Raccoon in the Yard

 Raccoon in Mere Point Yard 6-3015

June 30, 2015, Mere Point Cottage: Living in Maine you never know what will show up in your yard. While the squirrels and chipmunks are pretty much expected during the summer, the rest of the wildlife can be unpredictable. I had both red and gray foxes come through the yard while I lived at Mere Point, and porcupines were sighted more than once, I never had a deer in the yard and until this summer, I never saw a raccoon. This summer one found my bird feeders before I moved away, but it never climbed the feeders. It just came and nibbled on spilled seed! It was fun to see the ‘coon, but I am sure glad it did not become a nuisance! No ‘coons here at the new house so far, and I only just saw my first chipmunk this week! With dogs and cats running free down here, I think the wildlife is very wary and very scarce.

These are all the same raccoon taken the same night. This was at 6:30 PM and the color difference is due to different setting on my camera.

• Spring Critters in the Yard

Moving Along

 Female and male Ruby-throated hummingbirds 5-21-15

Things are moving right along here at Mere Point. It’s been a busy week so far with packing and sorting and deciding all kinds of things. My bird feeders are still up and will be one of the last things I take down. It always makes me sad to see the birds looking for the feeders, though at least at this time of year there is plenty of other food available. My hummingbirds have been few and far between during the nesting season, but suddenly they are starting to show back up at my feeders. The old feeder in the photo above seems to be their favorite one. It has been through many moves with me and fed hummingbirds from Tucson, to Andover, MA, to Tucson and now, back in Maine. I hope there will be hummingbirds in Harpswell before Autumn comes and they all migrate away.

Earlier this spring the hummingbirds seemed to like sitting on these bare patches of dirt for some reason. I saw others posting about witnessing this same phenomenon and I can only guess it was their attempt to warm up. I have not seen them do this since then.

This little cottage has been a great place to live, in spite of its lack of a garage or driveway. It was hard to go through the flood last summer, and disappointing that the fireplace never worked, but the windows in this house are amazing and this has been my best yard ever for spotting various bird species with 117 species seen in the 18 months I have lived here.

Only 4 more days of bird feeding, and then we are gone. Hopefully the new tenants will continue to feed the birds as they said they would. Until then…

It’s back to packing!

P.S. I do not know when I will be doing my last blog post. I hope to get a couple things scheduled before they break my computer down and then I will not have access to it or my photos for at least a couple of weeks, but I will be able to access my blog from other computers. So, I hope to check in and say HI when I can and keep you all posted on our progress and adventures! See you again soon!

Notes from My Nest: Ready to Move

We are into our final week here at Mere Point and the packing has begun. While I have removed our name from the mailbox I am still feeding and counting birds. It has been hazy, hot, and humid around here for the past week or so, which makes it hard to sit outside since there is no porch here. The mornings are damp with dew and by the time the sun burns the damp off the table it is too hot to sit outside. Still, I watch the birds from inside while I move about the house, cleaning and packing. It has been a long time since I have had to pack myself and move. I must admit that I am spoiled in this regards as my husband’s company usually sends packers and movers to do it all for us. But this is not a company move and we have to do it ourselves. Thankfully I have great kids who live nearby and are willing to help. We have rented a truck for the day and hope it will take just one load to go from here to there.

I must admit that I hate clutter, and so most of my energy so far has been focused on the basement where I do not have to look at the boxes and bins I have packed. But it can’t stay like this forever and with only one week to go, I have moved the packing to upstairs.

These are the bins we have already packed.

 

These are the boxes waiting to be filled! Breezy Boy is not concerned at all, as you can see! All those books have to come off the shelves, go into boxes, and come back out again. My daughter and I took all the artwork down earlier this week and packed it away for 9 months. We are in a unique situation as we will be renting someone’s summer home for only 9 months, so the house comes furnished. Most of our stuff will have to be stored until we find a permanent place to live. We would like to go back to Tucson and we tired to make that happen this time around but the job did not come through, so here were are, wondering what to do with ourselves.

The walls looks so bare and cold without artwork on them.

I will not be displaying any of my art in the new house we are renting since it is only a temporary place until we figure things out. We could decide to stay in Maine as well. I just know that I want my own house again!

