Kathie's Birds: Town and City Parks

Showing posts with label Town and City Parks. Show all posts

Saturday, January 16, 2016

A Morning at Essex Woods in Bangor, Maine

Solitary Sandpiper 9-12-15

On September 12, 2015 I happened to be in the Bangor area and decided to check out the Essex Bog. I had seen other birder's reports and photos on eBird and the Maine Birds Facebook page but had not been able to get there myself before this, so it was with eager anticipation that I parked my car and headed down the trail. it was a bit of an overcast day, but not too chilly. I could see the bog before me, and beyond it I-95 rolled by with cars whizzing past. Like many urban areas, the birds had adapted to the constant noise and went about their business.

Down the hill

There weren't a lot of birds around, but I did count 18 species, most of them birds associated with water, plus a few woodland species like woodpeckers and nuthatches. You can just see the trail in the above picture. What you can't see is how steep this hill is! I had to be very careful not to slip as I walked down the damp slope. While the trail went left into the woods, I decided to go right because I saw a kingfisher on a branch out in the middle of the bog. I also knew I wanted to stay closer to the water to see what I could see and I could see the trail to the right looped around the end of the bog and I would be able to get closer to the open water on the other side.

The bog waters

Along the trail

The trail did enter a bit of a woodland briefly around the southwest end of the bog. I found some cedar waxwings nearby here.

Swamp Sparrow

Can you find the duck?

Solitary Sandpiper

On the other side of the bog I was delighted to encounter this solitary sandpiper, my First of the Year! I was lucky to get it before it headed south for the winter!

Solitary Sandpiper reflecting on Life!

Female Mallard

Of course, there were the usual Mallards hanging about. Most of them were quite tame as if they have been fed before. But I also found some Green-winged and blue-winged teal, which was nice, but they were so far across the bog and in the weeds and stumps that I was not able to get a decent photo of them. They were a bit more shy and moved into cover when they spotted me.

Merlin

A big surprise was this merlin that showed up. My, are they ever fast! It flew out of this tree and back a couple of times before taking off and disappearing for good.

Great Egret far across the bog.

When I spotted these Great Egrets across the bog eBird flagged them as rare. I guess they should have already migrated, but there were at least 4 of them still hanging around. They were so far across the bog and in such a hunched position that I almost thought they were Cattle Egrets when I first saw them, which would be an even rarer occurrence! You can see the yellow bills on them. Snowy egrets would have black bills.

Mallard welcoming committee

Showing a little wing!

I had a great time at the Essex Woods bog and would definitely go back again. I can see why it has been named an eBird Hotspot!

Links:

Essex Woods eBird Hotspot (If you click this link you can see a complete list of species seen at this location.)
My eBird checklist for Essex Woods on 9-12-15

Sunday, August 2, 2015

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

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Another Walk Along the Androscoggin in Spring

The Androscoggin River Bicycle Path in Brunswick 5-8-15

May 8, 2015: After writing last week’s post I decided to take another walk along the Androscoggin River Bicycle Path with Gus on Friday afternoon. We decided to start from the north end of the trail, which has a parking lot off of Grove Street near Cook’s Corner. The trail itself is just over 2 1/2 miles and runs from Water Street at the south end in Brunswick, to Grove Street at the north. Parts of the trail run right alongside Route 1 and in the photo above you can see how it is squeezed between the highway and the river. It certainly has changed since the snowy pictures in the post below this!

It was a gorgeous day for a walk and it felt so good to get out in the spring air and sunshine. It felt good to walk and move my limbs and my body. I did not bring my Nikon, but simply enjoyed the birds and my husband’s company. I did not see many birds at first, but it became more active as the afternoon waned and drifted towards evening and sunset. At first, the only bird I saw was a small brown thrush-like bird is a wooded section of the trail just after we crossed the pedestrian bridge at the north end. The bird was in the shade alongside the trail and at first I thought it might be a robin. However, once I looked at it through my bins I could tell it was not a robin, even though it was backlit and its back was to me. I knew then it was another of the thrushes, but I needed to see the head and chest to figure out it it was a Hermit Thrush or a Swainson’s Thrush. I made Gus stop on the trail while I tried to creep closer for a better look in better light. Suddenly Gus warned me there were other pedestrians coming and they weren’t stopping! Just then the bird got into a patch of sunlight and turned 3/4 of the way towards me and I could see it was a Veery! It was rusty brown above with no contrast between the tail and back and no eye ring or “spectacles.” The faint spots were limited to the upper breast, unlike the other thrushes. I have only seen a Veery out in the open once before! Dang, how I wished I had my camera now!

Here is the Veery I saw in Andover, MA in May of 2012:

Veery, Andover, MA 5-6-2012

You can tell the Veery is quite different than the Wood thrush and Hermit Thrush pictured below.

