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Posts Tagged ‘black guillemot’
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
 Herring gull. Sun again this morning, but not without intermittent high clouds. The temperature felt chilly still, at 40- to 50-something degrees (F). Early singing birds included song sparrow, cardinal, phoebe, house finch, downy woodpecker, titmouse, finches, crow. Saw the phoebe perched on the peak of the next-door roof again; heard the various love songs of the male titmouse, which posed for photos.
 Tufted titmouse. Herring gulls sailed overhead as we drove to Beech Hill again at midday, dog and I. No tractor today, but I couldn’t help but notice the entire summit shorn and certain nesting clumps mowed down. (When the birds arrive, of course, they’ll simply use other clumps nearby, but I still felt a sense of loss.) Then again, I was thrilled to see kestrels, three of them, hovering on rapid wings above the new-mown grass, and a solitary harrier tipping and veering over the lower southern slope. Song sparrows flitted silently again amid the brush, and one of the pair of ravens croaked audibly on our way down. A blue jay jeered, as well.
Later, while out cycling, I marveled at the huge familiar wheel of gulls above the cow farm off Route 1. Birds know where the food is, that’s for sure. Robins and crows hopped again near the edges of the roads, and a newly arrived double-crested cormorant zipped along above Clam Cove. The wind blew moderately hard from the northwest, making for varying difficulty.
 Unfurling. Decided to walk the breakwater this evening. Still wind, which ruffled the water. No loons, no mergansers—no ducks but a couple dozen eiders and a few small flocks of long-tailed ducks, high-tailing it out to sea. I saw another d-c cormorant, and a solitary guillemot flying low above the waves.
I’m starting to get excited about the influx of passerines. I can nearly sense them, stocking up, or heading north, flying at night, maybe a couple weeks out, reproduction on their minds.
Today’s List
American crow
Song sparrow
Northern cardinal
Tufted titmouse
Downy woodpecker
American goldfinch
House finch
Eastern phoebe
Mourning dove
Herring gull
Northern harrier
American kestrel
Common raven
Black-capped chickadee
Blue jay
Rock pigeon
Common eider
Double-crested cormorant
Long-tailed duck
Black guillemot
 Budding trees.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American kestrel, black guillemot, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, common eider, common raven, double-crested cormorant, downy woodpecker, herring gull, house finch, long-tailed duck, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern harrier, rock pigeon, song sparrow, tufted titmouse
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Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
 Eiders and gull. This morning the rain let up at last. Fellow on the radio said March has been a record-breaking month around here, rain-wise. Water yet coursed down hills and turned trickling, tumbling streams to rushing falls. Within a few minutes of rising, I’d heard the cardinal, crows, chickadees, a song sparrow, and house finch, a robin.
 View west from Beech Hill. In late morning, I went with the dog to Beech Hill again, as has become our custom. En route, in a nice surprise, we passed a rural yard full of wild turkeys—must’ve been at least two dozen of them—with two or three males in full display. Wood frogs called at the base of the hill, and the sky showed hints of sun.
On the way up, as I stooped to clean up after the heeler, I didn’t notice my plastic bag had holes in it. This left a couple fingers soiled. Well, no problem: the clean, running water of the hills many rivulets afforded ample means for cleanup. In fact, I got to wading in inch-or-two-deep water, just because there’s still a kid in me somewhere. The dog, by contrast, stepped gingerly around. No mourning doves today, but several robins, chickadees singing fee-bee, a titmouse, a crow, a herring gull, a cardinal, and goldfinches. Mist cloaked the inland hills.
 Long-tailed ducks. A busy day at the office concluded right about the time the sun broke through. So we took a quick trip over to the breakwater. And what a spectacle. The novelty of sun brought a few other people and dogs out—but most interesting was the incredible sky. Great expanses of blue. Looming black clouds. Wisps of mist close to the water. Steam rising here and there.
