (voice)
American crow
Elsewhere
House finch
Rock pigeon
Downy woodpecker
Osprey
Common grackle
Great black-backed gull
Common eider
Red-breasted merganser
Black guillemot
Common loon
 Afternoon sky, Rockland Harbor.
Tags: American robin, black guillemot, black-capped chickadee, blue-headed vireo, brown thrasher, chipping sparrow, common eider, common grackle, common loon, common raven, downy woodpecker, Eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, field sparrow, great black-backed gull, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, Northern harrier, osprey, red-breasted merganser, rock pigeon, savannah sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-throated sparrow
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
 Palm warbler. If you know me well, you know my love of wood-warblers. Just something about their diminutive size, big voices, colorful plumage, and elusive nature has wholly captivated me since I began birding seriously exactly three decades ago this year. For me, May is the month of warblers. But a few early birds show up on the 44th parallel in April—and today was my first 2010 ID.
 Isolated thundershower. These past two-three days I’ve thought I detected warblers. But the distinctively strident, declarative notes I’ve heard have come from tiny birds in flight, migrating overhead. And I’m none too familiar with early-warbler voices anyway. Perhaps I’ve heard a few yellow-rumps in overflight. And who knows what-all else. But identification has been beyond me—until today.
In fact, as soon as dog and I jumped out of the pickup in the Beech Hill parking lot this late morning, I heard them. Two or three tiny birds flitting about the upper limbs of a conifer. I didn’t know their calls and couldn’t get a fix on ‘em with my fieldglasses. But very shortly thereafter, coming up the trail’s first rise along the road, I got a good look—and a passable photo—of a palm warbler. It had a similar voice to the chipping sparrow calling from the other side of its tree, but I still don’t have it memorized. (I’ve listened to recordings, but recordings don’t register as purely as hearing a bird “in person.”) And right after I spotted the palm, I heard a field sparrow.
 Sky islands. Field sparrows have been nesting on Beech Hill for only a few years. They’re not an uncommon bird, but for a not uncommon bird, they’ve been in somewhat of a decline lately, so it’s been nice to hear their bouncy, musical calls on the hill. Yesterday I heard my first savannah sparrow (a Beech Hill mainstay), and today I heard my first field sparrow. In fact, today was a five-sparrow day: field, savannah, song, chipping, and white-throated. I also saw a raven, a kettle of five turkey vultures, and a pileated woodpecker in flight. I heard phoebes, chickadees, robins, goldfinches, house finches. Low in the bay floated banks of fog. We heard, dog and I, a clap of thunder from a tall cloud to the north. Detected something of a fickle breeze. Felt warmth from the sun.
 Double-crested cormorant. Elsewhere in my travels today I saw or heard: cardinal, starling, cowbird, titmouse, herring gull, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon. Then at about 6 p.m. we took a walk along the breakwater, where the tide was high and I listed eiders, d-c cormorants, r-b mergansers, a greater black-backed gull, napping spotted sandpipers, a couple loons. On the way home, in calm, brimming Clam Cove, floated a pair of buffleheads.
But what I’m remembering tonight (and hoping to see more of tomorrow) are wood-warblers—those jewel-like creatures of the woodland.
Today’s List
 Purple sandpipers. Northern cardinal
House sparrow
Song sparrow
House finch
Mourning dove
Eastern phoebe
American crow
Herring gull
American goldfinch
American robin
Palm warbler
Chipping sparrow
Field sparrow
White-throated sparrow
Savannah sparrow
Common raven
Black-capped chickadee
Turkey vulture
Northern flicker
European starling
Ring-billed gull
Rock pigeon
Common eider
Great black-backed gull
Red-breasted merganser
Purple sandpiper
Common loon
Bufflehead
 Common eider.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, bufflehead, chipping sparrow, common eider, common raven, eastern hoebe, European starling, field sparrow, great black-backed gull, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, mourning dove, Northern cardinal, northern flicker, palm warbler, purple sandpiper, red-breasted merganser, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, turkey vulture, white-throated sparrow
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Sunday, April 11th, 2010
 Purple sandpiper. Woke up. Got out of bed. Saw blue sky up overhead. The temperature, though, seemed pretty chilly—somewhere in the low 50s (F)—and I noticed a bit of wind playing around in the naked upper branches of the oaks. I also noticed the song of the cardinal, the fee-bee of the phoebe, the caw of the crow. Particularly noteworthy were the calls of a number of goldfinches—bunches of them out there this morning, for some reason. New arrivals, perhaps?
 Purple sandpipers. It being Sunday, dog and I headed to Beech Hill for church. Lumpy blankets of clouds had moved in, interspersed with patches of blue, making it a partly sunny day. Great fields of sunlit landscape scraped across the inland hills. There were no ravens on the hill. There were no hawks. A solitary song sparrow flitted out of a thicket of brush. I heard a herring gull, a titmouse, and (again) quite a few goldfinches. I heaven heard the gobble of a turkey from down near South Street somewhere. I sort of had hopes of spotting an osprey—several of my friends have seen their first of 2010—but no dice. That’s what I get for having expectations.
