|
|
 |
|
|
Posts Tagged ‘belted kingfisher’
Monday, September 27th, 2010
 Rusty blackbird. Overcast and a bit misty this early morning on Monhegan. Right away, my friend Kristen and I spotted a rusty blackbird in an apple tree in town. One species you can count on finding here in fall is rusty blackbird—I bird I personally don’t see anywhere else. But the most inspiring thing you can count on seeing here at this time of year, at least in my opinion, is the miracle of falcons.
 Merlin. After breakfast, Kristen, Monhegan pal (and birder extraordinaire) Bill, and I headed down to Lobster Cove, on the southwest side of the island. Word had it that, in the thickets along the trail down, we might see a yellow-breasted chat and/or a marsh wren and/or some other crazy songbirds I’d love to see. Instead, we saw beaucoup yellow-rumps, swamp sparrows, white-throated sparrows, song sparrows, a catbird, and northern gannets fishing offshore. And falcons.
Merlins, mostly. These small, speedy, feisty birds-of-prey seem both fearless, pugnacious, and eager to do battle. They’d wiggle their wings in anticipation as they’d dive for flickers, goldfinchs, and herring gulls alike. We even saw a merlin dive at a peregrine falcon—a much larger and (arguably) more fearsome bird—seemingly without a care in the world. And more than once we’d be looking off into a thicket in hopes of spying some tiny warbler or sparrow or wren, when a dark blur would sweep through an overgrown opening in the trail near us: a merlin on the prowl. What sleek, expert flier and killing machine. And fun to watch.
 Palm warbler. We also saw some pint-sized kestrels. And peregrines are a marvel to behold. But there’s just something to love about a merlin. We must’ve seen three or four dozen of them (although of course some could’ve been the same bird). Several peregrines. A couple kestrels. Which leads me to ask: where else can you go at any time of year and be sure to see so many falcons? Maybe somewhere, but nowhere I know. It’s just a miracle. A circus. An incredible show.
Other highlights of this day included my first-ever yellow-throated warbler, my first ever sora, dickcissels, clay-colored sparrows, and a lark sparrow in the rain.
Monhegan List
(Not in order of sighting.)
1. Mallard
2. Commen eider
3. Ring-necked pheasant
4. Northern gannet
5. Double-crested cormorant
6. Osprey
7. Bald eagle
8. Northern harrier
9. Sharp-shinned hawk
10. American kestrel
11. Merlin
12. Peregrine falcon
13. Sora
14. Herring gull
15. Great black-backed gull
16. Mourning dove
17. Belted kingfisher
18. Yellow-bellied sapsucker
19. Northern flicker
20. Eastern phoebe
21. Red-eyed vireo
22. Blue jay
23. American crow
24. Common raven
25. Black-capped chickadee
26. Red-breasted nuthatch
27. Carolina wren (voice)
28. Golden-crowned kinglet
29. American robin
30. Gray catbird
31. Cedar waxwing
32. Yellow-rumped warbler
33. Yellow-throated warbler
34. Palm warbler
35. Blackpoll warbler
36. Common yellowthroat
37. Chipping sparrow
38. Clay-colored sparrow
39. Lark sparrow
40. Savannah sparrow
41. Song sparrow
42. Lincoln’s sparrow
43. Swamp sparrow
44. White-throated sparrow
45. Dark-eyed junco
46. Dickcissel
47. Bobolink (voice)
48. Rusty blackbird
49. Common grackle
50. Baltimore oriole
51. Purple finch
52. Pine siskin
53. American goldfinch
 Lark sparrow.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, American robin, bald eagle, Baltimore oriole, belted kingfisher, black-capped chickadee, blackpoll warbler, blue jay, bobolink, Carolina wren, Cedar waxwing, chipping sparrow, clay-colored sparrow, common eider, common grackle, common raven, common yellowthroat, dark-eyed junco, dickcissel, double-crested cormorant, eastern phoebe, golden-crowned kinglet, gray catbird, great black-backed gull, herring gull, lark sparrow, Lincoln's sparrow, mallard, merlin, mourning dove, northern flicker, northern gannet, northern harrier, osprey, palm warbler, peregrine falcon, pine siskin, purple finch, red-breasted nuthatch, red-eyed vireo, ring-necked pheasant, rusty blackbird, sharp-shinned hawk, song sparrow, sora, swamp sparrow, white-throated sparrow, yellow-bellied sapsucker, yellow-rumped warbler, yellow-throated warbler
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Sunday, September 26th, 2010
 Merlin. The day dawned overcast and much cooler than yesterday. Much cooler. So cool that I was wearing a long-sleeved undershirt, a heavy overshirt, and a hooded sweatshirt as the Elizabeth Ann pulled away from Port Clyde en route to Monhegan.
