Saturday, July 11, 2015

A Few Surprises at Brunswick Landing

DSC_0066 Great Horned Owl 4-7-15 Brunswick Landing

In April of this year I drove through Brunswick Landing several times during the peak of Spring Migration. Winter was just ending but the birds were were retuning and some of them were already nesting. Brunswick Landing is a funny place because in some ways it is abandoned and wild, but moves are underway by Midcoast Regional Development Authority to bring new life to this place. I, however, like the wildlife more than the business aspect of things, and while I do believe that some of the land will be left wild, much is being developed and places I had access to last year have now been blocked off. Still, it is a good place to bird if you know where to look and this year I found a few surprises! The Great Horned Owl Pictured above is one of them. While I missed out on seeing the Snowy owls that were reported to be hunting the airfield at the Brunswick Executive Airport which is part of Brunswick Landing, I was surprised to find this Great Horned Owl nesting in an abandoned osprey nest near the same airfield! This was my first and only Great Horned Owl in Maine!

DSC_0068 While I was watching the owl this raven flew by pursued by a couple of crows!

Notice the wedge-shaped tail!

DSC_0069 Notice the fan-shaped tail of this crow.

 

DSC_0077 In the north pond I was pleased to find Wood Ducks and Ring-necked Ducks!

 

DSC_0079 This American kestrel was perched atop this light pole at the far end of the abandoned ball fields off Line Road. Osprey like to nest on the platforms in the middle of the field.

One of my best surprises of birding Brunswick Landing this winter was the discovery of Bohemian Waxwings on Brunswick Landing. I found them in the crabapple trees near the Brunswick Rec center on Neptune Drive in February. But when I stopped to examine this flock of birds in the trees at the edge of the parking lot off Admiral Finch Road on April 9th, I was shocked to find a flock of more than 30 Bohemian Waxwings! Last time I had only seen 3 of them!

DSC_0103 Bohemian Waxwings in fruit tree 4-9-2015 Brunswick Landing

 

DSC_0104 The birds flew between the fruit tree and this non-fruiting tree.

 

DSC_0105 Some would be in this tree and some would be in the other tree.

I stayed in my car to photograph them. I did not want to scare them away.

DSC_0107 Close-up of Bohemian Waxwings 4-9-2015

Notice the cinnamon wash to their faces and their Cinnamon colored undertail coverts! Bohemian Waxwings are much bigger than Cedar Waxwings and are highly nomadic. You never know when or where they will turn up, but we only see them here in winter. This was a very late date to see them here, but we still had so much snow on the ground!

DSC_0110 Bohemian Waxwings in tree on Brunswick Landing 4-9-15

 

DSC_0112 American Kestrel on pole 4-9-15

In April everyone was awaiting the return of the ospreys. I finally saw a pair on their nest in the ball field off of Line Drive (photo below). They are still there now with young in the nest!

DSC_0167 Osprey Pair on April 17, 2015

 

DSC_0169 Eastern Phoebe on fence 4-17-15

 

Brunswick Landing is a great place to bird and is an eBird Hotspot!

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10 comments:

  1. Hello Kathie, great post and awesome bird sightings. I love the Owl and the Bohemian Waxwings. Cool sightings. Happy birding, have a great weekend!

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    1. Thanks, Eileen. I hope you have a great weekend as well.

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  2. Hi Kathie. Interesting sightings particularly the Horned Owl and Waxwings. I hope the redevelopment doesn't scare too many species away.

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    1. Frank, me too. There are some areas set off to be conservation areas, but I can already see the impact in some of the areas of redevelopment.

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  3. It does look like a great place for birding. You took some great photos Kathie.

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  4. Hi Kathie

    Great post, my brother in law has put a power pole on our slough so all I have to do is build the platform dig the hole and see how he plans to raise it. I am hoping I can do this when it is less hot and buggy.

    Guy

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    1. Guy, I hope you can get it in! What fun it will be to see who builds a nest on it!

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  5. That was a great place to bird. It will be interesting to see what the business bit does to that area.

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    1. Chris, yes. I am glad I got to see it before all these changes.

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Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.