Northern Maine Birds 1-14 Jan 2009

The first couple of weeks of January were a bit colder than average in northern Maine. Recent nightime temperatures reached -20 F in my valley. Obviously, all precipitation in this period came in the form of snow. The snowstorm on the 7th and 8th dropped about 4 inches in southern parts of the county but almost a foot in the St. John River valley.

Most water is frozen now and snow depths range from about 10 inches in some open fields up to 2+ feet in the woods in the northern parts of the county.

As previously mentioned, I've received lots of reports of very busy feeders. Though I haven't been spending much time off of the plowed roads, my impression is that the woods are still very quiet. The increasing daylength has apparently helped to get some chickadees singing and woodpeckers drumming.

Despite the dwindling open water, there are still a few waterfowl being seen in the area. A small group of Mallards and American Black Ducks is wintering in Presque Isle and appearing near the hospital there. Several male Common Mergansers and a four Common Goldeneyes were seen recently at the dam in Caribou. Three Common Goldeneyes were also seen feeding just below the dam on Presque Isle Stream in Presque Isle.

Ruffed Grouse have been widely reported and the population appears to have done well surviving the winter thus far. Four were seen together "budding" in some alders at dusk in Caribou on the 3rd. Others were seen in Chapman, Reed Plantation and Stockholm. Paul Cyr got the nice picture above of a high stepping grouse earlier in the winter.

A few raptors have been observed Aroostook county lately. An adult Northern Goshawk was spotted cruising low over the woods on a ridgetop in New Sweden on the 10th. Bald Eagles continue to be spotted around the county (though they seemed to have dispersed a bit since early December when the concentrations of waterfowl were easy pickings). Most sightings are of adult birds and their appearance well away from open water would suggest these birds are now scavenging. Bald Eagles were seen in Caribou (1/9), Monticello (1/9), Presque Isle (Jan 2,3,6,7,9) and Stockholm (1/3). A Sharp-shinned Hawk has been spotted around the Mantle Lake area of Presque Isle (1/2). Though numbers of Red-tailed Hawks lingered into December, no new reports have come in in January.

No gulls (of any type) have been reported in the area in January.

Mourning Doves were well reported lately but a couple observers who live out of town noted a drop in numbers with the declines in temperatures.

The Stockholm Northern Hawk Owl continues and was spotted as recently as the 10th of January but it appears to be roaming a bit more than when it was intially seen. There have been no new reports of Snowy Owls since the last update.

Vying for the notable bird of the month, the hardiest Northern Flicker in the state continues to be seen at a feeder off the Hardison Road in Caribou. First seen in early December, the bird has survived some painfully cold weather so far. Bill Hersey sent me some photos of the bird last weekend. The other common woodpeckers (Downy, Hairy and Pileated) were all well represented in the reports I received. All three species have already begun to drum. On January 4th, some noise from an unknown woodpecker in the Stockholm area was suspected to be an Black-backed or American Three-toed Woodpecker but the bird remained un-ID'ed.

Plenty of Northern Shrikes are being reported. Adults were seen in Caribou (1 Jan)Presque Isle (9 Jan), New Canada (10 Jan) and Woodland (11 Jan). The Presque Isle shrike was chasing a chickadee. Another shrike was harassing the small finches at a feeder in Mapleton last week.

Bohemian Waxwings continue their strong showing in central and southern Aroostook county in early January. In addition to undated reports last week in Fort Fairfield and Caribou, 50+ were seen in Hodgdon on January 9th and 87 were in Presque Isle on January 11th. No Cedar Waxwings were mentioned in this neck of the woods.

Several Gray Jays were spotted in Stockholm on the 3rd and one was heard in the Woodland Bog in Woodland on the 11th. However, Blue Jays continue to dominate many area feeders. Substantially fewer American Crows have been reported thus far this winter, as compared to the last two winters. Common Ravens are a bit more vocal and visible recently as their early breeding season approaches.

