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6 September 2010
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Rockport, Maine, USA
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Posts Tagged ‘ring-billed gull’
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
 Rufous hummingbird (male). Rose fairly early—early enough to end up at Beech Hill less than twelve hours after we finished last night’s hike. Warmish but still overcast, with thick fog offshore. Still, though. Hardly a stir of breeze.
 White-throated sparrow. Plenty of birds flitting about and singing. I’ve decided the the species that appear along the wooded trails tend to persist—towhee, catbird, yellowthroat—whereas the summit and open sections seem to foster more varied, unpredictable sightings. I.e., as we emerged from the woods at the top of the upper trail, Jack and I, I scanned the open areas to the left and the right, as always, and to the right, in a branch of a dead tree not 100 feet away, perched a black-billed cuckoo. Right out in the open. Awesome photo opportunity. So I raised my camera, and before I could take a photo the bird flew away.
A few moments later, I heard the yodel of a loon over toward Chickawaukie Lake.
That was one nice thing about this morning: the muggy, humid, still air seemed made to carry sound. I heard the voices of birds, the rush of car tires, the blatterings of chainsaws, the barking of dogs, the chirrups of crickets and the buzzings of cicadas. The whines of light aircraft in overflight. The twin peep-peep of a hummingbird.
 Savannah sparrow. Three times today, I heard—then saw—ruby-throated hummingbirds. At the summit, buzzing around the spruces. Coming down the open slope, browing among those pink flowers (whatever they are). And down near the Beech Hill Road parking lot, I heard the telltale pip-pip behind me. I turned to see a hummer dipping in to dine on a flower just a handful of feet away. My auto-focus wouldn’t focus on it. Over and over again I tried. No dice.
 Common yellowthroat. But at that particular moment, before me, at least a half-dozen warblers and other species were flitting about in the hardwoods lining Beech Hill Road. Chestnut-sideds (young and old), a black-throated green, black-and-white, a blue-headed vireo. Downy woodpecker. White-breasted nuthatch. A singing warbler I couldn’t identify—possibly a parula.
I must’ve stood there for twenty minutes of a half hour. I can’t think of very much more thrilling to me than a wave of warblers passing through, giving me no chance to look away. Constantly I have flitting, fluttering birds in the leaves before me challenging me to come up with an ID. Or a photo. Binoculars or camera? All is the moment. The only reality is the one right now. And then a hummingbird’s telltale pip-pip.
Speaking of hummingbirds—soon after my morning hike I drove up to a friend’s house very near Beech Hill. That’s because she had a rufous hummingbird coming to her feeder and chasing away the native ruby-throats. (I had never seen one. A “lifer” bird for me.) Rufous hummers are native to the western U.S.—commong, but over on the other side of the Rockies. What this feisty vagrant male was doing here in Maine is anyone’s guess. Noteworthy, though, for sure.
(Note: friends of my friend are keeping her ID a secret. Otherwise, she’d have dozens of birders from throughout the Northeast traipsing through quiet her quiet yard.)
 Eastern phoebe. Beech Hill List
Beginning at 6:45 a.m., I hiked all trails.
1. White-breasted nuthatch
2. American crow
3. Black-capped chickadee
4. Red-eyed vireo (voice)
5. American goldfinch
6. Cedar waxwing
7. Gray catbird
8. Eastern towhee
9. Common yellowthroat
10. Yellow warbler (voice)
11. White-throated sparrow
12. Black-billed cuckoo
13. Alder flycatcher
14. Common loon (voice)
15. Song sparrow (voice)
16. Eastern phoebe
17. Mourning dove
18. Savannah sparrow
19. Blue jay (voice)
20. American robin (voice)
21. Northern cardinal (voice)
22. Ruby-throated hummingbird
23. Field sparrow
24. Tufted titmouse (voice)
25. Chestnut-sided warbler
26. Downy woodpecker
27. Black-throated green warbler
28. Blue-headed vireo
29. Black-and-white warbler
30. Purple finch
31. Eastern wood-pewee (voice)
Elsewhere
32. Herring gull
33. Rufous hummingbird
34. Ring-billed gull
35. House sparrow
 Savannah sparrow.
Tags: alder flycatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-billed cuckoo, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, Cedar waxwing, chestnut-sided warbler, common loon, common yellowthroat, downy woodpecker, Eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, eastern wood-pewee, field sparrow, gray catbird, herring gull, house sparrow, mourning dove, Northern cardinal, purple finch, red-eyed vireo, ring-billed gull, ruby throated hummingbird, rufous hummingbird, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow, yellow warbler
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Sunday, May 9th, 2010
 Chestnut-sided warbler. One of life’s greatest challenges is overcoming expectations. Yesterday dawned dreary and overcast, and I counted twice as many species as I figured I would (including three first-of-year birds); the sun this morning flooded promisingly across a green spring landscape, and it turned out to be a wicked tough day for birding.
