ToddSpace: John's Birding Page

Squirrels and Blue Jays

My feeders were quite busy today, but not with a lot of birds. Squirrels!

Two of them have been trying to raid the feeders for the past few weeks. This fella decided to help himself to the woodpecker feeder.

I watched as the squirrel would scurry to the ground and hide a seed under a leaf, tamp down the leaf with his little paws, and head back for more.

A few chipmunks have been keeping the seed cleaned up under the feeders, and it has been a chore shooing away pigeons.

These pictures were taken from the stairway window, which leads to the second floor of our home.

Blue Jays have been stuffing their bills with peanuts and sunflower seed. I have noticed at least 10 different Jays in our backyard at one time. They are very aggressive toward other birds, but the cardinals will have none of it. I saw a female Cardinal chase away 2 Blue Jays from the platform feeder. The male Cardinal sat nearby on a branch during all this, and then joined her when the Jays were gone.

Winter is near. Birds are fattening themselves up for the shorter days, the bitter cold, the howling wind and the blanket of snow that covers the land.

Please don't forget our feathered friends this winter!

Happy birding!

Islesboro, Maine: Bald Eagle

Birding in Maine during the fall season has its strong points, some of these being the crystal blue skies and cooler temperatures. And most important of all, bug activity is very low!

Species of birds are coming and going and squirrels and chipmunks are storing food for the long winter ahead.

This Columbus Day weekend was no exception. Mornings were frosty and the days were just cool enough for a light jacket.

We departed early Saturday morning for Lincolnville to take the ferry to Islesboro. Fog rose from rivers and inlets due to the October chill over the warmer waters, making one wonder what was lurking in the autumn mist.

We arrived at the ferry terminal in Lincolnville and drove aboard the ferry at 7:50 a.m. There was no more room, so I thought, but the crew had us work our car around until they could squeeze one more in.

The 20 minute ride across Penobscot Bay was uneventful, as the waters were nearly smooth, with a light northwest breeze.

Upon arriving on the island, we drove north, admiring the beauty of the spruce trees, inlets, coves and bays.

Our first stop was along the narrowest part of the island, with a cove on the west side, and the bay to the east.

We disembarked from our car, and immediately heard and seen sparrows flying in and around the triple spruce trees along the road.

This is the spot I photographed the Savannah Sparrow. At the time, I had an idea as to what this species of sparrow was, but was not quite sure, hence I ask for proper identification. Again, I would like to express my thanks to those of you who helped in the identification of this species of sparrow.

The sparrows would take flight from a small meadow, and visit the spruce trees, but trying to photograph them was a chore.

I shot 24 pictures to get two good enough for identification purposes! These fellas would not sit still long enough, and if they did, they were deep in the spruce bows.

I was set-up with a good sturdy tripod, so when one finally came into view, I started firing off shots like there were no tomorrow.

I thanked the little fella and we continued on our way.

One point of note: not many waterfowl were encountered on this trip, as was the lack of shorebirds. We did manage to see a few Double-Crested Cormorants and some unidentifiable Shearwaters. Hawks were plenty, but the height at which they flew made identification somewhat a challenge.

We continued to drive around the island in a clock-wise fashion, my wife hoping to catch a glimpse of John Travolta who has a summer home on the island. (We saw neither him nor Kirstie Alley who also has a summer home here.)

On the east side of the island, just a half a mile north of the fire department, we saw a gentleman along the road taking a picture of something in a spruce tree. I asked what he saw and he proclaimed a Bald Eagle was there.

I retrieved my camera and tripod and set-up on a dirt lane about 150 feet from the spruce tree the eagle was perched on.

What was unbelievable was that this eagle did not seem to mind the commotion going on around it. Cars going by, a few people stopping with the oohing and ahhing and the distant hammering of an unseen carpenter.

The eagle sat there perched on the spruce for just over an hour looking around, preening, being harrassed, at a distance, by a Red-Tailed Hawk, and he even let out a sneeze that I just missed capturing on my camcorder. And as luck would have it, I missed his departure. I was taking the camcorder off of the tripod and replacing it with my camera.