Three Horned Larks were feeding in a windswept potato field on Green Ridge in Caribou on the 3rd. These birds are an uncommon sight in winter in northern Maine

A couple of interesting plumaged Black-capped Chickdees have showed up recently. In Caribou an exceptionally white-tailed chickadee was found and photographed by Bill Hersey. This picture, taken on the 7th shows the normally black tail is clearly lacking some pigment. Six miles south in Presque Isle, individuals of the melanistic population continue to be spotted. These chickadees are showing all black head though an entirely black individual was reported.

Several Boreal Chickadees were encountered in the Stockholm area on the 3rd. Remaining in the hard-to-find category lately, a few White-breasted Nuthatches were finally reported this winter. One was seen in Presque Isle and 2 in Caribou on the 3rd and another visited a feeder for a single day in Mapleton last week.

A male Northern Cardinal appeared at a feeder in Caribou last week. There have been substantially less reports of cardinals in the county this winter after a couple of banner years.

American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos of the slate-colored type continue in small numbers at many locales. Snow Bunting numbers also remain good across the county. Larger flocks were 80+ at Westfield on the 3rd, 120 in Presque Isle on the 9th and 60+ in Chapman on the 11th. Patty Jennings found this handsome couple of Snow Buntings visiting her feeder in Stacyville. Patty's photo even made the local evening news!

A single American Robin lingering in Linneus was spotted near Grammies Restaurant on the 9th. One of a pair of hardy Common Grackles that showed up on the Presque Isle Christmas Bird Count continues to visit a feeder off the Chapman Road in Presque Isle.

There has been a steady increase in the numbers and diversity of finch species observed around the county. Pine and Evening Grosbeaks are widespread and numerous. Flocks of Pines were seen in Ashland, Bridgewater, Caribou, Chapman, Easton, Fort Kent, Haynesville, Houlton, Perham, Presque Isle, Stockholm, Washburn and Woodland. A few Common Redpolls have joined the American Goldfinches at the thistle socks. Numbers of Pine Siskins are being seen in southern Aroostook but only a few have be reported in central and northern parst of the region. Small numbers of White-winged Crossbills have been encountered lately, pairs were seen in Presque Isle and Washburn on the 12th and a flock was reported from Stockholm on the 2nd and 3rd.

Purple Finches remain undetected this winter.

Snowy, Boreal and Northern Hawk Owls in Northern Maine

Northern owls have been making a great showing in Aroostook county this season. Most everyone has heard the populations of the birds' normal food supplies in the north (lemmings, voles and other small rodents) are apparently in a cyclic low and these predators are roaming south to avoid starvation. Luckily for the owls (and local birders) the rodent populations are doing very well in northern Maine and lots of these owls are showing up.

In their high latitude habitats, some of these birds experience extra long day lengths and are comfortable being out and about in the daylight... and so they are a bit more detectable than our more common locally breeding species which are active in the dark.

Up until last week, Snowy Owls were the story. At least eight have been seen in the central Aroostook area and there are plenty of second-hand accounts and rumors of more in other northern Maine locales. The first of these showed up back in October and new Snowys continue to be found. Recently new birds were discovered by Paul Cyr in Easton and Presque Isle. Above is one of Pauls photos of the Easton owl.

On the Presque Isle Christmas Bird Count last Saturday, Linda Alverson and George McPherson glimpsed a Snowy Owl flying over an unharvested corn field in Washburn. The bird was quick to disappear down into the corn (to catch a rodent attracted by the grain no doubt).


Early last week, the Reynolds family in New Sweden discovered a small owl in their yard as they dug out from the latest blizzard.

They tentatively narrowed the identity of the owl down to either Saw-whet or Boreal Owl (very similar species). The Reynolds were able to get some great pictures and circulated them around and quickly confirmed the bird's ID as a Boreal.




