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Posts Tagged ‘horned grebe’
Saturday, December 17th, 2011
 Hooded merganser. Today being Christmas Bird Count day, I rose before dawn, had a good-sized breakfast, took dog out, and set off for the Rockland Breakwater, where I met fellow counters Kristen, Paul, Ron, Joe, and Paula. The sun rose in a golden line along the southeastern horizon. That golden line turned out to be a remnant clear patch, though, because the rest of the sky had gone overcast. In fact, it just might’ve been the coldest morning of the season—which didn’t surprise me, considering our recent run of frigid, icy CBC weather—but there wasn’t much wind, and the walk out across the harbor seemed almost mild.
 Red-bellied woodpecker. Highlights were a fast-moving merlin, four species of gull (I only saw three, having missed the great black-backed), horned and red-necked grebes, surf scoters, and a seal. Oh, and the fact that it began to snow.
And the snow grew heavier and continued for the rest of the morning. We walked the grounds of the Samoset Resort, where our friend Don had seen a lesser scaup in one of the ponds along the golf course. Yep, there it was, in the falling snow. Meanwhile, about a hundred Canada geese played through, which was not exactly a surprise. Then Ron thought he heard a yellow-rumped warbler and crashed off into the woods to look for it. And by-God-found it. (It turned out to be the only warbler seen in our entire section today.)
After that we took a little side-trip to a yard in the neighborhood, where a red-bellied woodpecker had been reported at a backyard feeder, and we found that, too. (Kristen spotted it first.) Also tree sparrows, titmice, chickadees, hairy woodpeckers, starlings, a mourning dove, a song sparrow. It turned out to be a productive little side-trip.
Not much at the Sea View Cemetery, but Clam Cove delivered a Bonaparte’s gull and an eagle. And a stop up at the entrance to the Bear Hill subdivision proved fruitful: three hooded merganser, two females and a male. (The male kept chasing one of the females around, and not in a loving way.) And at Chickawaukie Lake, we counted about six hundred coots.
 American tree sparrow. Then we stopped for lunch and conversation, and I skipped out on the afternoon.
Since Jack had been home alone for about six hours, on my return we took off for Beech Hill. A nice, brisk hike. You could see the huge raft of Chickawaukie coots all the way from up there. And I heard the voice of a crow.
Tonight it’s cold. I do believe the coldest night of the season so far (although not particularly cold for this season). Me? I’m still thinking about all those birds.
(You’ll find a few more photos below.)
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2:30 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. American coot
2. American crow
Elsewhere
3. Black-capped chickadee
4. House sparrow
5. House finch
6. American goldfinch
7. Canada goose
8. Northern mockingbird
9. Herring gull
10. Mallard
11. Horned grebe
12. Black duck
13. Common goldeneye
14. Great cormorant
15. Ring-billed gull
16. Common loon
17. Common eider
18. Red-breasted merganser
19. Bonaparte’s gull
20. Long-tailed duck
21. Red-necked grebe
22. Merlin
23. Surf scoter
24. Black guillemot
25. Northern flicker
26. Bufflehead
27. Lesser scaup
28. Bald eagle
29. Tufted titmouse
30. European starling
31. American tree sparrow
32. Song sparrow
33. Hairy woodpecker
34. White-breasted nuthatch
35. Mourning dove
36. Red-bellied woodpecker
37. Northern cardinal
38. Hooded merganser
 Hooded mergansers.  Hooded mergansers.  Hooded mergansers.  Owls Head Light.
Tags: American coot, American crow, American goldfinch, American tree sparrow, bald eagle, black duck, black guillemot, black-capped chickadee, Bonaparte's gull, bufflehead, Canada goose, common eider, common goldeneye, common loon, European starling, great cormorant, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, hooded merganser, horned grebe, house finch, house sparrow, lesser scaup, long-tailed duck, mallard, merlin, mourning dove, northern cardinal, northern flicker, northern mockingbird, red-bellied woodpecker, red-breasted merganser, red-necked grebe, ring-billed gull, surf scoter, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Saturday, December 18th, 2010
 American wigeon. The day began early. I rose and dressed in many layers, as I had an 8 a.m. date at the Rockland Breakwater—the nearly-mile-long granite structure that stretches out into Rockland’s wide harbor. In the past few years, it’s seemed that our local Christmas Bird Count happens to fall on one of the coldest, windiest days of the year so far. Today was a happy exception.
