Northern Maine Birds, 1-21 June 2010

The last 3 weeks of spring were just as fabulous (weatherwise) as the earlier months of the season here in Northern Maine. Though the first week of the month was a soggy one, the nearly 3" of rain was needed and the developing greenery sucked up much of the precipitation. Temperatures have been nearly normal for this time of the year.

The breeding season is in full swing and nesting and fledgling birds are everywhere. It appears thus far, that nesting success, for both land and water birds, is as good as its been in four or five years in northern Maine.

Waterfowl highlights in the County this month include the "usual" breeding Redheads (2 pairs), Ruddy Ducks (at least 2 pairs nesting with as many as 12 other probable non-breeders), American Wigeon, Gadwall and Northern Shovelers at Lake Josephine in Easton. Though none of these species have yet to appear with young, the first broods should be leaving the nests here any day. A Eurasian Wigeon drake found here back on 26 May lingered through at least 13 June. Jonathan Mays caught this drake Gadwall on the wing at Easton on the 12th.

A Green-winged Teal hen with 10 just-hatched ducklings was seen on the 19th in a small ponded area just off the Burnt Landing Road in Square Lake Township. The hen put on an impressive distraction display which included flying into a rank stand of tamarack and cedar and landing on the mossy forest floor. I would have liked to watch more but we left the area quickly so she could return to her little fuzzballs.

Also at Lake Josephine a hen Common Goldeneye whose initial clutch numbered 8 on the 10th was tending only four big-but-fuzzy youngsters on the 20th...

A Spruce Grouse hen was seen with chicks in Square Lake Township on the 13th. Jonathan Mays got this nice shot of the little one. Ruffed Grouse too, are showing with chicks in the area.

A rare find this far north, a pair of Green Herons discovered constructing a nest near Lake Josephine on the 20th, was one of the best finds of the month. Thanks to Paul Cyr's photos, this was the northernmost documented nest for the state. American Bitterns are being seen regularly now at Lake Josephine and Christina Reservoir.

Many of the breeding raptors in northern Maine are nearing time to fledge. The Bald eaglet at the Aroostook River nest in Fort Fairfield has been seen exercising its wings and has actually lifted off the nest a few times! This will be first eaglet produced from this nest in many years. Other area eagle nests are also having a productive spring. Paul Cyr also got this shot of the eagles at a nest in Presque Isle.

The young Northern Goshawk at the Nordic Heritage Ski Centre in Presque Isle is ready to fledge as well. I know several mountain bikers who have been eagerly following the progress of this nest, mostly because they are looking forward to the re-opening of the bike trails on this side of the ridge. Merlins nesting in Caribou and Presque Isle were reported to have fledged their young in early June- early dates.

The Common Moorhens have once again returned to Lake Josephine and are apparently settling in to the same pond where they nested last year. First heard on the 6th, the birds have offered some fleeting glimpses since then. Soras and Virginia Rails are very vocal lately. Paul Cyr recently captured these fine portraits of the hard-to-see species.

Though some local Killdeer have produced young already, Wilson's Snipe continue to perform their winnowing displays over swamps in Sinclair and Square Lake. Ken Lamb photographed this leggy Killdeer youngster recently.

25+ Common Terns appear to have begun nesting at the colony on the north end of Long Lake in St. Agatha. There has been no sign of the Black Terns that were seen here in past years.

A species that I completely missed in northern Maine last year, a Black-billed Cuckoo was calling in the Woodland Bog on the afternoon of the 22nd.

American Three-toed Woodpeckers have been showing exceptionally well this month. Pairs have been seen regularly at the Burnt Landing Road in Square Lake and along the Moscovic Road in Stockholm. Others were spotted near Beardsley Brook in New Sweden and off of the Square Lake Road in Cross Lake Township. Black-backed Woodpeckers have also been seen at the Square Lake and Stockholm locations. A Black-backed hatchling's incessant begging gave away its nest location on the edge of a wetland off the McLean Brook Road in Sinclair (T17R4). The little woodpecker(s)? were peering from the nest hole by the 19th and appeared ready to fledge any day. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are busy now and easy to find. Patty Jennings sent along this photo of a pair in her yard

The flycatchers have been well reported this month. Two Olive-side Flycatchers and 5+ Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were heard at the Moscovic Road on the 19th. The young left a Boreal Chickadee nest in Square Lake Township sometime in the afternoon of the 18th or the early morning of the 19th. Though lately it hasn't been unusual to encounter (hear) 15 or 20 of these in a morning in the field, they get significantly quieter once their young have fledged. Rare in northern Maine at any time, 3 or 4 calling Willow Flycatchers have taken up residence on the river flat just across the Aroostook River from the town of Fort Fairfield.

