The Cormorants are Coming! (and other birds in Phippsburg and Bath, Maine)

 Cormorants over Popham Beach 4-22-15

April 22, 2015: Late in April I decided to take a drive to Phippsburg to see what I could see.

On the way to Popham Beach I saw a Snowy Egret flyover the marsh.

 

In the marsh the Great Blue Herons hunted for food.

 

At Popham Beach the Cormorants filled the sky!

 

The classic cormorant silhouette!

 

Wave after wave of Double-crested Cormorants flew in over the water.

 

I searched the sand and shore for peeps and plovers, but no luck.

 

Crashing Waves at Popham Beach

 

Yes. More Cormorants. I think I counted nearly 150!

I headed for Fort Popham next and arrived in time to see a Cormorant coming in for a landing!

Feet extended, wings wide…

 

…a perfect landing!

I wonder what it would be like to be able to fly, swim and dive!

A lone Loon.

 

A Great Black-backed Gull at Fort Popham.

Fort Popham is where the Kennebec River meets the sea.

Cormorants were not the only returning birds! Hello Osprey!

 

I counted at least 5 osprey all at one time flying over Popham Harbor!

 

They came in low sweeping their heads from side to side, scanning for food!

 

I am sure they were hungry from their long migration!

 

Picturesque Popham Harbor 4-22-15

 

A Great Black-backed Gull at the South End Launch Facility in Bath.

I always like to stop here on my way home.

Bath Iron Works and the bridge over the Kennebec River.

Soon all these birds we looked for so eagerly in the Spring will be gone.

Fall Migration has already begun for some bird species, like shorebirds and blackbirds. And it won’t be long before the warblers are on the move!

Links:

• Popham Beach SP
• Fort Popham and Kennebec River
• South End Launch Facility-Bath

Note-click any of the labels below to see all posts related to that subject.

Salisbury Beach Birding

Common Loon 3-29-15

On March 29, 2015 I stopped by Salisbury Beach State Reservation in Massachusetts on my way home from dropping Gus off to get his new car in New Hampshire. It was my first time out of the state since my surgery in December and my dislocated shoulder in January. I was on my own and by myself and loving it! It had been so long since I have counted birds at Salisbury Beach! In fact, the last time I was here was on January 24, 2012! I was hoping to see a Northern Mockingbird here since I had not seen one yet this year and I often saw them alongside the road on my way in, but no luck today.

This place is so iconic that I thought I had been here several times, but in checking my records, I have only birded here 4 other times when I lived in Andover, MA! So, I was quite happy to be back today, though it was a bit cold and VERY windy!

I started by watching birds down by the mouth of the river where the boat ramp is. The tide was out and some of the marsh was revealed as sand bars and mud flats. It was while I was standing here alongside my car with bins and camera in hand that a woman drove up to me and asked if I knew why so many people were walking out into the march with spotting scopes and cameras. I told her I didn’t know for sure but it might be because there was a snowy owl out there as they are often seen in this location. She looked at me like i was nuts and said, “No, I don’t think they would do that for an owl, it must be a fox or something!” Then she drove off.

I took a photo of a Herring Gull on the pier, then continued on my way to the beach. As I rounded the bend near the backside of the restrooms I noticed a large gathering of people with cameras and spotting scopes all pointed at a tree right beside the road. When I looked up I saw what they were looking at, and it was what I expected. I found a spot to park and joined the birding paparazzi. I wondered if the woman who questioned me was among the onlookers gazing at this snowy owl!

 Snowy Owl, Salisbury Beach State Reservation 3-29-15

My First of the Year and the only Snowy Owl I have seen so far this year!

Down at the beach the waves rolled in, but there were no sandpipers.

 

Great Cormorants gathered on this structure soaking up the sun.

 

Great Cormorants

 

A family of loons drifted down the river mouth towards the open sea.

 

 Young Common Loons

 

 Young Common Loon

Adult Common Loon

In the end I only counted 22 species of birds here on this day but I added 11 species to my Life List for this location for a total of 40 species I have seen here! I guess I need to come back more often!