Here's a great shot of the little owl taken by Wanda Reynolds:



















A close look revealed a few flecks of blood in the snow and a rodent tail protruding from under the little owl!

The Boreal is one of the most rarely detected species of the northern owls in this neck of the woods. They prefer denser cover and usually do their hunting in night.

Chelsea Reynolds offered this account of the discovery:

"This was the first time we saw this type of owl at our house. My father noticed the owl around 8am on Tuesday. The owl was in the same spot for approximately five hours. It seemed alert and knew we were around but never moved from the spot. My father was snowblowing the driveway and had the tractor on next to him and it didn't seem to phase the owl (that's when he noticed it). Originally he thought it was a Barred Owl but then suggested it might be a Saw-Whet Owl. My mom suggested possibly a Boreal Owl. My parents have observed other types of owls over the years but never one as petite and tame as this one. Another item to point out - my father feeds all types of birds in a tree approximately 10 feet from where the picture was taken."

Unfortunately the bird has not been seen again since the 23rd.

As if the Boreal Owl wasn't enough, Wanda Reynolds went on to discover a Northern Hawk Owl just a couple of miles from their house a few days later. Another rare species of owl in Maine, these birds are much more active during the daylight and not shy about perching out in the open so they are seen a bit more frequently than the Boreal Owl. As is the case with the Snowy and Boreal Owls, the Northern Hawk Owl rarely wanders this far south unless there is a shortage of food in the north.


This owl has been staying around the brushy field where it was first discovered near the intersection of the West Road and Route 161 in Stockholm (DeLorme Atlas Map 68). Paul Cyr visited the field at sun up today and was able to get this great shot of the bird.

Presque Isle ME Christmas Bird Count 2008

The 2008 Presque Isle Christmas Bird Count was held Saturday 27 December despite the usual nasty weather. 13 field observers covered the region despite the intermittently falling snow and cold temperatures. There was about 1 foot of snow on the ground and only the fastest water was not frozen.

The PI CBC is the northern-most count in the eastern US and this was the 51st time the count has been run.

35 species were found during the day, which was right on the 10 year average for this count. Highlights included some count-firsts: the overdue Sharp-shinned Hawk and an unexpected Merlin. Sharp-shins have shown up as Count Week species in the past, but until Saturday, it was not found during an actual count day. We also found our second-ever Cooper's Hawk which is not unexpected considering this species continued expansion in the region.

Notable high counts were record numbers of Bald Eagles, Blue Jays and Bohemian Waxwings. Even with some conservative editing to avoid duplicate observations of the same individuals, the final tally of 11 eagles shattered the previous high of 3. All sightings were 4th year or mature birds. Even through the heavy snowfall, Paul Cyr was able to get a shot of this eagle eyeing the ducks in the Presque Isle waste water treatment plant.

Other noteworthy finds on the count were Common Merganser, Snowy Owl, Song Sparrow and Common Grackle. Among the missing were White-breasted Nuthatch, Purple Finch and any gull species. A Canada Goose seen during the count week was not found during the count.

All observers commented that generally the woods and fields were very quiet and most sightings were made around feeders and in town locations. The cone crop this year is spotty at best and the last of the fruit is being gobbled up by the waxwings.

In addition to the recent and widespread invasion of Bohemian Waxwings, Evening and Pine Grosbeaks both made good showings. Four Northern Shrikes made for the second highest count ever.



Thanks to the field observers, feeder watchers and the Griffiths for hosting the post-count potluck and tally!