Family groups of Gray Jays are commonly encountered in most of the deep, dark conifer swamps lately. A tally of 16 was made in the morning of the 19th in north-central Aroostook Co.

Though Winter Wrens have begun to sing a bit more lately, a pair of nesting House Wrens in Fort Fairfield is far more noteworthy. At the northern extreme of the breeding range, there have been a few reports of House Wrens nesting in the county, but Kathy Hunter's photo provided the first documentation of the event in this region.

The warblers continue in full song in the wooods of northern Maine. 21 species were tallied here over the weekend. Notables among the list were a pair of Cape May Warblers seen and four singing Mourning Warblers at Loring in Limestone, three male Bay-breasted Warblers at Beardsley brook in New Sweden, 4+ singing Wilson's Warblers along the Moscovic Road and a very vocal Tennessee Warbler on territory along the Burnt Landing Road in Square Lake Twp. Other singing Mourning Warblers were seen along a woods road off of Route 11 south of Masardis on the 12th.

Quite uncommon in the north, an Indigo Bunting seen in the Sherman Station area of Stacyville on the 12th was a noteworthy find

Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated, Savannah, Song, Swamp, Chipping, Lincoln's and Vesper Sparrows were heard singing at Aroostook NWR on the 20th.

With the exception of American Goldfinch and Purple Finch, the finches have been a tough group of birds to find this month. Flyover White-winged Crossbills, an Evening Grosbeak and Pine Siskin were heard at Stockholm on the 19th.

Bird Festival at Aroostook State Park Tomorrow

Weather looks good... First bird walk starts at 5 AM!

Swimming Eagles in Lakeville, Penobscot Co.

I recently received an apparently well-circulated email message describing a fantastic observation of local wildlife.... a pair of Bald Eagles was reportedly seen swimming in a lake south of here!

I followed up with the originator of the message, Linda Webster, and she put me in touch with Joshua and Meaghan Clapp who gave me permission to post their pictures and story of their strange find.

The Clapps were at their camp on Bottle Lake in Lakeville in Penobscot county back on May 2, 2010 when a kayaker approached them about helping some "tangled' eagles floating in the lake. They checked it out and got the great series of photos seen here.

Josh recounted the following:

"...a guy in a kayak came to the dock and asked if we knew how to get eagles untangled. Apparently 2 bald eagles got tangled together and were just floating down the lake after being exhausted from struggling to get free. We went out in the
boat and they seemed to be too tired to care that we were really close. Eventually we nudged them with the boat and they both flapped and got untangled. After that they swam to shore because they were unable to get airborne from the water. One of
them flew away right after it got up onto a rock. The other one tried flying, but didn't make it more than a few yards. It eventually climbed a tree leaning over the water and took off. I think they're both fine. Probably won't ever get that close
to 2 live eagles again."

Meaghan added:

"... After the man described what he could see, I said "I can't even picture what this looks like!" Apparently they had been at the end of the lake near Susan and Dick's camp and had been screeching and
struggling to break free from one another and then became exhausted and began floating down toward the boat launch. The kayaker had called the game warden, but he was over an hour away, so we wanted to help if possible. They must have been exhausted
because they didn't even try to move when we approached them with the boat. It was amazing to see them "swimming" to shore too. Their wings are so big! I yelled to my mom from the boat and she was able to come out of the camp in time to see the
eagle sitting on a rock about 20 feet away from her. I don't think we'll ever get that close to a bald eagle again in the wild or see such a bizarre situation. Thankfully they both seemed unharmed!"

I wondered about how this could happen and supposed that this was some sort of territorial dispute. The birds in Josh and Meaghan's photos were both adults.

After doing some research, I discovered some information on Bald Eagle breeding behavior and found there is a ritual called the Cartwheel Display in which the pair of courting eagles fly to high altitudes and then lock talons and tumble and cartwheel back to earth! According to the article I read, the eagles are supposed to disengage just before reaching the ground. Apparently these two didn't quite get it right and splashed down in the lake.

Regarding the swimming behavior that they saw, this is apparently not all that unusual and there quite a few reports of eagles catching large fish and "swimming" them into shallow water/ shore.