All the paintings and other stuff is off the mantle as well. It was fun to decorate this mantle at Christmastime. It was just a pity that the fireplace could not be used. But there is hope ahead. Our new landlord sent me a photo of a robin’s nest beneath the deck he is rebuilding. He texted me wanting to know what to do about it. I know he needs to get the deck rebuilt as he is leaving in two weeks and cannot wait, so I told him he could try to move it safely to a new location. He sent me a photo of the lovely eggs in the nest, then the next thing I know he texts me to say the chicks have hatched! I asked him if he moved the nest and he tells me, no. He is building around it instead!

Robin’s Eggs in Nest at our new rental house!

A sign of Hope!

I was in a bit of a funk about all of this a couple of weeks ago, and couldn’t seem to pull myself out of the doldrums, so I did what I often do, I wrote a poem. You can read it on Kathie’s Poet Tree. It is called The Fog of Summer. Just know that I am feeling better now.

Notes from My Nest: Changes

 The Mountains of Maine 6-29-15

It is a cool, gray day here on Mere Point. Gus and I are spending a quiet weekend at home. It has been awhile since I have written and a lot has changed in the past few months. I am done with physical therapy on my shoulder. It is almost as good as new. While I still have a lingering soreness in my thigh from where I had a huge bruise and hematoma after falling through the hole in the floor, most of the other symptoms have resolved themselves over time. I must say that this injury has deeply affected my life and changed me in many ways. I did not like being dependant on others for help. I did not like feeling helpless, and having this happen really made me feel old. While I am starting to feel like myself again, I find I am more cautious and more focused on getting and staying strong and healthy. I still have one remaining health concern. Before I fell through the floor and dislocated my shoulder, and before I had surgery last Christmas, I had trouble with my knee and was on crutches for about 10 days. That problem was never dealt with, but now it is finally being addressed as my knee can be just fine, then suddenly it will lock up on me and I cannot walk. I am going for an MRI this week. Hopefully we will get some answers.

Meanwhile, my time here at Mere Point has come to an end. Our lease on this cottage is up and we have chosen to move elsewhere. While Gus would love to move back to Tucson, (and he has been relentlessly applying for jobs there) so far there is no job offer, so we find ourselves on the lookout for a new place to rent. We have to be out of here by August 7^th and as yet, we have no place to go. Hopefully something will change this week and our path will become clear.

It’s funny how when you think you are leaving a place that everything becomes sharper and clearer. I find myself focusing on the greenness of the vegetation, the coolness of the air, and the scent of the salty sea. Right now the raspberries are all in bloom and their fragrance perfumes the air here in my yard and at the boat launch. Underlying all of these smells is the fragrance of pine and the scent of new mown grass. These are the smells of New England to me, made sweeter by the thought of moving away from them again.

 Me and my siblings 6-27-15

It is no secret that I have married a gypsy boy. He likes to move around, and I have been grateful for all the places that we have been able to see and experience, but now I am ready to settle down and quit moving. I want my own house again, and Gus wants to move to Tucson for good. He has decided it is his favorite place on earth and it is where he would like to retire. All of this makes me pensive and sweetly sad as I think of leaving my family once again. Yet, there is no telling when that might happen. Either way, we have to move and there will be yet another new yard and a new yard list. In my 18 months here, I have seen 117 species of birds. This has been THE BEST YARD ever.

In yet another change, I am sad to report that the Birding is Fun blog is going into retirement for now. I have enjoyed my time as a writer for this blog and am proud of my association with it. When Robert Mortenson was at the helm it was of unparalleled quality. I was sad to see him step down and now I am even more sad to see it end. But, as the saying goes, “To everything there is a Season, and a Time for every purpose under heaven…”

Here are some scenes from where I have been birding lately:

 6-20-15 Messalonskee Boat Ramp

Gus and I stopped by here on our way to visit Dad the day before father’s Day. I was able to see 4 Black Terns flying out over the lake as well as my first ever in Maine Pied-billed Grebe! Just a short distance farther up the road I got my Purple martins for the year!

 6-26-15 The boats are back in the water at Mere Point Bay

 

 6-27-15 Mom’s backyard sanctuary in Colchester, CT

On the weekend of June 27th we travelled to Connecticut for the annual Adams Family Road Race and Mom’s 79th birthday! I did not run, of course, but took photos and counted birds! I was hoping to find a Yellow-throated vireo and I think I may have heard one, but I did not see it so I did not count it because I was not sure. I counted a total of 20 species for Lake Hayward on this day. As you can see from the photo below, Mom’s hair is finally starting to grow back in after her latest battle with breast cancer. We are all so glad that she is still here to celebrate her birthday!