Here's the (unofficial) numbers:

Canada Goose		CW
Mallard		22
Am. Black Duck		56
Mallard x Am. Black Duck hyb		1
Common Merganser		1
Ruffed Grouse		5
Bald Eagle		11
Sharp-shinned Hawk		1
Cooper's Hawk		1
Merlin		1
Mourning Dove		103
Rock Pigeon		333
Snowy Owl		1
Downy Woodpecker		19
Hairy Woodpecker		12
Pileated Woodpecker		2
Northern Shrike		4
Blue Jay		257
Common Raven		123
American Crow		85
Black-capped Chickadee		374
Red-breasted Nuthatch		7
Bohemian Waxwing		270
European Starling		137
Northern Cardinal		2
American Tree Sparrow		10
Song Sparrow		1
Dark-eyed Junco		23
Snow Bunting		495
Common Grackle		2
Pine Grosbeak		148
Pine Siskin		1
Common Redpoll		23
American Goldfinch		193
White-winged Crossbill		10
Evening Grosbeak		204
House Sparrow		23
total species		35
total individuals		2961

Northern Maine Birds 23 October-6 November 2008

The last days of October brought unusually warm weather as well as a dusting of short-lived snow to Aroostook County and other parts of northern Maine. Patty Jennings shared her view of Mt Katahdin from Stacyville at sun up. Once again the precipitation totals for the month were well above average. A few cold nights early in the period produced a skim of ice on smaller ponds and wetlands but warm weather has kept everything open since. Almost all deciduous trees in Aroostook have shed their foliage. Fruit supplies remain good. Crabapples were mostly consumed by a wave of migrant American Robins but apple varieties with larger fruit as well as Mountain Ash and Highbush Cranberries remain plentiful. As mentioned before, cones are available but spotty.

The freeze up in mid October seemed to push a few birds out of the area but generally there seems to be quite a few lingering half-hardy bird species.

Canada Geese continue to dominate the waterfowl numbers in northern Maine. Large flocks are still being seen through out the area and I estimate numbers at about 8-9,000, down from last month's peak at about 26,000. The yellow collared Canada Geese from Greenland were last seen on the 27th at Collins Pond in Caribou. Paul Cyr found this horde over Presque Isle.

Small numbers of Snow Geese were reported with the last bird being a single juvenile seen at Collins Pond on the 24th

The waterfowl highlight for the period is certainly the lingering drake Redhead at St. Agatha. The duck was one of two originally seen back on 13 October at the tern nesting island on the north end of Long Lake. The Redhead was seen here again on 6 November.
Also noteworthy were Northern Pintails including two drakes at Presque Isle on Oct 23rd and 4 hens at Trafton Lake in Limestone on the 23rd. Nine Greater Scaup were seen on Long Lake and a single drake was also seen at Trafton Lake on November 6th. Lake Josephine hosted a handful of its usual noteworthy species through the end of the month. These included 9 Ruddy Ducks, 4 Buffleheads, 4 Gadwall and 9 Lesser Scaup.

Large numbers of Mallards and Hooded Mergansers have been noted lately. Trafton Lake held over 120 Mallards and 86 Hoodies on the 6th.

Warm weather has encouraged tardiness with other waterbirds. Double-crested Cormorants (2), Great Blue Herons (2) and a Pied-billed Grebe were all seen at St. Agatha on the 6th of November. 12 Common Loons was a barely note-able tally for this date and location.

Its been slim pickings for raptors recently. Northern Harriers have been in steady supply with birds seen in Bridgewater, Caribou, Easton, Fort Fairfield, Limestone, Presque Isle and Woodland. A dark phase Rough-legged Hawk was hunting near Christina Reservoir on the 28th. The Bald Eagle pair in Presque Isle has been sprucing up their nest recently. Ken Lamb got a series of great photos documenting their efforts. The birds were seen lugging sticks and lichens to the nest. Afterward the little male was snuggling up to the big female...

Except for single Wilson's Snipe and Greater Yellowlegs lingering through 25th at Collins Pond, no shorebirds have been reported. The 2+ inch deluge on the 26th brought water levels up across the area and seems to have flooded most shorebirds out.

Gull numbers have just about peaked and large numbers of Herring, Great Black-backed and Ring-billed Gulls are being seen in Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle, Caribou and St. Agatha. Two juvenile Iceland Gulls on the 5th at Collins Pond were the firsts for me this season.

