Kathie's Birds

 Broad-winged Hawk on power lines 6-12-15

Over the course of the summer I birded Brunswick Landing several times. It is a massive property and was formerly the Brunswick Naval Air Station. Now it is being developed as commercial property and there are not as many wild areas as there were before. Some sections have been shut off that we used to have access to when I first moved here and learned about this property. Still, it is a good place to bird with many surprises to be found, but it involves a bit of driving. I usually cover 3 to 5 miles with various stops along the way. In summer Upland Sandpipers can be found on the airfield. As you drive around you can spot vireos, warblers and woodpeckers. Both summers I have been here I have found Pileated Woodpeckers when driving through.

I found this one climbing a utility pole on July 2nd of this year!

 

 

 

Finally up in the clear where I can see his gorgeous crest!

This massive woodpecker is the size of a crow and the one most closely related to the now (presumed) extinct Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

While I was looking up at the Pileated, this little male Common Yellowthroat was in the brush behind me.

Several pairs of Osprey nest on the Brunswick Landing Property. It is a short flight for them to the Androscoggin river in Brunswick or to Middle Bay to fish. There are also a couple of isolated ponds on the property that I have seen them fishing in as well.

This photo was taken on June 12th. You can just see the tiny head of the osprey chicks peeking up above the edge of the nest. The photos below were all taken just a 3 weeks later on July 2nd. Look at the difference in size!

Two offspring look like they are gobbling up some yummy fish!

 

Look at the size of those wings now!

 

The adult osprey is keeping an eye on me, but soon those youngsters will be flying and fending for themselves.

Please note that I was in my car and using a long lens to get these shots. At no point was I anywhere near these birds or their nest, which is actually atop a very tall pole in an abandoned baseball field that is fenced off with No Trespassing signs posted. However, you can easily see these birds from the roads and parking lots of Brunswick Landing. I would never disturb a bird to get a photo and these particular osprey are quite used to living in and around humans.

Brunswick Landing is a unique place to bird with many rarities showing up in the summer and the winter. Over 150 species of birds have been recorded here so far. Click on the links below to learn more.

Links:

• Brunswick Landing is an eBird Hotspot
• All my posts about Brunswick Landing
• My eBird Checklist for 6-12-15
• My eBird checklist for 7-2-15

 Sandhill Cranes at Whitewater Draw, AZ 2-13

In honor of our move this weekend I thought I’d post a few of my best photos of birds in flight. These were taken in various years all across the United States. Dates, species, and locations are beneath each photo. Enjoy!

 Lesser Nighthawk, Corona de Tucson, AZ 2008

 Purple Martins, Corona de Tucson, AZ 2008

 Canada Goose, Stirling Bog, Andover, MA 2010

 

 Turkey Vulture, Colchester CT 2015

 Cattle Egrets and White-faced Ibis, Imperial Ag Fields, CA 2012

 Red-tailed Hawk, Tucson, AZ 2012

 Harris Hawk, Tucson, AZ 2013

 Common Black Hawk, Tubac, AZ 2013

 Northern Flicker (yellow-shafted) Andover, MA 2012

 Great Blue Heron and Great Egret, Tucson, AZ 2013

 Zone-tailed Hawk, Sahuarita, AZ 2013

 Neotropic Cormorants, Reid Park, Tucson, AZ 2013 

 

 Northern Harrier, Bosque del Apache, NM 2012

 Crested Caracara, FL 2014

 American White Pelican, The Salton Sea, CA 2012

 Manx Shearwaters, Revere Beach, MA 2012

 Mountain Bluebird, Three Points, AZ 2009

 

 Brown Pelicans, The Salton Sea, CA 2012

 Great Egret, Lakeside Park, Tucson, AZ 2012

Check out all the birds at Feathers on Friday 

A line of cormorants flies low over Lake Ontario, NY at sunset 2011

 

“Oh that I had the wings of a dove, for I would fly away and be at rest.”