 7-27-15 Mom and her kids and one grandkid and their spouses

(My oldest brother had already left by the time it occurred to us to get a family photo!)

On June 29th I drove to Franklin County to count birds. This is yet another of the under-birded counties here in Maine. It was late in the day when I arrived after dropping my daughter off at her current residence in Livermore. I drove up the road to discover a place called Pine Island in the middle of the Androscoggin River.

 6-29-15 Bridge to Pine Island

I crossed the bridge and followed a path down to the woods by the river. I saw several warblers down in that cool green place, as well as a mink that came slinking out of the undergrowth. We were both surprised to see each other and I slowly raised my camera hoping for a photo, but the small brown animal quietly turned and slipped back into the green foliage before I could focus on it! I counted 10 species on Pine Island before heading for Wilson Pond in Wilton, Maine where I counted 8 species. It was getting late by now and I only had a short time to count birds before it got dark. While I did not see a lot of birds at the lake, I did see a pair of loons and some tree swallows.

6-29-15 Sunset on Wilson Pond in Wilton, Maine

 

6-30-15 Back at home, a raccoon has been hanging around the yard!

 

 7-2-15 The South End of Brunswick Landing airfield.

I counted 23 species in 1 1/2 hours while driving 4.4 miles through Brunswick Landing on this day. There have been a lot of changes to the Landing since I moved here 18 months ago with new businesses going in and lots of construction going on. One of my favorite areas to bird is down in back where the old army bunkers are, but it has been gated off and one can no longer drive down there. I believe you can still hike in, but it is a bit of a walk with lots of black flies and mosquitoes and with my knee being the way it is, I have not attempted it.

 

 7-3-15 Blueberries on Bowdoin Island Mill in Topsham, Maine.

Gus and I went here for breakfast yesterday. It was so nice that we sat outside and of course, I counted birds while we ate! There were song sparrows and yellow warblers singing in the trees and bushes while chimney swifts twittered overhead. Afterwards I walked over to the river’s edge where I saw dozens of herring gulls, three Great Blue Herons, and a Bald Eagle! I counted 10 species in the 45 minutes we were here.

 7-3-15 Bricks and roses under a bright blue sky on Bowdoin Mill Island

Then, we stopped by Wharton Point on our way home.

 7-3-15 High Tide at Wharton Point

The Song Sparrows and Bobolinks were singing up a symphony here!

 7-3-14 Horseshoe crabs were too busy mating to notice the birds!

So, Happy Fourth of July everyone!

We can only wait and see what the Future holds!

But for now…I think I’ll take a nap!

7-4-15 Kitty Bliss

Spring Yard Birds on Mere Point

 Yellow-rumped Warbler (male, Myrtle) 4-25-2015

During Spring Migration I see many birds in my yard that I do not see the rest of the year. This spring I saw some familiar birds as well as at least one new yard bird. Here are a few of the species I was able to photograph as they passed through, along with the dates they were seen. Some visited several times, or hung around for a few days; some I only saw once and they were gone. And some have stayed to raise their young, which they are now bringing to my feeders! Scroll down to see who came to visit me!

 Eastern Phoebe 4-27-15

I only seem to see this species in my yard when they pass through during migration but, after that they seem to disappear. I have not seen a phoebe in my yard in weeks!

 Pine Warblers 4-27-15

Pine warblers were here for a few weeks in early spring, but have since moved on. They love to eat suet! Still, sometimes I wonder if that is one I hear calling from the tops of the tall pines that surround my yard, but since chipping sparrows have a similar call it can be difficult to tell. I know I have Chipping Sparrows because I see and hear them. I have not seen a Pine Warbler here in weeks.

 Northern Mockingbird 4-28-2015

This was a new Yard Bird for me this year!

 European Starlings 4-29-15

Once the starlings arrived, they never left. They gobble up all my seed and suet. It’s no wonder they have survived and multiplied in this country, they eat everything! I quit putting out meal worms because these greedy birds eat them all in one day!

 Rose-breasted grosbeak 5-5-15

Every now and then this species shows up again, so they must be nesting nearby.