Several Snowy Owls were spotted around the area already this season. In addition to the previously reported sighting in Woodland on the 19th, Snowy's were seen in two locations in Presque Isle and in Fort Fairfield. A shopper at the Presque Isle reported a white owl dropping from a light pole and taking an American Crow in the mall parking lot on the 25th and this Snowy was photographed by Paul Cyr about a mile or so away on the 27th. A Great-horned Owl was heard in the Woodland Bog Preserve in Woodland on the 25th and a Barred Owl was heard in Caribou. Another screeching owl of unknown identity, was heard in New Sweden.

An American Three-toed Woodpecker was encountered in Haynesville during the first week of November. A check of the Muscovic Road in Stockholm yielded only a Hairy Woodpecker on the 6th.

Large flocks of American Crows (300+) were noted in Presque Isle during the last week of October and Common Ravens have become more noticeable as the crow numbers thinned out. Large numbers of Blue Jays seemed to pass through the area during this period and many birders noted a marked increase of this species at feeders.

A Gray Jay and Boreal Chickadee were seen in the woods near Haynesville. Red-breasted Nuthatches are being reported in moderate numbers. Patty Jennings photographed her Black-capped Chickadees cleaning out a few remaining sunflower stalks in Stacyville on the 25th

As previously mentioned, larger flocks of American Robins cleaned up some of the preferred fruit supplies and numbers seemed to thin out by month's end. Handfuls of robins continue to be seen. American Pipits were still being heard through the 6th. A pipit flew over Collins Pond on the 3rd and another was heard at Lake Josephine on the 6th. Mid sized Horned Lark flocks were seen in Fort Fairfield, Limestone, St. Agatha and Presque Isle

Fox Sparrows continued at my feeder in Woodland until at least the 5th. The peak number of 6 was tallied on the 26th of October. A few White-throated Sparrows and a Song Sparrow also stayed behind at my yard through the end of the period. Dark-eyed Juncos and American Tree Sparrows both appeared in numbers on the 26th. The tree sparrows were right on schedule according to my records.

Though I have still yet to see any, arriving Snow Buntings were reported in Bridgewater, Caribou and Presque Isle.

A late Red-winged Blackbird was seen in a yard New Sweden on the 4th and 3 tardy Common Grackles were seen the following day in Woodland.

My first of season Evening Grosbeaks (8) were heard flying over Caribou on the 6th. Other than abundant supplies of Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches the only finch sightings were a few Purple Finches at feeders in Presque Isle and Fort Fairfield and a flock of White-winged Crossbills on November 2nd in Woodland.

Finally I can't help but report this one non-avian flying species: A peanut rustling Northern Flying Squirrel captured mid-glide by Paul Cyr!

Sandhill Cranes in Bridgewater and more on the collared Canada Geese and Snowy Owls

Back on in early October, after I'd spent most of a day on the road, a co-worker at the office told me that "some guy had called about some rare birds down in Bridgewater"... I pressed for more info, but, it was not forthcoming... No name, no number, no species....

Then this week I was emailing with Ken Lamb and he inquired if I had seen the pictures of the cranes that local guide, Dave Hentosh had of Sandhill Cranes in Bridgewater (!)



Of course, I followed up and David obligingly sent over these great pictures taken by one of his clients. The photos show four Sandhill Cranes feeding in a field of grain stubble. Mars Hill can be seen in the background of one.

Though this species now breeds in south-central Maine, there are few records of Sandhills for northern Maine. Locally, Great Blue Herons are usually referred to as "cranes" and there are plenty of reports of these in late summer and fall... but the real deals are quite rare. The last one I recall, was a single crane found by Arlen Lovewell in Ashland in the spring in the mid 1990's.



As for the collared Canada Geese from Greenland, Connie Michaud wrote to say that they were still around the area and that her husband had located at least four of them. The marked geese were seen on Sunday the 19th in a field along in Caribou Lake Road just south of Caribou.