 Herring gull (juvenile). Oh, it was chilly. I was happy to have on a few layers. But the air was still, and the temperature soon rose into the upper-20s (F)—as opposed to the low-teens of recent years—and this mostly sunny day delivered an ample supply of birds.
As always, I met my friends Kristen and Paul, along with Joe from Coastal Mountains Land Trust. Notable was the state of the tide: high. I thought first, on seeing this, that we might miss out on purple sandpipers. In my experience, they seem to prefer mid-tide, when they can poke around in the marine plant life clinging low on the granite stones. But the thought soon vanished amid the calls of the large raft of Canada geese floating in the lee of the breakwater (a challenge to count) and the adult bald eagle that sailed overhead within minutes of the beginning of our excursion.
Soon we were counting eiders, guillemots, mergansers, gulls, long-tailed ducks, loons, great cormorants. Across the way, the Owls Head Light stood sentinel against a golden morning sky. And about half-way out—a sandpiper.
 Mallards. All told, we saw at least a half-dozen purple sandpipers. Herring and ring-billed gulls. And around the shore of the Samoset Resort property, goldeneyes, black-ducks, mallards, horned and red-necked grebes. The air warmed genially. Finally, with the fifteenth species, we counted a regular ol’ songbird: an American goldfinch.
In other locations nearby, we saw finches, sparrows, chickadees, woodpeckers, and other common passerines. We even saw a solitary great blue heron flapping away across the harbor. At Clam Cove, a large flock of small gulls swept in: Bonaparte’s. Soon after, we stopped at the entrance to a hillside subdivision, a place marked by alders and cattails, and spotted a small flock of common redpolls.
At the southern shore of Chickawakie Lake (also in our territory), we counted the usual dozens of mallards—but among them Kristen spotted a single American wigeon. A young bird, it seemed, and not very skittish. I managed many photos.
An adult eagle sat on the ice far across the lake. A tight-bunched collection of coots hung together just beyond. And overhead, a red-tailed hawk soared just this side of the sun.
 Purple sandpiper. I ditched the count in early afternoon—and no doubt Kristen and Paul found many more interesting species this afternoon—but that’s OK. I so appreciate this single momentous annual birding day. It seems even more momentous being so near the solstice.
Later, Jack and I walked Beech Hill, as usual. Only a crow and a flicker up there this afternoon—and I could only tell from their voices—but a lovely hillside, a few small groups of friendly humans (and one young dog), and a lovely rising moon. Our routine hike seemed the perfect ribbon with which to tie a bow on the gift that was this lovely, birdy day.
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2:45 p.m., I hiked the open trail.
1. Northern flicker (voice)
2. American crow (voice)
Elsewhere
3. House sparrow
4. Canada goose
5. Bald eagle
6. Common eider
7. Red-breasted merganser
8. Herring gull
9. Bufflehead
10. Black guillemot
11. Ring-billed gull
12. Long-tailed duck
13. Common loon
14. Great cormorant
15. Purple sandpiper
16. Common goldeneye
17. American goldfinch
18. Black duck
19. Mallard
20. Horned grebe
21. Red-necked grebe
22. Blue jay
23. House finch
24. White-throated sparrow
25. Black-capped chickadee
26. Northern cardinal
27. Downy woodpecker
28. White-breasted nuthatch
29. Hairy woodpecker
30. American robin
31. Great black-backed gull
32. Great blue heron
33. European starling
34. Bonaparte’s gull
35. Tufted titmouse
36. Common redpoll
37. American coot
38. American wigeon
39. Red-tailed hawk
 Owls Head Light.