 Dickcissel. Out in Muscongus Bay, there were herring, black-backed, and laughing gulls, black guillemots, loons, cormorants, and eiders. Also, nearing the island, northern gannets. Saw no seals or whales or harbor porpoises, though. No bald eagles. A low blue cloud hung ominously off to the east.
Once arrived, I was soon walking the trails with my birding friends Kristen and Bill, watching merlin after merlin dart swiftly across the overcast. Above Manana Island, a pair of peregrines dipped and veered, alternately chasing gulls and ravens—and possibly diving after huge flocks of goldfinches. Everywhere we looked, in fact, there seemed to be flocks of goldfinches. Remarkable, for sure.
 Red-eyed vireo. But where else can you go on this earth and see merlins and peregrines and kestrels just about every time you scan the sky? Where else and when else? Oh, there probably are place-time combinations that’ll let you see these three species along with gyrfalcons gathering during fall migration. Still, this is the second time I’ve been here in late-September and seen some species of falcon pretty much any time I wanted to. They’re such expert and entertaining flyers. I can’t imagine tiring of this.
In the brush up beyond the lighthouse we saw sparrows and vireos and a dickcissel. White-throated, song, white-crowned, and clay-colored sparrows; red-eyed and Philadelphia vireos. And all this in only my first afternoon, and in less-than-idea weather.
Happy to be here.
 White-crowned sparrow (juvenile). Monhegan List
(Not in order of sighting.)
1. Wood duck
2. Mallard
3. Blue-winged teal
4. Double-crested cormorant
5. American kestrel
6. Merlin
7. Peregrine falcon
8. Herring gull
9. Greater black-backed gull
10. Mourning dove
11. Belted kingfisher
12. Downy woodpecker
13. Northern flicker
14. Philadelphia vireo
15. Red-eyed vireo
16. Blue jay
17. American crow
18. Common raven
19. Black-capped chickadee
20. Red-breasted nuthatch
21. White-breasted nuthatch
22. Hermit thrush
23. Brown thrasher
24. Cedar waxwing
25. Yellow-rumped warbler
26. Clay-colored sparrow
27. Song sparrow
28. White-throated sparrow
29. White-crowned sparrow
30. Dark-eyed junco
31. Dickcissel
32. American goldfinch
Elsewhere
33. Common eider
34. Common loon
35. Northern gannet
36. Great blue heron
37. Laughing gull
38. Black guillemot
39. American robin
 Belted kingfisher.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, American robin, belted kingfisher, black guillemot, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, blue-winged teal, brown thrasher, Cedar waxwing, clay-colored sparrow, common eider, common loon, common raven, dark-eyed junco, dickcissel, double-crested cormorant, downy woodpecker, great blue heron, greater black-backed gull, hermit thrush, herring gull, laughing gull, mallard, merling peregrine falcon, mourning dove, northern gannet, Philadelphia vireo, red-breasted nuthatch, red-eyed vireo, song sparrow, white-breasted nuthatch, white-crowned sparrow, white-throated sparrow, wood duck, yellow-rumped warbler
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
|
|
| |
| Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson |
|
|