• Salisbury Beach is an eBird Hotspot
• My eBird Checklist for Salisbury Beach 3-29-15

Winter Birds on Orr’s and Bailey Islands

 February 17, 2015: Ever since my daughter moved back to Maine last November I had been wanting to take her for a drive to Land’s End in Harpswell. With the crazy, snowy winter we had the weather was usually bad when she came over to visit me and we could not go anywhere. Finally we had a nice enough day to take a drive and so we did. Of course, I always have my binoculars and camera with me on occasions like this, and I counted birds along the way. My daughter drove my car, so I could pay attention to the birds, and she stopped for me whenever we saw something good. The drive down Route 24 to Land’s End is a pleasant and scenic drive and well worth the trip. Here is some of what we saw along the way.

 Common Loons in the cove 2-17-15

 Female Surf Scoter

 

 Herring Gulls Landing on Seaweed Covered Rocks

Male Common Goldeneye in flight

 Looking across the cove to Harpswell Neck

 Mallards in the bay

 Pigeons flying over the cove

 

 First Winter Male Common Eider, note the white breast and dark back.

The classic eider bill shape is clearly visible with the “widow’s peak” of feathers coming down from the forehead in the middle of the bill.

 Wild Turkeys on a side road.

 House on the island at Land’s End

 

 A soft light shines over Casco Bay as seen from Land’s End.

Land’s End is in the town of Harpswell which has three different peninsulas or necks that stick out into Casco Bay. Harpswell Neck is down Route 123, while Orr’s and Bailey Islands and Cundy’s Harbor are all reached via Route 24 out of Brunswick. There is only one road  that connects the two main peninsulas of Harpswell. It is called Mountain Road and crosses a bridge over the Ewing Narrows. Other than that you have to drive into Brunswick to get from one side of Harpswell to the other. Bailey Island and Land’s End are both eBird Hotspots.

• Bailey Island—an eBird Hotspot
• Land’s End—an eBird Hotspot
• Cundy’s Harbor—Maine’s Oldest Commercial Fishing Village

Winter at Mere Point Boat Launch

 Buffleheads in Mere Point Bay 12-21-14

On the first day of winter I took a walk to Mere Point Boat Launch. Gray skies predominated the landscape, and though it was cold, I bundled up and enjoyed my walk.

 A tangle of bittersweet vines was visible as I started down the road. I knew that later in the season these would be frequented by robins and waxwings. However, I never would have thought I would see an Eastern Bluebird feeding here on February of this year, my first sighting of that species at this location!

 But for today, I just watched as a female Hairy Woodpecker chipped away at an insect infested tree trunk!

 Below the woodpecker a black-capped chickadee foraged in the brush.

 As I neared the boat launch I sighted a red-tailed hawk!

Though I had seen many hawks fly over my yard, this was the first time I had seen a Red-tail at the boat launch!

 Down in the bay some surf scoters paddled 12-21-14

 And while I was watching birds, the crows were watching me!

I have seen crows at the boat launch almost every time I count here!

 Today the shallow cove was filled with female buffleheads.

 While out in deeper water a Common Loon drifted.

 I heard the whistle of wings as a black duck and a mallard landed in the cove. I counted 24 species of birds here on this winter afternoon. By early January I was back again. I was not here at this time of year last year and I wanted to be sure to get a record of the species that were being seen. I wanted to add some data to the Mere Point Life List on eBird.

January 6th was a gray and dreary day.

 A distant immature bald eagle was little more than a fuzzy speck in the sky as it flew ponderously over the bay! The flat gray light made for lousy photos, but I still enjoyed seeing and counting birds.

 I spotted a couple of Common Goldeneyes paddling by.

 A few of the buffleheads were still around 1-6-15

January 11, 2015

I had barely started down the road when I saw a pair of red foxes crossing the parking lot of the boat launch. I could only get one in the frame as the other was farther ahead and behind a snow bank.

 Sunset on the icy water of Mere Point Bay at 4:27 PM.

All the boats were out of the water by now.

Soon this bay would ice over for good.

 I could see a few ducks in the water near Birch Island.

 A small flock of Greater Scaup rode the waves.

 Other flocks of ducks took to the sky and disappeared towards Simpson’s Point and Middle Bay.

I took my cue from the red fox and headed home.

• Mere Point Boat Launch—all posts on this subject
• eBird Hotspot—Mere Point Boat Launch (click this link to see a complete list of birds from this location)
• Red-tailed Hawk at Mere Point Boat Launch—additional hawk photos
• Autumn at the Boat Launch—previous post
• My eBird Checklist for December 21, 2014
• My eBird Checklist for January 6, 2015
• My eBird Checklist for January 11, 2015

  American Crow at Mere Point Bay 12-21-14