This was a great report of some rarely seen Bald Eagle behavior. Thanks to Linda, Josh and Meaghan for allowing their experience to be recounted here!

Bald Eaglets in Aroostook

Paul Cyr recently took a buzz around central Aroostook coutny and checked on our nesting eagles. What he saw was very encouraging. After several seasons of poor production it looks like many of the nests have successfully hatched eggs!

In all Paul counted seven eaglets at four nests: three in Presque Isle and one in Fort Fairfield. He commented that most of the nests had small caches of meats and fish to feed the young birds. You can see what appears to be a fish next to one eaglet in the top picture and an impressive pile of red meat around the rim of the second nest!

It was also interesting to note how most of eagle nests are located in mature Poplar trees rather than White Pines as is often the case in the state south of here.

We are looking forward to monitoring the birds progress from here.

Thanks to Paul for these great pictures

Northern Maine Birds, 3 - 11 May 2010

The weather in northern Maine has gone from exceptionally pleasant to unusually chilly in a little over a week. A trend of increasingly colder temperatures through early May has slowed the development of vegetation in the area. One local birder even suggested that the ferns in his yard are rolling back up into fiddleheads...

Temperatures at Caribou ranged from the mid 70's on the third down to the low 30's at the end of the period. These cooler temps, coupled with regular periods of rain, have left some of the earlier migrants struggling a bit to stay warm and fed. Rainfall has totaled about 1.75 inches in 8 days putting the area about .8 inches above normal.

Leaf development is at about 30 to 50% across the area.

There were 30 new and arriving species reported in northern Maine this week:

Blue-winged Teal 5/4
Greater Scaup 5/6
White-winged Scoter 5/9
Bufflehead 5/9
American Bittern 5/1
Merlin (migrant) 5/4
Sora 5/4
Lesser Yellowlegs 5/9
Solitary Sandpiper 5/9
Spotted Sandpiper 5/5
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5/7
Eastern Kingbird 5/10
Bank Swallow 5/10
Cliff Swallow 5/4
Barn Swallow 5/4
Gray Catbird 5/10
Nashville Warbler 5/9
Northern Parula 5/5
Magnolia Warbler 5/9
Black-throated Blue Warbler 5/11
Black-throated Green Warbler 5/4
Yellow Warbler 5/10
Ovenbird 5/5
Northern Waterthrush 5/4
Common Yellowthroat 5/10
White-crowned Sparrow 5/4
Lincoln's Sparrow 5/11
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 5/8
Bobolink 5/10
Northern Oriole 5/6

Though the later waterfowl migrants are still trickling through the area, earlier ducks and geese, taking advantage of the early season, have gotten down to business and are already on nests. The earliest nests may be hatching within the next week or so!

Noteworthy among waterfowl seen this week, newly arrived Greater Scaup were reported in a small pond in Fort Fairfield (6th) and a pair was seen on Long Lake in St. Agatha on the 9th. An uncommon migrant, a pair of Buffleheads were also spotted at Long Lake on the 9th. Another pair of the buoyant little divers was seen at Lake Josephine in Easton on the 10th.

The first Blue-winged Teal seen in central Aroostook were found and photographed by Paul Cyr. The ducks were resting in a farm pond in Fort Fairfield off the Dorsey Road.

Migrating sea ducks were brought down by the bad weather conditions on a few occasions this week. A flock of over 50 Common Eiders were reported on the St. John River near Hamlin on the 5th. A small raft of (16) White-winged Scoters was loafing mid-pond at Madawaska Lake on the 9th. Two pairs of uncommon Red-breasted Mergansers were feeding on the shallow north end of Second Musquacook Lake in T11R11 on the 5th.

Two pairs of Redheads are being seen regularly at Lake Josephine and appear to be settling in to breed again. Likewise is the situation with at least 3 pairs of Ruddy Ducks. The large flock of Common Goldeneyes, Ring-necked Ducks and Lesser Scaup has begun to thin out as the pairs disperse. The remaining flock is rapidly becoming a boys club. The last date for the pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes at this location was the unusually late date of May 2nd.

Double-crested Cormorants are being seen regularly at the larger lakes and ponds as well as the Aroostook River. A high count of 74 were loafing on the little islet on the north end of Long Lake on the 9th. American Bitterns are being heard in wetlands across the area now. Great Blue Herons have been in short supply but it is likely these birds have moved into the small wetlands where they nest.

