Happenings

It's been a busy past week. First I was out in the woods, when I saw a large bird sitting on a lower limb. It was hunched over looking at something on the ground with it's back towards me. When I lifted my camera,the whir of the autofocus caused it to turn and look directly at me. I couldn't believe my eyes, staring back was a Great Gray Owl. They don't live here. At least they aren't supposed to, but here was one. Those yellow eyes, and that face, it was incredible.

So I spent a lot of time trying to see it again. I haven't and in a way, I'm happy with that. Sometimes you just need to know they are around.

I have been running into a lot of moose too. Today, I came across a cow and twins.

Gray Jay

Gray Jays are rather tame. Always looking out for a handout, aways entertaining.

The usual suspects.

I was out the other day in the woods and got accosted by a of couple gangs. Before I got away , I was able to get a few shots off.

Boreal Chickadee (Parus hudsinicus)

Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)

Umbagog NWR

This past Wednesday I spent over in New Hampshire at Umbagog NWR. It's a 7 mile long lake, on the border of Maine and New Hampshire and is over 7,000 acres. But just 15 feet deep

Excellent bird habitat, and from the looks of things the fishing should be good.

Water lilies,bladderwort,a couple of eagles, fish, some sharp-shinned hawks, a merlin or two, throw in a few loons and you have a good idea what the refuge is like. Migrants are already streaming through the area. Whirligig beetles were rafted up in the thousands. It's hard to sit and write about someplace like this. A thousand images and experiences are going through my mind, and all I want to do is to go back.

The Refuge is in the process of doing surveys on what inhabits the area. Makes me want to go back over and help out, and I may just go back to see if I can. It's not far.

I know they have at least two Green Frogs (Rana clamitans).

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

After a dinner in Errol, it was time to go home and stop briefly at Cupsuptic River to watch the moon and sunset.

For more information on Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge ,click here.

I'm back!

A series of events at home had conspired to keep me busy and needing focus on other things.

Today is the last program of the year for the Wilhelm Reich museum and hopefully after that I will be able to change focus and get on with some other projects. The market is doing well for me,(I'm an equity trader by day). My mom has Parkinson's and there are times that what she needs is more important than my own time. And one of my aunts was diagnosed with cancer. The outcome for her is looking good.

I have spent some time getting pictures and even had a couple of great days out with a friend. So, here goes!

Summer is ending and the goldenrod has been just incredible this year. Down towards Farmington the fields were a carpet of gold. This is one of my favorite flowers, I just love the color and the variety and abundance of insects that visit goldenrod (Solidago spp) is great. I haven't really had the chance to get some photos this year, but there's always next year.

It's also a bittersweet end to the summer when I see the first blooming of goldenrod. It means cool weather is coming, and I always hate to see summer end.

We had some cool nights last week, it did drop down to 40 and after having 70-80's that was too much of a shock.On the day the front was coming through, I went out to Little Kennebago Lake with a friend. It was overcast and threatened rain, which of course it did. There is something about being in a kayak in the rain that makes it more fun.

So I got to see some of the locals. A cow moose, a few common loons and a common snipe.

Water time

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)

One of the nice things about Maine is the water. The lakes and rivers around here provide a diverse range of habitats, which means you can see a lot of different birds.

More rain.

This is no longer fun. For a lot of birds up here, the nesting season was a failure. Cool temps and way above average rainfall made the act of egg sitting and finding food a tough job. I just checked the last 2 nesting boxes on my property. All 4 had tree swallows, and only one of those boxes was a failure. Three eggs were still in the north box. They gave up several weeks ago.

Hummingbirds in the state pretty much gave up. Reports of northern nesting shorebirds are already returning . Our neighborhood bluebirds have been successful and I've been watching the family making the rounds.

Albatross Necropsy

If you have a weak stomach, don't watch, you have been forewarned. But you should watch it and see how plastics harm our wildlife.

Savannah Sparrow and Dark-eyed juncos

(edited: had a brain cramp, and called a Savannah Sparrow a Grasshopper Sparrow. I guess I should read my own posts more carefully.)

Yellow-rumped warbler

Dendroica coronata

Ruby Throat

It takes time for the little guys to get used to me.

Window Strike

Thump! The distinctive sound of a bird hitting a window. Rush outside and see a crippled body on the porch. Gently scooping the warbler up after checking for life, I brought her inside for recovery.

My procedure for this goes like this: Very gently place the bird into a box, close it and and let them rest for a minimum of half an hour. Usually they will recover within that time as long as I keep the box dark,quiet and warm.

I've done it for a lot of birds even a saw whet owl,( imagine putting your hand into a box of needles, wear gloves!)

She recovered fine and was released. A female Blackburnian Warbler. (Dendroica fusca)

Name the Bird.

This should be interesting. Three photos of three birds. Name them. And one hint, two are the same.

Weekend gone by.

A weekend of activity, a young Sharp-shinned hawk lands on the deck railing, more Peepers calling,unseasonably high temperature and I'm not complaining. After years of putting up with Maine's winters, I can't complain about heat. I'm tired of cold and wet,( getting hypothermic and frost bit changes ones attitudes.)

Saturday evening (4/25), the robins were going nuts, I stared over to where the commotion was, new something was amiss and watched a Barred Owl fly off. Saturday morning I heard my first Hermit Thrush singing. I can still hear some woodcocks peenting. More insects, more butterflies and a daytime flying moth( an underwing). Coltsfoot in bloom on Sunday, and a stop at one of my favorite places yielded tiger beetles, at least 3 species.

This morning I heard a loon calling in flight. Last night I saw a Meadowlark, the first one I've seen in Rangeley.

Owling

Last night, er I mean early this morning, I finally got to complete the 2009 Maine Owl Monitoring Project. It was not a dark & stormy night. It was a near full moon with clouds. And a few passing snow showers. Absolutely beautiful.

Peter and I only heard a GHO, and a Barred Owl. So for me it was an expected count. At stop #5, we were treated to a coyote pack chorus. About an 1/8 mile from us, which is quite close, but it makes the experience all the better. Didn't see a soul on the road, save for the single Border Patrol car that I passed.

And a raccoon.

It was a dark and stormy night...

No ,really it was. Last night 5 of us went out into the late night gloom to do the Maine Owl Monitoring Project. The survey has been in jeopardy for this weekend do to the forecast. And last night was looking good enough to give it a try. The Girls Gone Wild team headed out from our rendezvous point at 11:30 pm. My team left a few minutes later. It went downhill from there. Our first stop, you could hear the window blowing higher up the mountains. By the second stop, I called it, you couldn't hear the recording 20 feet away. The snow just added to the night.

We have until the 9th of April to complete the survey, the weather ,however looks not very cooperative.

5 Miles W Oquossoc ME

Today: A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a high near 41. West wind between 14 and 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Tonight: A slight chance of rain showers before 2am, then a slight chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. West wind between 7 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Monday: Rain showers, mainly after 2pm. The rain could be heavy at times. High near 48. Light wind becoming east between 10 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Monday Night: Rain. The rain could be heavy at times. Low around 33. Breezy, with a east wind between 15 and 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Tuesday: Showers. High near 44. South wind between 9 and 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Tuesday Night: Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 24. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Wednesday: Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 38. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Wednesday Night: A chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Thursday: A chance of rain showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 42. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Thursday Night: A chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around 22. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Our protocol calls canceling the survey when the wind if 14 mph or higher.