 Napping purple sandpiper. Then again, returning home, I heard out the window the percussive call of a chipping sparrow. By golly, my first of the year.
A few hours later, I figured it was about time to walk the breakwater. Sunday bunches of other people and dogs were there. So were great rafts of common eiders, a few black ducks, a pair of red-breasted mergansers, black-backed gulls—and a double-crested cormorant in flight. Another first-of-year bird.
No loons in the harbor. Nor any long-tailed ducks. But there did suddenly come a flurry of chattering on the island side about two-thirds of the way out: purple sandpipers. Dozens of them. Scores of them. While stopping to snap a mess of photos (my red heeler is such a patient dog), I couldn’t help but imagine these were migrating birds simply making a quick stop-off en route to their breeding grounds in the Arctic tundra. On our return trip to shore, I saw a flock in crazy veering flight low over the waves, making sharp, seemingly random changes-of-direction. These ended up on a nearby, seaweed-covered stretch of rip-rap farther down the breakwater. Just catching a breather on their way to a far-northern latitude.
Tonight, from the deck, I stopped to listen for a while. I heard no woodcocks, as I usually do at this season. I wonder where, this year, migration has taken them.
 Sandpiper flock. Today’s List
Northern cardinal
Eastern phoebe
American goldfinch
Song sparrow
House finch
American crow
American robin
Herring gull
Black-capped chickadee
Mourning dove
Tufted titmouse
Wild turkey
Chipping sparrow
Northern flicker
European starling
Common eider
Great black-backed gull
Black duck
Red-breasted merganser
Double-crested cormorant
Purple sandpiper
 Beech Hill view.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black duck, black-capped chickadee, common eider, Eastern phoebe, European starling, great black-backed gull, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, Northern cardinal, northern flicker, purple sandpiper, red-breasted merganser, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, wild turkey
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Sunday, April 4th, 2010
 The hills (from Beech Hill). This morning, when swimming up out of my dream about my new dog, something about the timbre of the cardinal’s voice out the back window tipped me off to the awesomeness of the day to come. Sun, check. Breeze, calm. Smell of the air, fresh. Aside from the cardinal, I counted ten species calling pretty much simultaneously: eastern phoebe, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, downy woodpecker, American robin, house finch, goldfinch, mourning dove, house sparrow, crow.
 Mourning dove. The cardinal, phoebe, and mourning dove were not shy. The locally dominant individual of each species gave forth from conspicuous perches very near where the dog and I walked. Got a photo of the dove.
On our Beech Hill walk at late morning, I overdressed. Right away, in fact, I ended up wearing both my sweatshirt and loose, long-sleeved T-shirt tied around my waist. The temperature must’ve been about 72 degrees (F). Even the breeze on the summit felt warm. I heard the call of a pileated woodpecker, a phoebe, a titmouse, a robin, chickadees. I saw a female harrier soaring low over the bronze-grassed hill. Song sparrows sun from conspicuous places, and I couldn’t help but wonder when the first savannah sparrow would arrive. (Savannahs own the grassy part of Beech Hill.) No swallows today, nor vultures, nor broad-wings. I did spy a distant hawk, but I couldn’t tell if it was a redtail or perhaps even the marsh hawk I’d seen rising to continue its spring migration.
 Great egret, Weskeag Marsh. Back home, as soon as I got out of the pickup, I spotted another hawk—again, I couldn’t tell if it was a red-tailed or broad-winged or harrier or what. All I could tell for sure is that about a half dozen crows herded it noisily away to the south.
In early afternoon, my friends Kristen and Paul showed up to check out my new iPad. But more fun was our quick trip to Weskeag Marsh on Buttermilk Lane. On the way, I chuckled internally at a few ring-billed gulls perched strategically on a high roof across the road from McDonald’s. Readily evident at the marsh were black ducks and killdeers and gulls and crows. Behind us sang a red-winged blackbird. Facing a suddenly stout (but warm) south wind, we saw in the farthest pond little ducks, green-winged teals no doubt. I happened to spot a solitary adult bald eagle soaring up over the conifers on the far side. But leave it to eagle-eyed Kristen to ID two notable species: blue-winged teal (a pair) and great egret (an individual). Both were first-of-year sightings for me.
 Buoy. I rode my bike again, saw rock pigeons and Canada geese—somewhat fewer—at Aldermere farm. (Aside: I’m up to 160 miles already this year.) Then dog and I headed for the breakwater, spotting a pair of buffleheads in Clam Cove along the way.
It was approaching 6 p.m. I wore sandals and a T-shirt and jeans: the perfect dress. The wind had died down, and the water’s surface on bay side of the breakwater spread calm and smooth and reflective. A slightly choppier surface on the harbor side had nonetheless attracted a few long-tailed ducks, which I heard chatting and gossiping as they took wing on their evening flight back out to sea. But the action was on the island side: loons (several, a couple in breeding plumage), eiders, red-breasted mergansers. Herring gulls and black-backed gulls wheeled and sailed and cried. I could hardly believe the calm in that direction.
Nearing the shore again, a breeze kicked up, roughening the surface again. Cardinals and house finches and robins sang to the waning day.
