Parking Lot Birding at the Physical Therapist Office

 Small Pond by parking lot 5-19-15

Anyone who knows me knows that I carry my binoculars everywhere I go and very often my camera. Ever since starting physical therapy earlier this year after I dislocated my shoulder I started counting birds that I saw from the parking lot of 430 Bath Road in Brunswick, Maine. The office and parking lot sit on a small hill overlooking a valley with the New Meadows River just north of it and the Androscoggin just beyond the rise to the west I often see a variety of bird species here.

Late in March I pulled into the parking lot one day to only to see a magnificent Pileated Woodpecker in a tree as well as some of the first starlings I had seen this year! I was glad I had my camera and was able to snap a few shots!

 Pileated Woodpecker 3-24-15 Bath Road in Brunswick, ME

When it flew off into the nearby woods I took another photo!

Now that spring is here I am seeing even more birds. while I often saw Eagles and even ducks flying over during the winter and early spring, now I see osprey and turkey vultures as well as numerous seagulls at times. When I was there on Tuesday I heard and then saw chestnut-sided warblers and Common Yellowthroats.

Many of the birds flew into this exploding pink flowering tree!

It was at the edge of the meadow below, which was at the edge of the parking lot!

Here is a list of the birds I have seen at this location:

1. Blue Jay 2-11-15
2. American Crow
3. Ring-billed Gull 2-13-15
4. Bald Eagle 2-23-15
5. Mallard 3-24-15
6. Mourning Dove
7. Pileated Woodpecker
8. Black-capped Chickadee
9. Red-breasted Nuthatch
10. European Starling
11. Northern Cardinal
12. Red-winged Blackbird
13. House Finch
14. Turkey Vulture 3-31-15
15. Red-bellied Woodpecker 4-3-15
16. Downy Woodpecker
17. Hairy Woodpecker
18. Common Raven
19. Tufted Titmouse
20. White-breasted Nuthatch
21. Song Sparrow
22. Common Grackle
23. Canada Goose 4-7-15
24. Osprey
25. American Robin
26. Great Blue Heron 4-9-15
27. Herring Gull
28. American Kestrel
29. Eastern Phoebe 4-14-15
30. Northern Flicker 4-17-15
31. Pine Warbler
32. Brown-headed Cowbird
33. Tree Swallow 4-24-15
34. Wood Duck 4-30-15
35. Chipping Sparrow
36. American Goldfinch
37. Ovenbird 5-11-15
38. Black-throated Green Warbler
39. Red-tailed Hawk 5-18-15
40. Great Crested Flycatcher
41. Blue-headed Vireo
42. Gray Catbird
43. Common Yellowthroat
44. Chestnut-sided Warbler

As you can see, parking lot birding can pay off big time! I love to count birds where no one else does and fill in the blanks of the eBird data. It is amazing how many birds species live with and around us and so many people never even notice all this Life that is happening nearby!