Birds

Every spring, I look forward to the arrival of the American woodcock. They are among the first migratory birds to return to Maine in early spring. 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 […]

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 were damaged from a previous ice storm that we experienced this season. Before I knew it, as […]