 Chestnut-sided warbler. I knew from the thermometer it’d be a cold one: about 40 degrees (F) when we headed out, dog and I. What I didn’t exactly anticipate was the ferocity of the wind. At the protected wooded Beech Hill trailhead, young trees wagged and whispered, and upper limbs rubbed together with tiny creaks and squeals. I’d worn a hooded sweatshirt and felt prepared. And sure enough I heard the the birdsong I expected at the outset: ovenbird, black-throated green warbler, yellowthroat, chickadee, jay. But it took a while to hear the voices of many other warblers—or even a towhee. Then I noticed the scarcity of black flies and mosquitos, thanks to a gusty understory. Good for me and Jack, not so much for warblers.
Still, I eventually saw and/or heard most of the usual woodland birds—even the quiet, nesting ones, like robins. The rose-breasted grosbeak had hung around, somehow I managed to make out the distant drumming of a partridge, and a few chestnut-sided warblers proved cooperative portrait subjects. But once we reached the summit, a strong, steady northwest wind rushed loudly through the little spruce grove—and against my ears—making it difficult to hear a thing (or I expect, if you’re a bird, to fly.) I did check the phoebe nest and found it occupied. But I saw no birds in the air at all, and the savannah sparrows didn’t even bother singing. Plus, it was colder’n hell up there. Just not overly comfortable at all.
 Mother's Day robin. Coming back up over the open trail, I did finally spot a savannah flitting along the edge of the trail. And at one point, I caught sight of a tree swallow in flight, battling the wind. But it took me a good five minutes of standing, listening, rocking against the gusts, and tipping my head before I heard the three species that’ve been calling dependably down the slope toward South Street: titmouse, yellow warbler, hermit thrush.
We hiked down the lower wooded trail at a brisk pace, hardly bothering to stop to listen for calls. Ovenbird and black-throated green is about all there was down there today. The full circuit took a lot less time than yesterday.
But the list could’ve been a lot worse. And warming up back home was nice. And late this afternoon we took a quick walk to the end of the breakwater and back—an even windier and more bone-chilling experience than our morning hike, by the way—and saw a few nice shoreside birds.
Taking the dog out a minute ago, though, I had probably my nicest thrill of the day when I heard the strange, crazy flight song of a woodcock spiraling down through a black night sky gone relatively, sweetly calm.
 Pair of common eiders. Beech Hill List
At 6:45 a.m., I walked all trails.
1. Black-throated green warbler (voice)
2. Ovenbird (voice)
3. Black-capped chickadee
4. Herring gull (voice)
5. Blue jay (voice)
6. American crow (voice)
7. Common yellowthroat
8. Rose-breasted grosbeak (voice)
9. American robin
10. Common raven (voice)
11. Chestnut-sided warbler
12. White-throated sparrow (voice)
13. Ruffed grouse (booming)
14. Eastern towhee
15. Gray catbird (voice)
16. Nashville warbler
17. Black-and-white warbler
18. American goldfinch
19. Hairy woodpecker
20. Northern parula (voice)
21. Blue-headed vireo (voice)
22. Mourning dove
23. Eastern phoebe
24. Savannah sparrow
25. Tree swallow
26. Tufted titmouse (voice)
27. Yellow warbler (voice)
28. Hermit thrush (voice)
Elsewhere
29. House finch
30. Northern cardinal
31. Common grackle
32. Great black-backed gull
33. Ring-billed gull
34. Common eider
35. Double-crested cormorant
36. American woodcock
 Two islands (from Beech Hill).
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-and-white warbler, black-capped chickadee, black-throated green warbler, blue jay, blue-headed vireo, chestnut-sided warbler, common eider, common grackle, common raven, common yellowthroat, double-crested cormorant, Eastern phoebe, eastern towhee, gray catbird, great black-backed gull, hairy woodpecker, hermit thrush, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, Nashville warbler, Northern cardinal, northern parula, ovenbird, ring-billed gull, rose-breasted grosbeak, ruffed grouse, savannah sparrow, tree swallow, tufted titmouse, white-throated sparrow, yellow warbler
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Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
 American robin. Life is a series of searching for things and finding other things instead.
Before I awoke I knew it was raining from the distant rushing traffic sounds. Gentle rain and a gray sky and temperatures in the 40s (F). Out the window, a titmouse was singing its love song in the rain.
 Eastern towhee. In mid-morning I happened to look out and see a double-crested cormorant flying across the drizzly sky. The rain stopped sometime later, and I saw some scraps of blue sky, and things began to dry. We hit the wooded Beech Hill trail at just about exactly noon. Overhead the sky remained vague and gray; over the bay, the sky was blue. Not too much mud on the trail. Not many birds either—chickadee, goldfinch, gulls at the Rockville Street farm. Midday’s not the best birding hour.
But after a while, I heard towhees. And a hermit thrush—whose ethereal call seems perfect for a day that’s gray or misty. And the sudden gobble of a wild turkey not very far away. Heard a raven fly over. A downy woodpecker. Got a photo of a towhee near the summit.