Tags: American coot, American crow, American goldfinch, American robin, American wigeon, bald eagle, black duck, black guillemot, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, Bonaparte's gull, bufflehead, Canada goose, common eider, common goldeneye, common loon, common redpoll, downy woodpecker, European starling, great black-backed gull, great blue heron, great cormorant, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, horned grebe, house finch, house sparrow, long-tailed duck, mallard, northern cardinal, northern flicker, purple sandpiper, red-breasted merganser, red-necked grebe, red-tailed hawk, ring-billed gull, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, white-throated sparrow
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
Sunday, November 7th, 2010
 Maple leaf. The morning dawned overcast with a promise of precipitation. But the forecast rain wouldn’t come until late in the day, and we had places to go, Jack and I.
 Bald eagle. When I first took him out, I saw a sharp-shinned hawk circling above Route 1, more-or-less southbound. (I believe that’s the first sharpie I’ve seen from my place.) Soon after, we headed up Route 1 to Belfast to meet my friend Liz, who’d invited us on a little hike at Moose Point State Park, a place I’d never been.
First stop was at Liz’s expansive and very birdy yard, where we saw mourning doves, blue jays, hairy woodpeckers, and a goldfinch. More hairys in a nearby tree, along with a white-breasted nuthatch. Herring gulls flew over. Pretty soon we embarked for Moose Point. The tide was high.
Out-of-season meant a closed gate, so we parked outside of it along with a couple other cars and walked a short distance to the trailhead. Right away, I spotted an adult bald eagle soaring over the water.
The trail rims a rocky beach that Jack would’ve preferred to follow had the tide been lower. We hadn’t gone far when I noticed a horned grebe in winter plumage diving nearby. We met a couple other Sunday hikers out for a leisurely stroll, including a birder who said she’d spotted a couple ducks offshore but hadn’t been able to ID them without binoculars.
 Horned grebes. Coming around the point, we noticed other water birds—a pair of red-breasted mergansers (the birder’s ducks), two more grebes, a loon in winter dress. Heard a song sparrow in the bushes nearby. And in a cluster of conifers, on our return, a couple golden-crowned kinglets were calling.
Belfast proper offered up herring gulls, rock pigeons, starlings. Then we swung by “The Muck”—a small urban skating pond—where floated a pair of mallards and a pair of hooded mergansers. Two pair of ducks to top off a perfect morning outing.
Shortly after our return to Rockport, I asked Jack if he was up for a Beech Hill hike, as usual. He couldn’t contain his enthusiasm at the idea.
The wind had risen and rain felt nearer. Our hike was brisk. Heard chickadees, jays, and crows—that’s all. I couldn’t help noticing how the November landscape differs markedly from the October one around here.
Afterward, as the first raindrops began smattering, I heard a titmouse on the hill and grabbed my camera. Didn’t see the tit, but I did notice a gray caterpillar descending on a tiny silky filament to my back deck. It looked to be some sort of inchworm. Today I learned that some Maine inchworms might stick around a full week into November.
Tonight is windy, rain is coming down, and lots of leaves are blowing off the oaks and maples.
 Hooded mergansers at "The Muck." Moose Point State Park List
Beginning about 10:30 a.m., I hiked the loop.
1. Black-capped chickadee
2. Bald eagle
3. Horned grebe
4. Red-breasted merganser
5. Common loon
6. Herring gull
7. Song sparrow
8. Golden-crowned kinglet
Beech Hill List
Beginning at 2 p.m., I hiked the open trail
Black-capped chickadee
9. Blue jay
10. American crow
Elsewhere
11. Sharp-shinned hawk
12. Blue jay
13. Mourning dove
14. Hairy woodpecker
15. American goldfinch
16. White-breasted nuthatch
17. Black duck
18. Mallard
19. Hooded merganser
20. European starling
21. Rock pigeon
22. Tufted titmouse
 Three hills.
Tags: American crow, American goldfinch, bald eagle, black duck, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, common loon, European starling, golden-crowned kinglet, hairy woodpecker, herring gull, hooded merganser, horned grebe, mallard, mourning dove, red-breasted merganser, rock pigeon, sharp-shinned hawk, song sparrow, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch
Posted in Lists, Observations | No Comments »
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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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