Maine Outdoor Journal

Up to two inches of snow were forecasted to fall by sunrise on Friday. No complaints were uttered when this failed to develop. Some very light snow did fall now and again during the morning hours, but most of the day’s precipitation fell as rain, as southerly winds pushed temperatures to around 40 degrees.

Despite the warming temperatures on Friday, it was rather raw out, so it was a good day for me to actually get this presentation finished. And, with the presentation finally completed (or, about as completed as it was going to get), I hit the road, down to Worcester for the Mass Audubon Birder’s Meeting.

Admittedly, of all days to be inside, Saturday was not the day I would have chosen, as it was a gorgeous spring-like day (near 60 both here in Southern Maine and in Worcester, Mass). However, the meeting was very productive, interesting, and informative. The theme of this year’s meeting was “Birds and Birding on our National Wildlife Refuges.”

Nearly 200 birders attended. I was most impressed by the turnout, and the organization of the event. Even my talk, on Invasive Plants and Birds (invasive plants are a very big issue on wildlife refuges, as they are about everywhere else) was well-attended! The morning programs featured speakers from, or closely associated with, regional National Wildlife Refuges. Kenn Kaufman’s program, “Making Connections and Making a Difference” was lively, funny, informative, and most important. Lee Allen Peterson, the son of the late, great Roger Tory Peterson was the next speaker, headlining an enjoyable morning. A number of vendors and local bird clubs and conservation organizations were present as well, and I had a chance to catch up with some friends.

In the afternoon, the “Breakout Sessions,” included a number of extremely informative presentations. First, I attended Mark Lynch’s program on the changes in bird species and populations in Worcester County, and later, I attended the presentation on research being conducted on Massachusetts refuges, including a study of mercury contamination in Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows – which as you know, is a species that I am most interested in.

As the day drew to a close, friend Marshall Iliff - who was also giving a program today (on Ebird) - and I decided we simply had to get outside to take advantage of this spring-like day (although a walk around the Worcester Technical High School campus, where the event was held, did yield Killdeer, Common Grackle, and Red-winged Blackbirds) so we looked at a map and tried to guess where we might find some American Woodcocks as dusk rapidly approached. While we did end up finding a location that could possibly host woodcocks, none were present this evening. Quite possibly simply because they have not yet returned.

It still felt like spring on Sunday, as the temperature here in Pownal reached into the 50’s once again. And Jeannette and I did not spend this day indoors! We headed to Bristol, beginning with a snowshoe at the Marsh River Bog Preserve in Newcastle. I’ve noticed this sign while passing by on Route 1, but it was the first time we stopped to explore. While it wasn’t very birdy today, it was an enjoyable tromp.

We also took a spin at Pemaquid Point, where relatively few waterbirds were present, but a Song Sparrow in full song was nice to hear. We also stopped for lunch at Hanley's - which has a surprisingly good slice of pizza (at least by Maine standards). In fact, it's one of our favorite pizzas in the state (rhis was a huge discovery for me, as I remain far from satisfied by the average pizza in the state.)

However, our primary destination was the side of the road on Route 130 in Bristol, to enjoy some more quality time with the overwintering Northern Hawk-Owl. A hawk-owl is simply too cool of a bird not to visit multiple times during the course of a winter, especially considering it could easily be many years before a hawk-owl is an hour away from our house!