Birds

Last summer, I saw a few chestnut-sided warblers in the backyard. They were moving too quickly and I was unable to take any photographs, until now. I spotted a single male hunting for insects and I was quite excited at the chance of photographing this bird. Maine has been very good to me in regard […]

During the early spring, I had the pleasure of viewing not one, but two male yellow-rumped warblers at my feeders. Although yellow-rumped warblers mainly consume insects and berries, these birds will often visit bird feeders. This type of behavior primarily occurs due to the limited availability of these food sources during the early spring. I […]

Every spring, I look forward to the arrival of the American woodcock here in Maine. I can usually expect to witness the arrival of this fascinating bird during the last week of March or the first weeks of April. My first experience of learning about the American woodcock took place in an animal behavior class […]

All of the rain we have been experiencing this spring sure has been for the birds! In keeping up with the spring season, we decided to attend this year’s annual warbler walk sponsored by the Western Maine Audubon chapter. While living in Connecticut, I had gone on a bird walk given by the Audubon Society. […]

For the past three years, I have had a pine warbler (Setophaga pinus) show up at the feeders at the end of April, almost to the day. At first glance, these birds can be mistaken for American goldfinches (Spinus tristis) or other types of warblers. This pine warbler is a male and will only stay […]

One of my earliest memories of hearing bird sounds is my recollection of the hauntingly familiar song of the mourning dove (Zenaida macroura). As a child, I grew up riding my bike around the streets of White Plains, New York and I often remember seeing these birds at the park and perching on telephone wires. […]

Finding a ruffed grouse in the woods. A few weeks ago while I walking in the woods, I spotted a female ruffed grouse perching high up in a birch tree. This was quite an exciting visual treat. Before moving to Maine, I had never seen this species of bird before. Since seeing my first ruffed […]

A few weeks ago, I was quite excited to discover my first common redpolls (Acanthis flammea) in the backyard. A flock of about 25-30 of these beautiful birds had perched on one of the bent birch trees that was damaged from a previous ice storm that we experienced this season. Before I knew it, as […]

Here in Maine, the black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) are displaying early courting behavior. February, after all, is the month of love. In recent weeks, I have noticed a change in the behavior of these birds. For example, the males are now starting to sing. Females are more likely to mate with males that have won […]

We had our first big snowstorm of the year a couple of days ago. The day before it snowed, we received a bit of rain and then the temperatures had fallen well below freezing. The ice has allowed for the snow to remain on the tree branches, allowing for beautiful winter photography. Perhaps this hasn’t […]