I saw red-breasted mergansers, common loons, a black guillemot in winter plumage. I heard scores of long-tailed ducks, which took flight right on schedule and headed out of the harbor toward the islands. Great flocks of eiders floated on the low tide on either side. Jack got to hang out with a couple other dogs, including another red heeler—a female in heat. Got some photos of the great field of deep blue that approached from the west. This brought a few very light showers later.
A few Maine rivers are flooding. Migratory birds are stocking up on food many thousand miles away. And those who pretend to know say sun and warmth will arrive this weekend.
 Black guillemot. Today’s List
Northern cardinal
American crow
Song sparrow
House finch
American robin
Black-capped chickadee
Mourning dove
Tufted titmouse
Wild turkey
Herring gull
American goldfinch
Blue jay
Rock pigeon
European starling
Mallard
Red-breasted merganser
Common loon
Common eider
Long-tailed duck
Black-guillemot
 Rockland Harbor.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, black guillemot, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, common eider, common loon, European starling, herring gull, house finch, long-tailed duck, mallard, mourning dove, northern cardinal, red-breasted merganser, rock pigeon, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, wild turkey
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Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
 Pair of common loons. What a difference a day makes. Yesterday, wind and rain and an antic surf; today, calm and sun and a tide sublime.
 Horned grebe. The bulk of the day I circled my desk like Mercury about the sun, but I did take a quick trip to Rockport Village, when I confirmed the spring-like nature of the day—and saw a rock pigeon. An early overcast had fled somewhere and the sky was mostly blue.
I thought about heading up Beech Hill, but I couldn’t resist another visit to the breakwater, just to see the contrast. At the parking lot a dozen starlings sat in a bare-limbed tree making subtle, crazy noises. I brought (and wore) my parka, but that was overdressing: what a gorgeous afternoon. The tide was low. A pair of red-breasted mergansers (our local Audubon chapter’s logo bird, by the way) floated off in the cove. A small flock of common goldeneyes bobbed in the gentle surf beyond the flats and boulders a hundred yards or more offshore. A solitary harbor seal perched sidelong on a rock. Common loons on either side of the breakwater.
 Juvenile herring gull. Soon I spotted a little horned grebe—very likely the same bird I’ve seen there two or three times before. It posed for photos. Then I came upon a number of herring gulls picking at urchins on the surface of the great granite stones. And then I heard the inimitable voices of the long-tailed ducks and knew they’d begun their evening flight off shore. Sure enough, swift little groups of them began speeding rapidly around the far end of the breakwater, calling all the way.
 Black guillemot. At the lighthouse end, I stood a while soaking up the gorgeousness of the world and, lo, saw a tiny water bird floating a short distance away. A guillemot in black and white, nearly breeding plumage. Toward the harbor, in the sunset’s reflection, a pair of loons—one dainty, one robust—sailed slowly around the point. Not long after, I heard one call. And again. Again. Again.
And I heard, behind me, a gutteral sound. Looked up. It was a greater black-back, sitting on the peak of the house. It faced the islands. It made pronouncements. I lifted its head and cried.
Walking back I saw several other loons sailing slowly and silently in the reflective harbor. There must’ve been a dozen out there, their plumage also darkening.
 Great black-backed gull. Back at the parking lot, a sparrow flitted across my path. A white-throat from its notes.
It’s winter still, but with spring in the air. What a gentle, sweet-smelling day.
Today’s List
American crow
Herring gull
Rock pigeon
European starling
Red-breasted merganser
Common goldeneye
Long-tailed duck
Common loon
Horned grebe
Black guillemot
Great black-backed gull
White-throated sparrow
 Sunset, Rockland Harbor.
Tags: American crow, black guillemot, common goldeneye, common loon, European starling, great black-backed gull, herring gull, horned grebe, long-tailed duck, red-breasted merganser, rock pigeon, white-throated sparrow
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| Bird Report is a (sometimes intermittent) record of the birds I encounter while hiking, see while driving, or spy outside my window. —Brian Willson |
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