Wood Thrush in Central Park 5-18-2012

Note the large, dark spots covering the breast and belly.

Hermit Thrush in my Brunswick backyard this winter 1-18-15

Note the contrasting rufous tail with the olive colored back and the dark spots limited to the upper breast. Note also the complete and obvious eye-ring.

Birch Bark Beauty!

While many of the trees were still without leaves, or just blooming with their tiny spring flowers, the white bark of this silver birch was so striking against the blue sky and blue river! I just had to stop and admire it!

Blue Skies between the branches of a silver birch!

While we were standing at this bend in the river, we observed several osprey fishing in the cold, rushing water. I was amazed at their ability to plunge into the cold depths and come of with wet wings and a fish and start flying again. sometimes I would see them struggle to reposition the fish before gaining control and flying off to feed. At one point I saw all 5 osprey at the same time! Initially, when I saw one osprey catch a fish and fly off across the highway to the east, suddenly a Bald Eagle appeared out of nowhere and went in hot pursuit of the osprey! I could tell it wanted to steal the fish, but I never saw how that contest turned out as the birds flew out of sight beyond the trees.

I just loved the view of the river through the branches of this birch tree!

By the time we had reached this section of the trail we had walked over 1 1/2 miles. We walked just as far as that bunch of pine trees there and I counted several Savannah and Song sparrows in this grassy section. I was hoping to find a few warblers or woodpeckers in the pines, but it did not happen. It was on the walk back that I started to see robins, cardinals, blackbirds and even a Black-and-white Warbler after crossing the pedestrian bridge.

Back near the parking lot the May flowers were in bloom. I love these delicate spring flowers that only grow in the highly acidic soil of the northeast. Also called bluets, these little beauties are only here for a brief time before they are gone.

After my birding here on Friday the birds seen at this location increased from 36 to 44! Since then another birder has birded here and added Belted Kingfisher as the 45 species for this location! Thanks, Delia! Despite the traffic, this is a good birding location.

Links:

Androscoggin River Bicycle Path is an eBird Hotspot
My eBird Checklist for this location on 5-8-2015
Androscoggin Riverwalk-previous post
Veery Photos from my Andover Backyard May 2012
Town of Brunswick Androscoggin River Bicycle Path
Topsham Androscoggin Riverwalk-I will have to check this section out next! Topsham is in Sagadahoc County while Brunswick is in Cumberland County. The Androscoggin River is the border between these two counties in this location.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Androscoggin Riverwalk

Follow the trail…

March 10, 2015: I have told you before that I like to count birds where no one else is counting them. When I first moved here last year I noticed this trail alongside route 1 in Brunswick and saw that it was an eBird Hotspot, but when I checked the data, very little had been submitted for this location. So, I made it my mission to go birding there and count the birds. While I have only managed to get there a few times, I feel that I have at least been able to contribute some data for this Hotspot. It is a pleasant walk along the Androscoggin River, but the one drawback is the sound of the constant flow of traffic along Route 1.

This winter the river was frozen for a very long time!

I found a hairy woodpecker searching for food on an overhanging limb!

Bald Eagles circled overhead.

Ring-billed Gulls resting on the ice shelf.

A female Common Goldeneye found a bit of open water!

“plook!”

A sweet little Red-breasted Nuthatch!

Here is a list of the birds I saw on this one mile walk on March 10:

Mallard, 2
Common Goldeneye, 1
Bald Eagle, 3
Ring-billed Gull, 60
Herring Gull, 1
Rock Pigeon, 6
Hairy Woodpecker, 1
American Crow, 30
Black-capped Chickadee, 5
Red-breasted Nuthatch, 1
American Robin, 1

So far only 36 species have been reported for this location, but I know there must be more! Now that spring has sprung, I need to go back and see what I can find along the Androscoggin Riverwalk in Brunswick, ME!

The Androscoggin River Bicycle Path is an eBird Hotspot

Monday, April 6, 2015

The First Warm Day of Spring

My First of the Year (FoTY) Northern Flicker in my yard 4-3-15

I can tell spring migration has begun. My list of species seen this year has jumped from 70 at the end of March to 78 in just three days! On Friday we had our first warm day of spring with temperatures rising to nearly 60 degrees in the afternoon! Before I even left home for my Physical Therapy appointment I added a Yellow-bellied sapsucker and Northern Flicker to my yard and year lists. While I missed getting a photo of the sapsucker, which flew in, landed on a tree trunk and was gone, I was ready for the northern flickers when they flew in.

Northern Flicker 4-3-15 Mere Point Cottage

While I managed to get a picture of one of the flickers on the ground, I missed getting them both in the same frame. I was so disappointed that I would have to spend a good part of the day inside, what with PT in the morning, and another doctor’s appointment in the afternoon. However, as I was heading out the door I got a call from my other doctor to reschedule my afternoon appointment! I was now free for the rest of the day! Yeah!

