The Zen Birdfeeder

Great Adirondack Birding Celebration June 6 - 8

The sixth annual Great Adirondack Birding Celebration (GABC) is scheduled for June 6-8, 2008 at the Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) in Paul Smiths.
 

All programs, including field trips, are FREE. Registration is open for trips/programs by calling (518) 327-3000.

The 2008 Great Adirondack Birding Celebration will feature birding trips, lectures, workshops and the popular Teddy Roosevelt Birding Challenge. Wild Birds Unlimited - Saratoga Springs will be there with a nice selection of binoculars and spotting scopes, including digiscoping set-ups.

2008 Schedule
Download the 2008 schedule. (A 119k pdf file)

The guest speaker at 7 p.m. Friday, June 6 will be Lang Elliott, the author of many book/CD packages, including Common Birds and Their Songs, Music of the Birds, and The Songs of Wild Birds. He is the owner of NatureSound Studio, which he created in order to celebrate the sounds of nature.

The keynote address at 7 p.m. Saturday, June 7 will be given by Miyoko Chu, author of "Songbird Journeys: Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds." 

2008 Field Trips
Download the field trips list. (A 49k pdf file).  All field trips are FREE though registration is required at (518) 327-3000.

For more information about the Great Adirondack Birding Celebration, contact Lydia Wright at (518) 327-3000.

Crown Point Birding May 08

We visited the Crown Point Bird Banding Station on a gorgeous spring day last week.  It was just a little too gorgeous as far as bird banding opportunities were concerned.  With no activity to observe at the mist nets, we spent time looking for birds at this Important Bird Area on Lake Champlain.

We saw/heard 31 species (last May we counted 50 birds, but we had our good friend and better birder Mona with us then!)  Here's the list of the birds we counted this year.

Tree Swallows were extremely numerous and always gorgeous.

Eastern Kingbird

Cormorants roosting over Bulwagga Bay.

Turkey Vulture overhead

Eastern Meadowlark - couldn't get a closer image.

Enjoyed observing a pair of bluebirds at a nestbox. The female was gathering nesting material and taking it into the box; the male would be around and fly to the top of the box after the female entered it. It was fun to watch their behavior during this nest-building stage.

The banding station is open until May 25th and is open to the public. Hopefully the activity has picked up for Mike, Gordon, and their team.

Back from Tampa

Took a little time off in Tampa to see the Women's Final Four Basketball championships.  Just basketball, pool time, shopping, and relaxation.

I'll summarize the trip with 3 images:

 

Trip to Maine - Scarborough Marsh and East Point Sanctuary

Maine Day 3 took us still a little further north of our home base in Ogunquit to Scarborough Marsh and the East Point Sanctuary at Biddeford Pool.

Scarborough Marsh contains 3,000 acres of salt marsh ecosystem and is known as a great location for shorebird identification and bird photography. 
Google Earth Image of Scarborough Marsh

The visitor center which is staffed by the Maine Audubon Society was not open so we proceeded directly to the viewing platform.  We didn't stay long because the weather was cold again and the wind was biting. 
American Black Duck (handheld digiscoped)

We did take in 9 species:

• White-throated Sparrow
• Red breasted Merganser
• Song Sparrow
• American Black Duck
• Hooded Merganser
• Herring Gull
• Canada Goose
• American Crow
• Common Goldeneye

The Red breasted Merganser were especially entertaining, with a group demonstrating a behavior of stretching their necks out and up, pulling back, then repeating.  The group looked like a team of synchronized swimmers!

We then drove south through Saco to Biddeford, where we headed out to East Point Sanctuary on Maine's rocky coast.
Google Earth Image of East Point Sanctuary

Turkeys were on the trail ahead of us, keeping just enough ahead to feel safe. 

As you make the turn to the east side trail, Gooseberry Island comes into view, with Wood Island and the Wood Island lighthouse beyond it.  (click on image to enlarge)

We didn't bring the scope with us, so we had a hard time identifying all the waterbirds soaking in the sun on Gooseberry Island.  We saw a lot of repeats from our other stops, but did add a Common Loon to our Maine list.
Common Loon in winter plumage (with Common Eiders)

Common Eider (not the greatest image)

Black backed Gull

Herring Gull

Here's our list from East Point:

• Turkey
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Song Sparrow
• American Crow
• Common Eider
• Common Loon
• Herring Gull
• Black backed Gull
• Red breasted Merganers
• American Robin
• Dark-eyed Junco
• House Sparrow

We stayed in Maine one more day but spent the day searching for bargains not birds.  Had a great time last week, ate lots of (too much!) great seafood, added some new seabirds to our lists, and practiced our little-used skills in identifying waterbirds.

Trip to Maine - Rachel Carson NWR and Parsons Beach

On day 2 of our Maine trip, we headed up Route 1 only 10 miles or so to Wells.  Wells is home to the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, 5,000 acres of salt marsh ecosystem.