Most breeding raptors have arrived and are on nests. American Kestrels are much harder to find in the area lately as these cavity nesters have begun incubating eggs. A Merlin has been seen (and heard) around Collins Pond regularly and these little hawks may again be nesting in downtown Caribou. Another vocal pair was seen on the 5th near the campsite at the south end of Musquacook Lake in T11R11. Reports of Bald Eagles feeding young at a couple of the area nests has not been confirmed. Other species of hawks reported include many Ospreys, Northern Harrier (Easton), Broad winged Hawk (T11 R11) and Red-tailed Hawk (in Fort Fairfield). Paul Cyr found these Ospreys hunkered down in their nest in Fort Fairfield on the 4th.

A vocal Sora went unseen in a rank cattail patch in Easton on the 4th.

A few shorebirds have started to trickle in. New arrivals include Solitary Sandpiper at Lower LaPomkeag Lake in T8R7, 3 Spotted Sandpipers on Second Musquacook Lake in T11R11 and a Lesser Yellowlegs at Fort Fairfield on the 9th. Other Spotted Sandpipers have since been seen at Easton and Garfield.

Paul Cyr got the photo of the newly-arrived yellowlegs at the top of this post. Though I admit I struggled a bit with the ID of the bird in this photo (Greater vs. Lesser Yellowlegs), I've decided its a Lesser Yellowlegs... We don't see alot of good, breeding plumaged yellowlegs in these parts! Though the bill is a bit long for a Lesser, it is thin and without a paler base that most Greater Yellowlegs usually show.

American Woodcock were amazingly early nesters this season. Two reports of fledgling woodcock were received this week. In Woodland, Del Ramey found a female on a nest under a small fir on his lot back on the 16th of April. The bird had 3 eggs at the time and added another the following day for a typical clutch of four. He's been watching the bird closely and on May 6th the eggs hatched and the female quickly led the young away! Del sent over a picture of the incubating bird on her nest earlier this spring.

Another woodcock was reported seen doing an impressive "in your face" flushing distraction in T8R7 on the 9th. On closer inspection a couple of well camouflaged, fuzzball chicks were seen nearby. Eleven displaying Woodcock were tallied on a survey along the Realty Road T11R12 in the North Maine Woods. Seven winnowing Wilson's Snipe were also heard on the 3.6 mile survey route.

Woodpeckers have quieted a bit and I assume that most are now beginning their incubation periods. A Pileated Woodpecker nest was found in a large poplar in-town Portage Lake. Most exciting is the presence of a rare Red-bellied Woodpecker being seen at a feeder at a house on Madawaska Lake. Though Red-bellied Woodpeckers are slowly spreading into southern and mid-Maine, there are few records of the species in the northern third of the state. Alton and Brenda Ketch sent over this nice photo of the female as it fed (with a Chipping Sparrow) under their feeders.

An Alder Flycatcher seen in Garfield Plantation was exceptionally early. Arriving Eastern Kingbirds were quick to assert their claim to prime territories in Easton on the 10th.

Gray Jays were spotted on the McLean Brook Road in Sinclair on the 9th. These birds too, have been decidedly quieter and shy in recent days, suggesting nesting and/or young are about.

A big flock of about 1,200 swallows were seen feeding over Lake Josephine on the 10th. The breakdown appeared to be about 900-1,000 Tree Swallows, 100-120 Barn Swallows, 60-80 Cliff Swallow and 40 -50 Bank Swallows. The Bank Swallows were new arrivals in the area on that date. A similar congregation was reported at Eagle Lake over past couple of mornings. The slightly warmer air over these waterbodies probably offers a bit more insect activity and feeding opportunity on chilly mornings.

Arriving warblers are still just starting to trickle into the area. Eight new species were seen or heard this week: the first Nashville Warbler was seen in New Sweden; Northern Parula was first heard singing at T11R11; Magnolia Warbler was heard at New Sweden and an early-arriving Black-throated Blue Warbler was first encountered along the Rocky Brook Road in T13R7. In Caribou the first Black-throated Green Warbler and Northern Waterthrush were heard singing off of the Hardison Road. The first Ovenbird was heard singing at Westfield and a Common Yellowthroat was first found at Lake Jo.

