A Few Birds in Norridgewock

 An Eastern Phoebe on its nest 6-7-15

Over the course of the summer we visited Norridgewock, Maine several times. My in-laws have a returning pair of phoebes that nest on their garage which I am always happy to see. They also put their feeders out over the summer, but take them in again in the fall before the snow flies because it is too hard for them to get to them through the snow. When we were there 2 weeks ago I was sad to see them down already. Since they live farther inland, they have yard birds that I usually only see passing through on migration. Here are just a few of the species I saw this summer with names and dates seen posted beneath each photo.

 Female Purple Finch in front. Rose-breasted Grosbeak behind.

 American Robin 6-7-15

 

 Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak 6-7-15

 Red Squirrel 6-12-15

 Eastern Chipmunk 6-12-15

 

 Male Purple Finch 6-20-15

 Indigo Bunting (front) Mourning Dove (behind) 6-20-15

Whenever I am in Norridgewock, I try to do some birding at Oosoola Park.

On July 10th, I saw the following birds there.

 Bald Eagle flying over the Kennebec River 7-10-15

 Eastern Kingbird on a wire 7-10-15

I often find Kingbirds here in summer.

Frequently I find Kingfishers and ducks in this back cove.

On this day there was a family of ducks swimming in the shadows and hiding behind this fallen tree. But eventually they emerged and I had my first Wood ducks for this location!

 Wood Ducks at Oosoola Park 7-10-15

There were more ducks in the river as well.

If you look closely at this picture you can just see a few mallards at the line where the water meets the trees!

Closer to me at the boat ramp and dock more mallards and a couple of American Black Ducks swam up begging for food. A mom with kids obliged them! Yes, bread.

 

 Mallards and American Black Ducks looking for more food.

 

 Meanwhile the kingbird watches.

 

Note: I am gradually getting caught up with all my summer photos with new bird photos to come soon. By the time you read this, I will be returning from a trip to Colorado where I met up with my friend, Chris Rohrer! Won’t I have more stories to tell then! Currently my 2015 Year List is below 200 at 183 species. Perhaps I can get it above that number on this trip! I will let you know soon!

A Surprise in the Countryside on a Global Big Day

 A Chukar in Brunswick, ME 5-9-15

Back in May eBird sponsored what they called a Global Big Day. It was a day where they encouraged everyone to go out and count birds across the globe wherever they could. The goal was to see how many of the 10,000 bird species world wide could be seen and counted in one day. I always like challenges like this, so I was more than willing to participate. Since it was Mother’s Day weekend, we were headed to Norridgewock to visit Gus’s Mom. But, before we left, I got up early in the morning to go eBirding as many places as I possibly could that were nearby. Imagine my surprise when I was driving down a country road in Brunswick to spot this chukar, a species normally seen in the sagebrush out west! No, I did not count this bird for the Global Big Day. I knew it was a bird that had been raised in captivity here in Maine on someone’s property. I do not know if it was a pet, or intended for food later on. Many people get these kinds of birds just to enjoy their beauty and to let them run free in the yard and eat ticks! I hope this is the case! I love chukars and their clown faces and I used to have them as Yard Birds when I lived in Utah near the Great Salt Lake!

It is not unusual to see Herring Gulls roosting in eel grass at Simpson’s Point however! It wasn’t the best day for photography with gray skies and fog, but I did have a good time and I submitted 8 checklists from around town before we headed out. Once we got to Norridgewock I counted birds at Oosoola park, which is on the banks of the Kennebec River. The spring migrants were still arriving with a few winter birds still hanging around.

I spotted this pair of Eastern Kingbirds and I have continued to see them all summer whenever I visit! But the highlight of the day for me was spotting my First in Somerset County Common Mergansers in the backwater cove!

Male and female Common Mergansers at Oosoola Park 5-9-15

In the end i submitted 11 checklist for the Global Big Day and had a great time birding and enjoying Nature! I started at 5:20 a.m. right here at Mere Point Cottage and ended at 6:27 p.m. when I saw turkey vultures flying over the highway in Waterville, Maine on our way home!

• Oosoola Park-click here to see all eBird data for this location
• Global Big Day-summary of the day’s activities and stats
• My eBird Checklist for Oosoola Park on 5-9-15-click here to see what I saw

Notes from My Nest: Too Busy!