I checked the phoebe’s nest up under the Beech Nut porch. I didn’t see a phoebe. But coming down the open trail, I spotted a solitary turkey up ahead, and the turkey spotted dog and me, and it took wing and sailed down the slope. I kept my gaze on that section of the hill in hopes of spotting the bird, but what I saw rise from the area instead was a single female harrier.
 Northern harrier. The song of a field sparrow rang from a group of low trees. Through my binoculars I spotted the bird about fifty yards away. Then heard a percussive call overhead, looked up, and saw a chase of three mallards in swift flight. On our return to the summit, the savannah sparrows were shy—I saw only two, and these flitted furtively off into the brush. A turkey vulture soared out toward the islands. And as we neared the wooded trail, I looked back to see a pair of harriers—male and female—circling the sod-roofed hut.
Down the lower wooded trail, when we passed the turkey-tail-covered trunk, I decided to walk on over and take a nearer photo. We saw no moose, but there were plenty of chickadees. While watching one group, I caught sight of a white-breasted nuthatch and followed that bird’s trip up a big oak trunk. Just then I heard the yodel of a loon—and actually saw the bird, flying high in the sky, at least a hundred yards overhead.
I sure didn’t expect to count twenty species on my walk up Beech Hill today.
 View of Matinicus from Beech Hill Beech Hill List
At 12:00 p.m., I walked all trails.
Black-capped chickadee
Herring gull (voice)
American goldfinch
American crow
Eastern towhee
Hermit thrush (voice)
Wild turkey
Downy woodpecker (voice)
Common raven
Northern harrier
Savannah sparrow
Field sparrow
Mallard
Northern flicker (voice)
Song sparrow (voice)
American robin
Turkey vulture
White-breasted nuthatch
Common loon
Mourning dove
Elsewhere
Tufted titmouse
Double-crested cormorant
Red-winged blackbird
European starling
Ring-billed gull
 Turkeytail fungus.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, common loon, common raven, double-crested cormorant, downy woodpecker, eastern towhee, European starling, field sparrow, hermit thrush, herring gull, mallard, mourning dove, northern flicker, Northern harrier, red-winged blackbird, ring-billed gull, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, turkey vulture, white-breasted nuthatch, wild turkey
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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
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Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
 High tide, Rockland Breakwater. Sun this morning! Then clouds. Then sun! Then clouds. Then sun!
That pretty much sums up today’s weather. Well, other than the temperature reached the sixties, and we had a few very brief cloudbursts. Heard the usual morning singers: cardinal, song sparrow, mourning dove, house finch, phoebe, robin, goldfinch, crow.
 Lupines, Glen Cove. About the time dog and I hit Beech Hill, a big raft of clouds blew over, and we actually got drizzled on while ascending. It being the first nice day in a while, as well as spring-break week for school, the parking lot was jam-packed, and humans and dogs of all ages and breeds clogged the trail. In addition, the tractor was mowing the eastern field, and a chainsaw whined from somewhere to the south. I saw no hawks at all. In fact, I caught only the briefest glimpse of a song sparrow, and a snapshot-like look at a long-necked turkey at the top of the wooded trail—but I got a good look at a raven flying over. I did hear titmouse, chickadee, goldfinch, gull. And, most interestingly, I heard some warbler-like chips and looked up to see a small, solitary bird crossing far overhead. Shortly after, the same thing happened again.
Rode my bike this afternoon. Saw herring gulls, ring-bills, rock pigeons. I noticed for the first time that you can see Beech Hill from one section of Route 1—although I’d seen that section of Route 1 from the hill itself, I couldn’t tell exactly where it was. That was cool.
 Double-crested cormorant. This evening, we walked the breakwater, dog and I. Nearly high tide. We ran into many other people and dogs there also. I saw a large raft of eiders on the island side, a solitary double-crested cormorant on the harbor side. The sky held a dramatic array of clouds. I spotted one duck that looked like a long-tail—but no other ducks or other birds. Other than a single loon and a pair of black guillemots in breeding plumage.
 Rain cloud. Most memorable, to me, was a moment spent standing at the far end of the breakwater. The air held a faint, pungent salt-sea smell. The floating seaweed gave off a faintly popping, fizzing sort of sound. The light reflected on the relatively still water. The two guillemots dove.
They stayed underwater for an incredible period of time, the guillemots.
Today’s List
American cardinal
Song sparrow
Eastern phoebe
House finch
Chipping sparrow
American robin
American goldfinch
Mourning dove
Herring gull
Black-capped chickadee
Tufted titmouse
Wild turkey
Common raven
Ring-billed gull
Rock pigeon
Double-crested cormorant
Common eider
Common loon
 Clouds and sun.
Tags: American cardinal, American goldfinch, American robin, black-capped chickadee, chipping sparrow, common eider, common loon, common raven, double-crested cormorant, Eastern phoebe, herring gull, house finch, mourning dove, ring-billed gull, rock pigeon, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, wild turkey
Posted in Lists, Observations | 2 Comments »
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| 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 |
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