 Great-crested Flycatcher 5-7-15

This species is still hanging around and I often hear its noisy call through my open windows!

 Red-bellied Woodpecker 5-12-15

I had this female Red-bellied hanging around all winter, but I never saw a male. I knew she needed a partner in order to nest and reproduce but one never showed up. She must have moved on, because I have not seen her in a long time. She was always very shy and flew off at the slightest sight of me. I was lucky to get this picture!

 Male Purple finch (left), Male House Finch (right) 5-12-15

Both these species are still being seen in my yard.

 

 Carolina Wren 5-12-15

This was a one day wonder and this was my only chance at a photo through the window. I never saw this species again. Last year I had the same experience where a Carolina Wren passed though the yard one day and then was gone.

 Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, and 1 White-crowned Sparrow

All the above sparrows were seen in my yard on May 12, 2015. This was an overlap in seasons with White-throated Sparrows being a winter species here, White-crowned being seen only during spring and fall migration, and Song Sparrows being a returning summer breeder! The Song Sparrows and an occasional Lincoln or Savannah Sparrow are all I see now.

 Indigo Bunting (male) 5-12-15

I have not seen this species in my yard in awhile.

 Northern Parula 5-12-15

I think you can tell that May 12 was a very busy migration day here!

 

 Gray Catbird 5-12-15

There are still plenty of catbirds hanging around!

 

 Baltimore Oriole 5-13-15

I had hoped this species would hang around and I tried to find an Oriole feeder to encourage them, but none of the stores sold them! Rats! Still, it was nice to see them while they were passing through.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (male and female) 5-21-15 

I had at least 4 Ruby-throats in this yard at one time, but then their numbers dropped. For awhile I was only seeing 1 male hummingbird on rare occasions, but just yesterday I finally saw a female again. They are very fussy about the feeder and like fresh nectar. I have to change it every 2 to 3 days to keep them coming and to keep the feeder from growing mold, which is deadly to them.

Hummingbird feeding tips: It is important to remember not to use red dye in making their food, and do not be tricked by companies trying to sell “flower nectar” at ridiculous prices. Hummingbird nectar is easily made from traditional white sugar and water. Just dissolve 1 cup of sugar in 4 cups of water warmed on the stove and stirred until it is dissolved. Cool and refill your feeders. You can store the extra in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Do not try to use honey to make nectar. This could also prove deadly! Wash your feeders in plain water as dish soap leaves a residue. If you find it necessary to use soap, please rinse the feeders in a mixture of white vinegar and water to remove any residue and prevent mold. Never put warm or hot nectar out in your feeders as hummingbirds lap up their nectar with their long tongues which would get burned!

During the peak of migration I was seeing 20 to 30 species of birds in my yard every day. Now that number has dropped back to 14 to 18 species a day. If I get 20 species right now, I feel lucky! I feel lucky anyways because I love to see the birds. it is so nice to hear their calls through the open windows, or see them at the feeders and in the yard! Birds make my yard come alive, and I feel alive then too!

 

More Yard Birds

 Hairy Woodpecker in yard 3-31-15

These are a few of the birds I have seen in my yard as winter has transitioned into spring. Species names and dates they were seen are noted below each photograph.

 American Goldfinch 2-25-15

 Black-capped Chickadee 3-16-15

 American Robin 3-16-15

 Red-winged Blackbird 3-17-15

 European Starling 3-24-15

 Black-capped Chickadee 3-24-15

 Common Redpoll 3-24-15

On this date this bird became a rare bird in my yard. However, I continued to see redpolls until April 12!

 Northern Cardinal 3-24-15

On March 31 as I came home from counting birds at the boat launch I saw something in my back yard tree where some of my bird feeders hang.

Do you see what I see?

 

 Adult Cooper’s Hawk 3-31-15

Cooper’s Hawks stalked my bird feeders all winter. I saw both juveniles and adults. One even ate my only Hermit Thrush that was hanging around my yard for a little over two weeks in January and early February. I paused in my steps but this bird was so focused on finding food it didn’t even notice me, or care if it did see me. It jumped down onto the ground and started walking around in search of prey.

It even ran into the thicket hoping to catch a bird, but they were long gone!

I’m afraid this bird went hungry this time!

Links:

• Common Redpolls
• Hermit Thrush in Winter
• When the Cooper’s Hawk Came to Dine