 Mere Point Boat launch 4-27-14

It’s another blustery day here at Mere Point Cottage. Thick gray clouds are rolling like cotton overhead, whipped along by gusty winds. Down in Maquoit Bay the water has been whipped into white-capped waves that roll ever onwards. It’s quite a contrast to the calm, flat water I saw last night when I stood on the shore and watched the watermelon sunset. Then all I heard was a gentle lapping as Common Eiders grunted and growled and Wild Turkeys gobbled distantly in the surrounding woods. Every day is an adventure as I get to know this land and its rhythms.

 Maquoit Bay Sunset

I don’t think I have ever lived anyplace with so many bird species. It seems every day I am adding to my Yard List which has already grown to 55 species. This made me curious so I looked back over the data for all my previous yards and I discovered that I have reached 50 species faster here than in any other yard where I have kept records! Sycamore Canyon in Corona de Tucson currently holds the title of most yard birds with 86 species, but I lived there for three years. If things keep going the way they are I may pass that total in less than a year of living here at Mere Point! Being near the ocean certainly helps as I get both woodland species and ocean species.

I continue to do battle with squirrels and finally bought an acrylic bird baffle from the Freeport Wild Bird Supply as well as a pole and baffle system with a hopper style feeder. So far both seem to be working just fine, but I have been so busy that I have not had much time to observe birds in my yard.

Since buying the baffle and new feeder with pole I have noticed that I am not refilling the feeders as often. Keeping the squirrels off the feeders is saving me money by only feeding squirrels and not rodents! The baffle and this pole set-up were quite expensive but I feel they will be worth it in the end in the amount of dollars saved on bird seed! In the background you can see a cheap plastic squirrel baffle that I bought at Walmart. It is totally useless as the squirrels quickly learned how to get around it. they also have already chewed big chunks out of it along the edges. It was a waste of $8.00! I will be going back to purchase yet another $30 acrylic squirrel baffle for that ball feeder which I like to fill with nuts. It attracts the titmice and nuthatches to the yard. Plus, with all this New England rain, I like providing a dry place for the birds to feed, and dry seed is less likely to mold!

 Crossing the Piscataqua River Bridge between Maine and New Hampshire 4-18-14

Last weekend Gus and I both went to New York City with my youngest brother. We had a great time but we arrived home so late Monday night that I was exhausted and slept late both Monday and Tuesday. I spent Wednesday buying and setting up the new feeder and baffles and then drove to Bangor on Thursday to pick up my son and grandkids for the rest of the week.

 Central Park 4-24-14

We had a great time with them and we took them to Reid State park on Friday. The kids got to ride in Grandpa’s Camaro, which made them grin from ear to ear! It was Gus’ first time seeing the park and he loved it. He took a long walk on the beach by himself before I joined him. I spent some time with my grandkids, and then set off to count birds. I discovered that they have roped off part of the beach as a nesting area for terns and piping plovers!

 

We brought the kids home on Saturday, then stopped to see my in-laws, and though it was raining I could not resist a trip to Oosoola Park to count birds. I did not think I would see much but was surprised to find Eastern Phoebes, Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Savannah Sparrow, a Belted Kingfisher, and a Blackburnian Warbler! The Blackburnian was across the backwater cove flitting about on a dead tree and landing on the ground. Its brilliant orange head and throat positively glowed in all that grayness. I took some blurry photos which I will show you when I have them offloaded.

I have never seen the water this low along the Kennebec River but I believe it is because they have open some flood gates farther down river to mitigate the spring flooding that has been happening all over Maine.

Back here at the point I took a walk down to the Boat launch last night and discovered they have set a floating dock out into the bay. I was able to walk out and look back at the shore for the first time. It was nice to get that perspective. A small flock of eiders floated nearby and I snapped a few photos with my cell camera.

It was near sunset, so I took some photos there, then realized I could cross the street to Maquoit Bay and watch the sunset from there as well. So far we have no leaves on our trees. They are only just starting to put out their buds. A few daffodils are blooming in the woods, but that’s it. We are in that sweet spot where it’s warm enough to be outside but cool enough not to have a bunch of insects buzzing around. It won’t last forever, I know. Soon the mosquitoes and black flies will be out in force and I will be forced to spray myself with pesticides just so I can be outside! It is one of the drawbacks of living in New England.

The craziness is not over. Later this week I will head to Connecticut to visit my mom and sister. It will be the first time I have actually been there long enough to visit my family and count birds. I will head home on Saturday after a Mother-Daughter brunch at Mom’s church to celebrate Mother’s Day. I feel very fortunate and thankful to still have her around!

Indigo Sky on Mere Point 4-27-14