 Gull. Today’s List
Northern cardinal
Song sparrow
Tufted titmouse
American robin
House finch
Mourning dove
Downy woodpecker
House sparrow
American crow
Eastern phoebe
American goldfinch
Herring gull
Pileated woodpecker
Black-capped chickadee
Northern harrier
Ring-billed gull
Black duck
Red-winged blackbird
Killdeer
Green-winged teal
Bald eagle
Blue-winged teal
Great egret
Rock pigeons
Canada goose
Bufflehead
Common eider
Red-breasted merganser
Common loon
Long-tailed duck
Great black-backed gull
 Calm sea.
Tags: American goldfinch, American robin, bald eagle, black duck, black-capped chickadee, blue-winged teal, bufflehead, Canada goose, common eider, common loon, downy woodpecker, Eastern phoebe, great black-backed gull, great egret, green-winged teal, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, killdeer, long-tailed duck, mourning dove, Northern cardinal, Northern harrier, pileated woodpecker, red-breasted merganser, red-winged blackbird, ring-billed gull, rock pigeons, song sparrow, titmouse, tufted titmouse
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Friday, April 2nd, 2010
 Male common eider in flight. Among the first few birds I saw this morning was a blue jay. Oddly, I hear (or see) jays only about a dozen days a year out back—though I hear hear (or see) them more often than that at nearby Beech Hill. This morning, in the early morning sunlight, I saw a blue jay fly up into the upper branches of one of the big leafless red oaks, so I figured I’d step out onto the deck and take a photo. While out there, I noticed there were two jays—a pair, apparently. Happily taking too-distant pictures of them, I suddenly heard the unmistakable, strident rattle of a pileated woodpecker coming from somewhere north of me.
 Pileated woodpecker (female). The call drew my attention, and right away I saw a second large woodpecker bouncing along among the trunks of the oaks, heading in the direction of the calling bird. Naturally, I swapped subjects. I mean, pileateds are somewhat more uncommon, are far more striking (unless you’re a blue jay, I suppose), and pose a challenge. Didn’t get a great shot, but I did manage a couple photos of the (female) pileated woodpecker when she stopped briefly in my side yard.
A pair of blue jays, a pair of pileated woodpeckers. Soon after, a downy woodpecker. Also a cardinal, a song sparrow, a white-breasted nuthatch, crows. The house finch and a robin called from across the road. Out the kitchen window I saw what looked like a large hawk, a buteo, sailing up over the hill—but I couldn’t ID it. A mystery. Meantime, the sun shone brilliantly, and the sky looked mostly blue. I had hopes of a nice warm day.
Sure enough it turned into a nice day, if not overly warm. Mostly that was because of a stout southwest wind—though temperatures did rise into the 50s (F). We walked Beech Hill, the dog and I. I wore a hooded sweatshirt against the wind, and sweat formed inside my cap brim. Offshore, fog lay low all over the islands and parts of the outer shores clear across the panorama. The sight was pretty thrilling. To the northeast you could see Cadillac Mountain rising out of the fog bank. You could also see the very tip of Isla au Haut.
 Island. Just as we reached the summit, I heard the voice of an eastern phoebe carried by the wind. First phoebe of the year. I also heard a titmouse and a robin and a goldfinch and some chickadees. I also heard, just as we made it back to the parking lot, an unfamiliar call of a small bird in overlight. It sounded finch-like. I have no idea what it was. A mystery.
Out on my bike, I saw plenty of herring gulls, rock pigeons, and a common grackle. Later, dog and I hit the breakwater again. En route I spotted a solitary red-winged blackbird and a solo starling. Out on the granite, I counted red-breasted mergansers, lots of common eiders, a couple black ducks, a couple loons, and some long-tailed ducks. Also a ring-billed gull. Banks of fog still cloaked the islands—the whistle of the light was even sounding when we arrived.
Afterward, we swung by the grocery store. I heard house sparrows.
Tonight, I noticed Orion still hanging around in the oak branches. Before long, daylight will obscure his belt and shoulders. I wondered who first saw the hunter in this constellation. Certainly a single human, or a small group. Of course I’ll never know. Yet another mystery.
Today’s List
Blue jay
Song sparrow
Northern cardinal
Pileated woodpecker
Downy woodpecker
House finch
American robin
Tufted titmouse
Black-capped chickadee
Herring gull
American goldfinch
Eastern phoebe
Common grackle
European starling
Rock pigeon
Red-breasted merganser
Common eider
Ring-billed gull
Common loon
Long-tailed duck
Black duck
House sparrow
 Bay fog.
Tags: American goldfinch, American robin, black duck, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, common eider, common grackle, common loon, downy woodpecker, Eastern phoebe, European starling, herring gull, house finch, house sparrow, long-tailed duck, Northern cardinal, pileated woodpecker, red-breasted merganser, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, tufted titmouse
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
|
|
| |
| Bird Report is an intermittent record of what's outside my window in Rockport, Maine, USA (44°08'N latitude, 69°06'W longitude), and vicinity. —Brian Willson |
|
|