David Stroud, one of the goose researchers who originally marked the birds, also sent along some great pictures of "my" geese taken when they were originally captured in Greenland this summer. Since the group was studying head and bill shape in an effort to determine which subspecies of Canada geese they were capturing, they had wonderful mug shots of all the geese we're now seeing in Caribou. Here's one of GNA.

David also sent a picture of "Lake Y" in western Greenland where the geese were caught last July. The Greenland icecap can be seen in the distance... looks chilly.

I've had no luck relocating the Snowy Owl here in Woodland but have heard of a bunch more that have shown up in the region. Brian Dalzell in New Brunswick wrote that he had heard of three Snowy Owls arriving last weekend: one in Cape Race Newfoundland and two in New Brunwick. Louis Bevier noted that one was taken in by a bird rehabber from Jackman on the 14th and yet another has been reported down in Scarborough on Pine Point. Keep a lookout for more!

Snowy Owl and seven White-fronted Geese

This weekend I've been looking for the collared Canada Geese that I found last Monday in Caribou. The five geese from Greenland had bright yellow neck collars and I figured it would be easy to relocate them with a little effort.

Not so.

Yesterday during the middle of the day, I visited six towns checking the usual day roosts that the Canadas use for hanging out and snoozing between forays out to the fields. I found 11 different flocks totalling over 8,300 geese. Since most of the day roosts are in protected, in-town locations I was able to get good looks at most of the birds and didn't spot a single collar... However there were some great consolation prizes...

At Malabeam Lake in Limestone I found my first Greater Scaup of the season. It was a hen associating with a dozen Ring-necked Ducks in a mass of 600+ Canada Geese.

On the other side of town I stumbled on to two Greater White-fronted Geese in the small impoundment on Limestone Stream in down town Limestone. These were also the first of this species for me this season. They were adult geese of the Greenland variety and had bright orange bills and legs.

Three White-fronts were reported in Caribou about two weeks ago and I wondered if these might not be a couple of that group.

On the West Limestone Road in northern Fort Fairfield, I drove by a huge flock of Canadas feeding a freshly harvested potato field and probably wouldn't have noticed them and stopped, if it hadn't been for a large flock of Horned Larks spilling across the road in front of me. I stopped to check the larks out and then heard the honking of the geese in the field behind me. I counted 769 Canadas. While I was scanning and counting the flock, two young Snow Geese came in and landed with them.

Snow Geese are quite uncommon in northern Maine in the fall. Even though this area is located just south of the big staging areas on the shores of the St Lawrence River in Quebec, we are far enough east and off the preferred travel route. So its usually only young Snows or the occasional weather blown flock that we see this time of year.

Further along my goose-loop I found the biggest goose flock of the day at Puddledock Pond in Fort Fairfield. The little impoundment on Pattee Brook was filled with Canada Geese.
While searching each goose for yellow collars, I caught a glimpse of some color in a dense mass of birds on the far side of the pond. Once I zoomed my scope in, I was treated to the view of another Greenland Greater White-fronted Goose...and another...and another. In all there were FIVE White-fronted Geese in this group. With the two up in Limestone, this was a day total of seven White-fronts... more that I had ever seen in Maine in my life.

Another young Snow Goose sailing into the field a view just before I packed up and left, was just gravy on a great afternoon chasing geese!

Today I did a quick check of the flocks in Caribou including at the location where they were originally spotted still found no collared geese. There was yet another juvenile Snow Goose feeding with about 1400 unmarked Canadas, but not much else in the waterfowl category. A single American Pipit, an immature Northern Harrier and a couple hundred Horned Larks were my apparent best finds of the day...until had almost arrived home.