My FoTY Ring-necked Duck pair at Sawyer Park in Brunswick 4-3-15

There were so many birds in and around the parking lot of the building where I have my physical therapy that I stayed there and counted birds for awhile before moving on to Sawyer Park. Sawyer Park is on the Bath Road in Brunswick and all winter it has been gated shut, so when I decided to head to Bath to count birds, I was pleased to see the gate open and the road plowed! I quickly turned in and started counting birds. While I encountered a few chickadees and sparrows on the road in, I hit the jackpot when I got to the boat launching site. There in the New Meadows River I spotted a pair of Ring-necked Ducks! I used to see them all the time during the winter in Tucson and Andover, MA, but I had not seen that species here since June 6, 1999 when we lived in Presque Isle!

Across the river the melting snow formed ice sculptures along the rocky banks. On this side of the river I am in Cumberland County, but that side is in West Bath and it is part of Sagadahoc County!

I love the blue I can see in this chunk of ice. Soon it will all be melted and gone. I will not be sorry!

I found many more duck species out here in the water, including buffleheads, mergansers, and black ducks, along with a few gulls.

This is the view looking east towards the sea.

Ice chunks in the New Meadows River

After leaving Sawyer park, I headed up top Bath, Maine to count birds at the Bath-South End Launch Facility. It was so nice to be able to stand on the banks of the river without having to wear gloves! Once again there were ducks in the river.

I saw Common Mergansers swim past me.

Later some red-breasted merganser drakes all paddled by.

Farther downriver I counted 3 double-crested cormorants sunning and preening beneath someone’s private dock, but the funniest thing was to watch the mallards and black ducks floating down the river on an ice floe! They didn’t even look at me as they drifted by on their icy canoe!

2 mallard drakes (left), American Black Duck (middle), female mallard (right)

But, I was even more surprised when this Eastern Phoebe showed up!

I kept looking for an osprey to fly over. Everyone in Maine is waiting to see them return. So far I had not seen any. Most of the birders on the Maine Birds Facebook group had not either. I had a pair of adult Bald Eagles fly over, and later an immature flew by even closer!

Immature Bald Eagle at Bath South End Launch Facility 4-3-15

After awhile I decided it was time to move on. It was my intention to head for the North End Launch Facility (those are the official names on the signs) but as I was driving north on Washington Street in Bath I decided to pull into the parking lot of the dog park. I had seen and then heard about this place but never stopped to investigate since it is just north of the south boat launch. It turned out to be a lucky thing that I did. Though it is only a short distance up the road from the south boat launch, I saw different birds here than I did down there. I discovered it has a wonderful cement pier hanging out over the water where one can watch the birds or boats. There is a good view of Bath Iron Works and the bridge over the Kennebec River. The one drawback is the dogs. It is an off-leash dog park so there were lots of dogs and kids and people walking and running around. Everyone was very nice and it was such a nice day that everyone wanted to be outside just like me. I really like dogs. But having them around is not conducive to birding. However, I managed to see a few species anyways, and I did get to pet an English Setter puppy! I was just heading back to my car after talking to a nice lady about her dog and birds and birding. I had just told her how I was waiting to see my first osprey of the year, but so far no one has seen any, when lo, and behold! Look what came sailing in overhead!

My First of the Year osprey landed right on the huge stadium light pole!

Then, it just watched all of us puny humans below!

Finally I headed to the North End Launch Facility! By then I was very hungry! I had not eaten before I left home in the morning, and I had not stopped anywhere to get lunch. I was too busy birding! I found every last granola bar in my car and consumed them while I was at the south boat launch, but I would not be deterred! I hurried north to the boat launch hoping to maybe catch a straggling glaucous or Iceland gull, but no luck. While I saw a couple more Bald Eagles and scads of ringbills, herring, and Great Black-backed gulls, I never saw anything else.

Herring Gulls and a Great Black-backed Gull in the Kennebec River.

I could feel the temperature starting to drop, and my tummy starting to growl, so I did not stay long. There were hundreds of gulls out on an ice-covered island in the middle of the river when suddenly they all took wing! I immediately started looking for an eagle because it seems they always do this when I am here, but I saw nothing in the sky. But then I looked down at the empty island and saw a large, brown raptor. It looked a like an immature bald eagle to me, but later I read an eBird report from the same day where someone thought they saw a Golden Eagle! Could this be it?

The bird was so distant that even with my 300 mm zoom I could not get vey good pictures. If it had taken wing I might have stood a better chance of identifying it, but it stayed on that ice the rest of the time I was there. It was almost sunset by the time I got home. I had been outside all day! I was so tired and so hungry and so happy! My sweet happy made us sloppy joes for supper, so I went inside to eat, but on my way I counted the evening birds in my yard and later went outside to listen to the peenting of woodcocks in their annual springtime courtship display! I can’t get enough of the birds!