The sparrow highlight again this period has to be the Clay-colored Sparrow in Caribou. The bird continued at the Hardison Road location through at least the 6th. White-crowned Sparrows arrived all at once on the 4th and continue to been seen at many locations throughout the county. Only slightly early, a first Lincoln's Sparrow was found near the bog off the Moscovic Road in Stockholm on the 11th. A Fox Sparrow was seen on Rocky Brook Road in T13R7 on the 11th. This area near the Chase Brook bridge, is a dependable spot for singing male Fox Sparrows during the breeding season.

A first-of-the-season Bobolink was heard singing in flight high over Lake Josephine in Easton on the 10th. The first Northern Oriole was seen at a feeder near Mantle Lake Park in Presque Isle on the 6th. The homeowner was quick to treat the early bird to some fresh organic orange slices. This young male Red-winged Blackbird "sang" to Paul Cyr in Easton last week

Flocks of American Goldfinches continue to be seen at yards where feeders have been maintained. White-winged Crossbills and Purple Finches remain dependable in the larger areas of softwoods. Evening Grosbeaks continue to be reported in small numbers but are well distributed throughout the county.

With some warmer temperatures and good migration weather predicted, I expect the next couple weeks will see the peak in new arrivals in northern Maine. Good birding.

Northern Maine Birds 22 April- 2 May 2010

As April waned, the last throes of winter passed quietly in northern Maine. Though few inches of short-lived snow fell on the 27th in the northern parts of Aroostook county, the weather has continued to be seasonable. All lakes are now ice free and the last shady snowbanks can only be found in northern-most locales.

Lawns have greened up, potatoes, broccoli and grain are all being planted and trees have begun to leaf out. The first black flies were reported on the first of May this year...early.

Migration has progressed steadily with two discernible pulses on the 23rd of April and May 2nd. After many record early arrivals of short distance migrants, things seem to be getting back on a bit more normal schedule.

New and arriving species this period:

Red-breasted Merganser 5/2
Broad-winged Hawk 4/24
Bonaparte's Gull 4/24
Blue-headed Vireo 4/23
Brown Thrasher 5/2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4/23
Black-and-white Warbler 5/2
Clay-colored Sparrow 5/2
Vesper Sparrow 5/2

Waterfowl highlights over the past ten days was more about increasing numbers than new arrivals. Eighteen species of waterfowl were reported with 3 Red-breasted Mergansers seen on Lake Josephine in Easton as the only arriving species. Common and Hooded Mergansers are still being encountered regularly though the females of those species are already getting hard to spot as they presumably begin nesting. 5 Long-tailed Ducks were seen on Lower LaPomkeag Lake in T8R7 in northern-most Penobscot County on the 24th. High counts tallied at Lake Josephine this week include 16 Gadwall, 44 American Wigeon (5/2), 48 Northern Shovelers (4/23), 88 Ring-necked Ducks, 4 (2 pairs) Redheads (4/27) and 8 Ruddy Ducks (4/23). Eleven male wood Ducks was a nice count at the sewer ponds in Ashland on the 23rd. A drake Gadwall (in Paul Cyr's photo above) shows off its understated finery.

A good assortment of raptors was also reported this week. Raptor species reported this week included Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Merlin, Northern Harrier, Broad Winged, Red-tailed , Sharp-shinned Hawks and Northern Goshawk. The nesting goshawk has returned to the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle and mountain bikers have already reported some close encounters with the female. I expect the Center will again be closing trails in the area for the nesting season. A substantial flight of migrating hawks passed through the area on April 24. Several newly arrived Broad-winged Hawks as well as a Northern Harrier were seen in Perham on that date.

Paul Cyr is again hosting a pair of nesting American Kestrels on his farm in Presque Isle. The diminutive pair was recently photographed enjoying the raptor platform that Paul graciously provided here. Another pair has taken up residence in a nestbox in Portage Lake.

Pied-billed Grebes were heard at several marshy ponds around the area this week. One stopped in at Lake Jo for a morning and Paul Cyr was there.

Though gull numbers have thinned a bit as migrants move through, the first Bonaparte's Gull of the season was seen on Lower LaPomkeag Lake on the 24th. Bill Hersey was able to digiscope the distant bird. A very rare breeder in Maine, Bonaparte's Gulls nest in spruce and fir trees on remote ponds and lakes (not unlike LaPomkeag). Northern Maine birder's should be on the alert for these gorgeous black headed gulls when in the right area...