Just a quarter mile from my house I came upon the earliest arriving Snowy Owl I've ever encountered. The owl was perched on a utility pole beside the Morse Road and seemed to be soaking in the morning sun. The owl didn't seem to be hunting or I think the young house cat that was padding along the road right in front of it might have been enticing to the bird... I was able to get some good photos and the owl remained in place for almost a half hour- until a truck pulling a loud rattley trailer flushed it. The bird flew off across the big field of canola stubble towards the west...and my house.... I watched it till it was out of sight over the hill....and I wondered...

Once I got home I scanned the area around my house with no luck in relocating the owl. I was about to give up when I spotted a distant bump on the horizon in the fields east of my house. The scope showed that it was The Snowy Owl...yard bird 133 and my fifth owl species!

Color marked Canada Geese in Caribou from Greenland

Its no secret that alot of Canada Geese stop in central Aroostook county in the fall. By my most recent unscientific survey, there are currently about 18,000+ Canada Geese taking advantage of the newly harvested grain and potato fields in northern Maine. The origins of all of these geese is something that I've always wondered about.

Recently, some area birders have been reporting a few rarer species among the Canada Goose flocks including three Greater White-fronted Geese, a few Snow Geese and a single Cackling Goose.

On Monday, I was able to spend some time observing one of the bigger flocks in the Caribou area. I used my spotting scope to scan though the geese...looking for a one of these rarer species. Though I didn't turn up any of less common types amongst the hungry horde, I did find five Canada Geese that were sporting bright yellow neck collars with three letter alpha codes on them. The geese were feeding in some barley stubble and with a little bit of work and patience I was finally able to discern the codes on each of the neck collars...GLF, GLJ, GLV, GLZ, GNA.

Yesterday, I called Maine's head waterfowl biologist Brad Allen in Bangor and inquired if he was aware of anyone color marking geese in the region. Brad recalled a message he recieved earlier in the summer from the US Fish and Wildlife Service that alerted biologists in the east to a marking program in Greenland. Brad sent me the information and I contacted the program leader Tony Fox in Denmark. Tony's response this AM confirmed that the geese here in Caribou were part of a small population of Canada Geese that breed in western Greenland! Tony also sent along a link to lots of information about the marking project and the interesting discoveries they have made over the years.

With permission, I'm inserting some of Tony's response here:

"...You cannot imagine how thrilled we are to receive this news! These birds were banded as part of a project to mark Greenland White-fronted and Canada Geese in west Greenland in 2008, and whilst we have had a resighting of one of the White-fronted Geese back in Scotland, I am very pleased to tell you that you are the very first to report Canada Geese from your side of the Atlantic, so we are absolutely delighted at the news. The birds that you have reported were ringed at a Lake simply known as Y to the catching team (very few lakes in this area have Greenlandic names) which is at 67°06’56”N 50°35’17”N in an area known as Isunngua, immediately north of the airport at Kangerlussuaq in west Greenland. This has been a study area for our investigations on and off over many years. Obviously, I cannot provide any more details about the birds as these are the first resightings, but I can tell you that GLJ, GLV and GNA were all males and GLZ and GNA females at capture, and all were at least in their second summer or older. The fact that they are associating may suggest that they are siblings or are related in some other way, but it sounds like they were non-breeders in 2008. Certainly this flock contained no goslings at the time of the drive, and it is usually the case that non-breeders dissociate from the big flocks of families (although this is not always the case). Whilst we have had five Canada Geese from this area of Greenland shot in new Brunswick, yours are the first records from northern Maine of our geese, so this is a very exciting extension to our knowledge of where these birds stage on the way down to the winter quarters. Needless to say, if you have time to keep an eye on these birds, we would be extremely interested to see how long they stay and whether any other collars turn up in this area. ....We have absolutely no objection to all the blog posting imaginable - the more folk are aware of these geese, the more likely we are to be able to monitor their progress! ..."

Exciting stuff! Keep and eye out for these birds!

Check out the links to the Greenland goose project here:

http://greenland08.wikispaces.com/Request+for+resightings+of+Canada+Geese