Maine Outdoor Journal

Of Special Note

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife just launched a fantastic new program which provides birders, as a constituency, a chance to stand up and be noticed and preserve the natural areas we cherish. Contribute to protecting Maine's Non-game and Endangered Birds with a Maine Birder Band at: www.mefishwildlife.com

This week's standouts include: TUFTED DUCK, KING EIDER, NORTHERN HAWK OWL, VARIED THRUSH, BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK, HOARY REDPOLL, and EURASIAN SISKIN.

Other species highlighting the report are: BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, PEREGRINE FALCON, SNOWY OWL, SHORT-EARED OWL, BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER, NORTHERN SHRIKE, GRAY JAY, BOREAL CHICKADEE, RUSTY BLACKBIRD, PINE GROSBEAK and EVENING GROSBEAK.

Reports of flocks of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS and COMMON REDPOLLS have slowed but are still widespread. RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER sightings remain well above average and everyone in southern Maine is seeing flocks of AMERICAN ROBINS.

Photos of the latest NORTHERN HAWK OWL and more can be viewed at:
http://www.maineaudubon.org/nature/birdalert_gallery.php

York County

A NORTHERN HAWK OWL was seen again on February 1, roosting in a pine tree near the intersection of Swanton Drive and Route 35 in Hollis. Likely the same bird, a stunning photograph is now on the website of a NORTHERN HAWK OWL that was perched several hundred yards south of the Poland Spring bottling plant on Killick Pond Road. It was perched approximately 100 feet off the road on February 3 and 4.

A SNOWY OWL continues on Wood Island, visible from East Point Sanctuary in Biddeford Pool, at least through February 4.

Two male VARIED THRUSHES continue at a private home in Saco at 169 Watson Mill Road at least through January 31. The gracious homeowner continues to allow visitors and requests that you park in the driveway and not on the street for safety purposes. In order to view the thrush(es) you must walk around the right side of the house and look under the feeders to the back and left. Please honor the home owner's hospitality.

Two PEREGRINE FALCONS continue to frequent the MERC tower on Saco Island in Saco.

An EASTERN TOWHEE is wintering in a Limerick backyard.

Greater Portland

Intermittent sightings of a drake TUFTED DUCK with three NORTHERN PINTAILS and a RING-NECKED DUCK continue on the Presumpscot River just below the falls in downtown Westbrook at Bridge Street as recently as February 4.

The drake KING EIDER was seen again among COMMON EIDERS off Cape Elizabeth's Dyer Point on February 2.

A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was soaring over Two Lights State Park on February 4.

A PEREGRINE FALCON was pestering a BALD EAGLE as it soared by the Casco Bay Bridge in Portland Harbor on February 4.

A YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER has been frequenting a yard in South Portland since the New Year.

A NORTHERN PINTAIL was spotted in Back Cove in Portland across from the small parking lot near Payson Park on February 2.

A dozen PINE GROSBEAKS were taking gravel from the edge of Pleasant Hill Road in Freeport on January 31.

Kennebec River Valley (Augusta-Waterville)

Birds at the Hatch Hill Landfill in Augusta on January 31 included 15 BALD EAGLES, five ICELAND GULLS, three GLAUCOUS GULLS, and a HERRING GULL x GLAUCOUS GULL hybrid.

Thirty PINE GROSBEAKS were in a Gardiner yard on February 1.

A dozen PINE GROSBEAKS are visiting a feeder on Ridge Road in Waterville.

Midcoast

A male EURASIAN SISKIN was seen with PINE SISKINS in Richmond on January 31, but has not been observed since.

A NORTHERN HAWK OWL continues in Bristol. It is consistently being found perched atop trees along Rt. 130, ~0.4 miles south of the Bristol Consolidated School.

A RUSTY BLACKBIRD was seen under feeders in Phippsburg on February 1.

Penobscot Bay

A HOARY REDPOLL was reported at a feeder in Rockport on February 4.

An immature male BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK was again photographed on February 1 at a feeder in a private yard in South Hope.

A SNOWY OWL was reported at the airport in Owls Head with a second SNOWY OWL at the landing strip on Matinicus Island.

A flock of seven NORTHERN FLICKERS were seen on Vinalhaven Island.

A FOX SPARROW and a RUSTY BLACKBIRD, originally reported on the Deer Island CBC, continue in an island yard.

Up to seven BARROW'S GOLDENEYES have been seen in Belfast Harbor with two drakes and a hen observed on the river above the Route 3 overpass on February 4.

A flock of PINE GROSBEAKS was feeding Belfast on February 3.

Downeast

Two male NORTHERN FLICKERS visited feeders in Sedgwick on February 1.

An immature NORTHERN SHRIKE was hanging out near a feeder on Mount Desert Island on February 1. Also on MDI, a N. SAW-WHET OWL was seen on January 31 in Town Hill.

Seven species of gulls were seen during a survey in Cutler on January 31 including four BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, a GLAUCOUS GULL, five ICELAND GULLS, and two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS.

A SHORT-EARED OWL, four ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS and a pair of BARROW'S GOLDENEYES were seen in Cutler on January 31.

At least one SNOWY OWL is being seen at the Cutler Naval Air Station in Cutler. The station has no public access.

A RED-SHOULDERED HAWK was seen perched along Route 1 in East Machias on the 31st.

Central Maine

A RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER appeared at a nut feeder in Orono on February 1.

CAROLINA WRENS were seen in Orono and in Bangor on February 4.

Visiting a feeder on Fletcher Road in Anson this week were 10 PINE GROSBEAKS and at least 15 EVENING GROSBEAKS.

Birds seen on the Long Falls Dam Road out of North New Portland on January 31 included two GRAY JAYS, a BOREAL CHICKADEE, and only five WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS.

Western Mountains

A BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER was seen on January 29 from a ski trail at Saddleback Mountain near Rangeley.

Northern Maine

Birds seen in the Moosehead Lake - Kokadjo area on February 2 included seven PINE GROSBEAKS picking gravel out of the road, numerous GRAY JAYS, and six BOREAL CHICKADEES.

A SNOWY OWL was seen at the curve on Route 10 between Easton and Presque Isle on February 2.

A flock of 2,500+ SNOW BUNTINGS continues at the Easton feedlot on Route 1A with at least two LAPLAND LONGSPURS present.

PINE and EVENING GROSBEAK reports continue to be frequent in Aroostook County.

Compiled by Eric Hynes and Stella Walsh of the Maine Audubon Society