Psalms 55:6

 Great Horned Owl 4-7-15 Brunswick Landing

In April of this year I drove through Brunswick Landing several times during the peak of Spring Migration. Winter was just ending but the birds were were retuning and some of them were already nesting. Brunswick Landing is a funny place because in some ways it is abandoned and wild, but moves are underway by Midcoast Regional Development Authority to bring new life to this place. I, however, like the wildlife more than the business aspect of things, and while I do believe that some of the land will be left wild, much is being developed and places I had access to last year have now been blocked off. Still, it is a good place to bird if you know where to look and this year I found a few surprises! The Great Horned Owl Pictured above is one of them. While I missed out on seeing the Snowy owls that were reported to be hunting the airfield at the Brunswick Executive Airport which is part of Brunswick Landing, I was surprised to find this Great Horned Owl nesting in an abandoned osprey nest near the same airfield! This was my first and only Great Horned Owl in Maine!

While I was watching the owl this raven flew by pursued by a couple of crows!

Notice the wedge-shaped tail!

Notice the fan-shaped tail of this crow.

 

In the north pond I was pleased to find Wood Ducks and Ring-necked Ducks!

 

This American kestrel was perched atop this light pole at the far end of the abandoned ball fields off Line Road. Osprey like to nest on the platforms in the middle of the field.

One of my best surprises of birding Brunswick Landing this winter was the discovery of Bohemian Waxwings on Brunswick Landing. I found them in the crabapple trees near the Brunswick Rec center on Neptune Drive in February. But when I stopped to examine this flock of birds in the trees at the edge of the parking lot off Admiral Finch Road on April 9th, I was shocked to find a flock of more than 30 Bohemian Waxwings! Last time I had only seen 3 of them!

Bohemian Waxwings in fruit tree 4-9-2015 Brunswick Landing

 

The birds flew between the fruit tree and this non-fruiting tree.

 

Some would be in this tree and some would be in the other tree.

I stayed in my car to photograph them. I did not want to scare them away.

Close-up of Bohemian Waxwings 4-9-2015

Notice the cinnamon wash to their faces and their Cinnamon colored undertail coverts! Bohemian Waxwings are much bigger than Cedar Waxwings and are highly nomadic. You never know when or where they will turn up, but we only see them here in winter. This was a very late date to see them here, but we still had so much snow on the ground!

Bohemian Waxwings in tree on Brunswick Landing 4-9-15

 

American Kestrel on pole 4-9-15

In April everyone was awaiting the return of the ospreys. I finally saw a pair on their nest in the ball field off of Line Drive (photo below). They are still there now with young in the nest!

Osprey Pair on April 17, 2015

 

Eastern Phoebe on fence 4-17-15

 

Brunswick Landing is a great place to bird and is an eBird Hotspot!

(Be sure to click on any of the labels below to see all posts related to that subject)

 Hairy Woodpecker in yard 3-31-15

These are a few of the birds I have seen in my yard as winter has transitioned into spring. Species names and dates they were seen are noted below each photograph.

 American Goldfinch 2-25-15

 Black-capped Chickadee 3-16-15

 American Robin 3-16-15

 Red-winged Blackbird 3-17-15

 European Starling 3-24-15

 Black-capped Chickadee 3-24-15

 Common Redpoll 3-24-15

On this date this bird became a rare bird in my yard. However, I continued to see redpolls until April 12!

 Northern Cardinal 3-24-15

On March 31 as I came home from counting birds at the boat launch I saw something in my back yard tree where some of my bird feeders hang.

Do you see what I see?

 

 Adult Cooper’s Hawk 3-31-15

Cooper’s Hawks stalked my bird feeders all winter. I saw both juveniles and adults. One even ate my only Hermit Thrush that was hanging around my yard for a little over two weeks in January and early February. I paused in my steps but this bird was so focused on finding food it didn’t even notice me, or care if it did see me. It jumped down onto the ground and started walking around in search of prey.

It even ran into the thicket hoping to catch a bird, but they were long gone!

I’m afraid this bird went hungry this time!

Links:

• Common Redpolls
• Hermit Thrush in Winter
• When the Cooper’s Hawk Came to Dine