You can view the Windows WMV format video of the Bald Eagle in the Birding In Maine Photo Gallery. I have other videos of this eagle that I will upload in the next several days.

I recommend Islesboro as a day trip for those who want to get away from it all for the day or maybe do some leaf peeping. I plan to return in the spring, during migration, which I am sure will be a hot spot.

The rest of our trip was mostly uneventful. We caught the ferry back to the mainland and went to Rockland to walk the breakwater and visit the lighthouse which sits at its end.

I will post larger versions of the pictures in this post in the Birding In Maine Photo Gallery in the next few days.

Happy birding!

UPDATE: Larger versions of the eagle pictures in this post are now available in the Birding In Maine Photo Gallery. The direct link is here: Raptors

Bird Watching: Granite Point

This mornings bird watching trip to Granite Point was spectacular! Many flocks of birds were in the air, including Canada Geese, Double-Crested Cormorants, Tree Swallows, Snowy Egrets, Blue Heron and many unidentifiable ducks.

The weather was cool, with a light breeze and crystal blue skies. I seemed to be the only one birding the area, although a few residents of the point were out and about for their morning walk.

At the end of the Granite Point Road, it was peaceful. A unknown woodpecker could be heard rapping a tree in the distance. Eiders were feeding in the low tide. Chickadees and Song Sparrows sang and flitted around. Snowy Egrets and Cormorants fed in the river, occasionally taking flight for better feeding grounds.

A huge flock of Canada Geese soared into the marsh to feed, numbering perhaps in the hundreds. Noisily they drifted to a landing, as more and more continued to fly overhead.

Quite a few Cedar Waxwings were feeding in the berry bushes along the road, as others preened in the early morning sun. A battle ensued and the acrobatic maneuvers of these beautiful birds had me in awe. Neither of the birds seemed to be the winner of the battle, although one seemed to favor a wing while sitting on a power line. I watched him for several minutes, and then he took flight and seemed to be just fine.

The following pictures are some of the sights I have seen this morning in the tranquility of Granite Point.

Cormorants take flight from a river.

A flock of Canada Geese arrives at Granite Point.

Close-up of Canada Geese in flight over Granite Point.

Canada Geese come in for a landing to feed at Granite Point.

A Butterfly warms itself in the early morning sun.

A bird feeder has activity on Granite Point.

European Starlings preening on a power line.

That’s it for now. Happy birding!

Big night for migration

With a cold front sweeping through the northeast US yesterday and a north wind to help birds along, last night was a big night for migrating birds.

Woodcreeper.com has a great article along with radar images of last nights migration. According to David A. La Puma, last nights migration broke-up just south of New Jersey because of thunderstorms and precipitation from approaching Tropical Storm Ernesto.

Locally, I witnessed approx. 20 Hawks of unknown type fly over our home early this morning. Tuesday afternoon, 11 Bluebirds stopped over in my yard here in Biddeford. Four of them had a drink from the birdbath, and the others rested in a tree.

I was suprised the bluebirds stopped here in Biddeford, although I do live towards the edge of town. I managed to photograph one of the bluebirds, before they fled the scene.

Maybe I am wrong, but I would assume at this time of year the Bluebird would be beginning to molt, losing some of the vivid blue of its feathers. But not this fella! I did do some post-processing in Photoshop CS2 for sharpening and cropping.

The time of the year for migration is here and has been for a few weeks. This mornings low here in Biddeford was a very cool 45 F. with inland areas reporting even lower temps. Sanford and Fryburg reported a low of 39 F. this morning!

This morning, I am venturing to Granite Point for a little birding. Will report on the trip when I get back.

Happy birding!

Birding Granite Point

Migration continues full swing in Southern Maine. My wife and I birded Granite Point Saturday and Sunday morning and witnessed hundreds of birds of all types making their way to their wintering grounds.

Hundreds of Egrets, both Great and Snowy, were in large groups flying over the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge on Granite Point Road near Biddeford Pool, Maine. Also seen were Great Blue Herons, Double-Crested Cormorants, and unidentifiable ducks in large flocks making way to milder climates.

Saturday morning was foggy with visibility fair. Noted was the absence of Tree and Barn Swallows.