It was in the upper 30s, and we were again in parkas, hats, and gloves. Most of the 1-mile loop trail was still snow or ice covered, making footing pretty treacherous in many areas.

It is the Merriland River that you see meandering through this Google Earth image of the refuge.  250 bird species have been sighted in the refuge; we didn't see more than 7 species on Tuesday's cold spring day.

• Tufted Titmouse
• Black-capped Chickadee
• Canada Goose (many)
• American Crow (many)
• Herring Gull
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Mourning Dove

We moved on to Parsons Beach, a favorite summer beach spot for our late friend, Maggie Pak.  We walked the beach a little, then pulled up a spot and took a quick nap in the sun in honor of Maggie.

Before leaving, we checked out the small cove on the north end of the beach, recording these water birds:

• Black-backed Gull
• Herring Gull
• Red-breasted Merganser
• Common Goldeneye
• Horned Grebe
• Common Eider

"for all people, the preservation of wildlife and of wildlife habitat means also preservation of the basic resources of the earth..."
Rachel Carson

More from Maine tomorrow.

Trip to Maine - Ogunquit and The Marginal Way

Just got back from a few days in Maine and want to share some of what we saw along Maine's southern coast.

We stayed in Ogunquit, just about 20 miles or so into the state.  Ogunquit means "Beautiful Place by the Sea".  The population of Ogunquit is 1,200, but during the summer season, we were told it is home to nearly 100,000 people! We're glad we were there in March!

Within walking distance from the timeshare is Perkins Cove and the Marginal Way, a short walking path with ocean-front homes on one side of the path and rocky coast on the other side.
Google Earth image of Perkins Cove, Ogunquit Maine

Monday had beautiful sunshine, but it is still quite cold in Maine this time of year.  We were in parkas, hats and gloves as the temps barely reached 40 degrees.

Herring Gulls were abundant as were American Crows.  Within the cove were Mallards, as well as many Common Eiders, Common Goldeneye, and Red-breasted Mergansers, all diving ducks.

In the bramble along the path, we also spotted a Black-capped Chickadee, many House Sparrows, a singing male Northern Cardinal, a clucking Common Grackle, and a White-throated Sparrow well camouflaged on the ground.

Further along, a number of Longtailed Ducks and a group of about 14 Harlequin Ducks bobbed in the waves.  The harlequins are absolutely gorgeous birds - I just wish the photos had turned out better.

On the walk home through Ogunquit residential streets, we saw American Robins, more cardinals, and Mourning Doves. 

As we neared the timeshare, a hawk flew overhead and into a nearby tree.  I was able to capture many images of this immature Coopers Hawk just steps away from our front door.  Just like at home, sometimes you don't need to go far to experience nature!

More from our Maine trip tomorrow.

Merritt Island NWR and WBU Pathways to Nature

On Wednesday, I made my first visit to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on central Florida's Atlantic Coast.  Merritt Island is owned by NASA and administered by the US Fish & Wildlife Service.  The refuge has a diversity of habitats as it serves as a buffer zone for space shuttle launch activities.

Merritt Island NWR has more threatened and endangered species than any other national wildlife refuge in the continental US.  It is a major population center for the Florida Scrub Jay, pictured below, which is listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Similar in size and color to the Blue Jay, the Florida Scrub Jay lacks a crest and has grey shoulders.  They eat insects and small vertebrates as well as acorns from scrub oaks.

Only 5,000-10,000 Florida Scrub Jays are left in the world.  In Florida, they have lost 70% of their habitat due to development.  You can read more about the Florida Scrub Jay on WBU's rightbird online field guide.

The new Wild Birds Unlimited Trail at Merritt Island was dedicated on Wednesday.  Partially funded by WBU's Pathways to Nature Conservation Fund, the trail and two blinds provide outstanding access for viewing refuge wildlife such as the Anhinga (below) or the Tricolored Heron (bottom). 

A portion of sales at all Wild Birds Unlimited stores helped fund this and all Pathways to Nature projects across the country.  We hope you can visit one or more of these wildlife viewing sites that your WBU purchases helped build!

   

Crown Point Birding

While at the Crown Point Bird Conservation Area to observe the bird banding, we also enjoyed the great birding opportunities there.  You didn't have to hike far to see and hear many many birds.

Nesting Tree Swallow

Over 180 bird species have been observed at the Crown Point BCA. Many of these are spring migrants, with 47 species of Neotropical migratory songbirds and 18 species of forest dwelling Neotropical migrants having been observed in spring.

Baltimore Oriole in treetops

We saw or heard 51 bird species during our day at Crown Point, including 3 new birds for me: Warbling Vireo, Blue Gray Gnatcatcher, and the Lincolns Sparrow.

Watching a parade of Double crested Cormorants fly past on Bulwagga Bay.