Mitchell Field In South Harpswell

 Mitchell Field 10-8-15

Since I first learned we were moving to Harpswell I started checking out the local birding hotspots. One place I had heard about but never visited before was Mitchell Field. Before we even moved into our new place, I took a drive down there in July to go birding. As soon as I pulled into the road I started seeing birds everywhere! I quickly pulled into the upper parking lot and started taking pictures and counting birds. A rose-breasted grosbeak sang from a nearby maple tree while other small birds flitted around. But I was quickly distracted by the creature below as it started to climb the trunk of one of those trees!

I have gotten blurry photos of this animal at dusk before…

But on July 17th I finally got a decent photo of a porcupine!

 

Song Sparrow at Mitchell Field 7-17-15

 

I walked a short distance down the trail and found a field of Bobolinks and wildflowers!

 A field of summer wildflowers in bloom at Mitchell Field 7-17-15

 

Next I headed down the road to find a full beach with gulls and pigeons!

The pigeons would explain why I saw Peregrine Falcons and Merlins here at a later date! There is a small freshwater creek that flows into the bay here and the gulls, geese and other birds gather here to drink, especially at low tide.

 Gull and Cormorant preening on rocks in the bay 7-17-15

 Looking South from the beach at Mitchell Field 7-17-15

The following photos were all taken with my cell phone on various visits to Mitchell Field. When I first started birding here there were only 19 to 20 checklists submitted for this location, yet over 100 species had been documented here. I have since started birding here on a regular basis and the number of checklists submitted is currently 41, while the number of species reported is up to 130. I am happy to report that I have been able to contribute to that total by adding Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Black Guillemot and Laughing Gull to the list. So far I have submitted 18 checklists at this location and I have recorded 55 species of birds!

Here is a link to the Hotspot info on eBird: Mitchell Field, South Harpswell

 Gull on the rocks at Mitchell Field 9-6-15

 A stormy day at Mitchell Field 9-8-15

 The Field at Mitchell Field 9-8-15

 Fog over the bay 9-13-15

 Low tide reveals seaweed covered rocks on the beach 9-18-15

 Autumn has come to Mitchell Field 9-29-15

This is the bandstand where they have concerts on Sunday afternoons during the summer. I was standing on the pier when I took this photo. I often find sparrows and catbirds in the hedgerows along the pier, and currently there are yellow-rumped warblers hanging out here.

Mitchell Field is the perfect place to watch the sunset.

 Sunset on September 1, 2015

 

 Sunset on October 6, 2015

 Twilight on the bay 10-6-15

You can expect to see many more posts and photos from Mitchell Field and other places around Harpswell as I explore this new place that I live!

Notes: I am so sorry it has been so long since I  have posted here. It took awhile to get my computer hooked up to the internet, then the next time I logged on and tried to blog none of my pages would load. I got discouraged and gave up but a strange turn of events led to to try again today. I was headed into town to do a couple of errands but my car wouldn’t start. I found myself stuck at home on a rainy day, so on a whim I turned my computer on and it worked! Maybe I can get a couple more blogposts written before it goes wonky again. I really need a new computer and Gus and I are working on that!