A bush with many berries along Granite Point Road held many birds eating their breakfast. Noted was Cedar Waxwings, Catbirds, Mockingbirds, Black Capped Chickadees and this Downy Woodpecker, having a snack of ants.

A few Snowy Egrets flew to and fro, along with the sighting of a Great Blue Heron.

Double-Breasted Cormorants and Eiders were numerous along the small bay at Granite Point.

Otherwise, it was a fairly quiet Saturday morning, which may be due to the fog and our late arrival to the area.

Sunday morning brought much more activity. The weather was cool and mostly cloudy, but without the fog. We arrived just after sunrise.

Our first sighting was this Belted Kingfisher, who sat on a power line just outside of good photography range, next to the grassy parking area along Granite Point Road.

The bird watched one of the pannes below, and suddenly, dove into the water for food but came back up empty handed. (or should I say empty billed!)

When the Kingfisher hit the water, it sounded as if someone had dropped a large rock into it. Graceful this fella was not.

He flew back upon the wire, watching and waiting, but soon decided to check elsewhere as he took flight. These birds never fail to amaze me. How, while in flight, they will hover above a prospective feeding area and then dive straight into the water for a fish. Not as graceful as say a Least Tern, but fun to watch never-the-less.

My wife and I met a fellow birder named Bob. (visit his site, he has spectacular pictures!)We talked for an hour about our birding adventures at Granite Point. My wife spied several deer near the pumping station, so out came the spotting scope.

A doe and 3 young ones were feeding. After several minutes, 2 more young ones came from across the marsh to join the buffet. As the newcomers approached, the others began a game of tag. Running around chasing each other, it reminded me of puppies playing. At one point, a Great Blue Heron was among the activity, although he did not participate. After playing for awhile, dogs began to bark, and the deer retreated to the relative safety of the woods.

Many flocks of birds, as mentioned at the beginning of this article, were in flight over the marsh. A large flock of Tree Swallows were present, more than likely stopping over from Downeast Maine, feeding to gain strength for their long migration.

Just before leaving the area, we sat in our car looking sea-ward at the end of Granite Point Road.

A Catbird landed on a rock within 20 feet of us. I began talking to him, taking pictures as I did so. It was comical as the Catbird would cock his head and look at me like, “What is this guy saying to me”? He would then disappear, only to return again. I was thinking that just like a feline cat, curiosity was in this bird also. Here are a few pictures of this beautiful bird.

We saw several American Goldfinches, who were molting, loosing their bright yellow plumage to be replaced with their much duller winter plumage.

All in all, it was a decent birding weekend. This Cedar Waxwing was in the berry bushed mentioned earlier in this article.

As a side note, I have ordered the Cannon Rebel XT DSLR camera. Although it is on backorder, I expect it to be shipped around the beginning of the month. I am anxious to put it to use, as with the zoom lenses that I already have along with the spotting scope, I should be able to post some spectacular pictures.

Happy birding!

Testing Video

Just a test of the video function of this blog.

Fledgling Mockingbird

Format: Windows .wmv   Size: 3.75 mb  Length: 42 sec.

Would appreciate some feedback on this video, such as how it looks, ease of use, etc. Just comment in this article.

Going to Plum Island, Ma.

Hello fellow birders!

My wife and I are making a trip down to Plum Island, Massachusetts Friday morning for some birding. Maybe we will see some of you out there, if so, be sure to say hello!

I will post a report of our trip sometime this weekend.

Meanwhile, over at Birding In Maine, I have some new videos posted.

Other than that, it has been work, work, work! Will be good to have a three day weekend.

Happy birding!

Video of Sandpipers

For those interested, I have a video that I shot on my Birding In Maine site that shows quite a few sandpipers feeding in a marsh at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge near Biddeford Pool, Maine.

The video opens in a new window and is approx. 1:07 minutes long and is 5.81 mb in size. The format is Windows wmv.

More videos will be forthcoming as time permits, including Great Blue Herons, An Eider with chicks, a few Greater Yellow Legs and much more as I shoot video in the future.

Thanks and happy birding!