Blue-headed Vireos appeared to arrive all at once and on schedule. Several were heard at Salmon Brook Bog in Perham on the 24th. A newly arrived Brown Thrasher was singing loudly at the Skyway Industrial Park on Sunday May 2.

The first warblers have begun to trickle in with Yellow-rumped Warblers making up the bulk of the sightings thus far. Yellow-rumps have been reported at Ashland, Caribou, Limestone, Perham, Mars Hill and Woodland. An early Black-and-white Warbler was singing at Christina Reservoir in Fort Fairfield on the 2nd.

Some rare sparrows are certainly the highlights of this week's report. An uncommon breeder in northern Maine, a Vesper Sparrow singing from a road sign in Caribou was a nice discovery. The bird had apparently just arrived on the 2nd and took no time to proclaim his territory at this address! The bird's white eye ring, dark cheek spot, rufous shoulders and white outer tail feathers can all be made out in the photo at the top of this post (click on it for a larger image!).

Eclipsing the Vesper Sparrow was Aroostook county's second Clay-colored Sparrow in as many years. This bird has just been discovered a feeder in Caribou and more details should be forthcoming. A good documentation photo was provided by the homeowner...

In the finch department, American Goldfinch, Purple Finch and White-winged Crossbill continue encountered regularly in the woods of northern Maine.

Evening Grosbeaks have spread well around northern Maine in past couple of weeks. Reports increased and observations of these gorgeous birds have been reported from Stacyville to Fort Kent. Patty Jennings send over this stunning shot of a watchful male visiting her feeder in northern Penobscot county.

Northern Maine Birds 14-21 April 2010

Weather over the past week was more seasonable with frosty nights and cool days.

Some of the larger lakes are ice free now and the remnant snow banks are getting hard to find in eastern Aroostook. Precipitation has been minimal (snow flurries and showers) and water levels are dropping in the larger rivers.

Some hardwoods have begun to flower and leaf buds are forming well. Butterflies, moths and amphibians have already been well reported at early dates across the area.

Arriving migrants and new species reported this week are:

Lesser Scaup 4/14
Redhead 4/17
Common Eider 4/4
Long-tailed Duck 4/14
Ruddy Duck 4/14
Double-crested Cormorant 4/16
Sandhill Crane 4/18
Lesser Black-backed Gull 4/15
Three-toed Woodpecker 4/17
Winter Wren 4/17
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4/17
Hermit Thrush 4/17
Chipping Sparrow 4/21
Savannah Sparrow 4/21
Swamp Sparrow 4/20

Though large flocks of Canada Geese continue to push through the area no other notable geese were spotted this week. Quite early, one Canada Goose was found on a nest by the 20th.

Interesting duck arrivals were, as expected, found at Lake Josephine in Easton. A returning Redhead was reported on the 17th and two male Ruddy Ducks have been seen here since the 14th. A male Lesser Scaup also arriving on the 14th, tied my previous early date for this species. A very early male Common Eider seen on Easter Sunday was the first to make appearance in northern Maine this season.

Long-tailed Ducks made an unusually good showing after first arriving on the 14th. Pairs were seen at Lake Josephine and Christina Reservoir in Fort Fairfield. These continued at these locations through the week. An unusually large flock of 14 Long-taileds were loudly calling on Arnold Brook Lake in Presque Isle on the morning of the 21st.

One of the two pairs of Barrow's Goldeneyes at Lake Jo was still hanging among the flock of 30+ Common Goldeneyes through the 16th. The Barrow's pair was seen copulating here. I thought this was notable considering the large distances to the nearest nesting locales in Quebec. There was little information available concerning the timing of copulation in the literature on this species, but I eventually found out that this duck species forms long-term pair bonds and is known to copulate on the wintering grounds and on their northward migration. Interesting stuff for a duck head.

The Green-winged Teal numbers built through the week and pairs and small flocks were commonly encountered around the area. Gadwall, Northern Shoveler and American Wigeon pairs continued to increase at Easton during the past few days. Paul Cyr captured this image of a big-lipped shoveler couple on the 21st. Other waterfowl seen this week included American Black Duck, Wood Duck, Mallard, Hooded and Common Mergansers and hordes of Ring-necked Ducks


Though I have heard of no recent assists from local releases, Wild Turkeys seem to be moving north and eastward in numbers lately. The big birds appear to be expanding their range through central Aroostook county this spring. Reports of the birds came in this week from Madawaska Lake (2), Limestone (1), Caribou (2) and Presque Isle (3). Paul Cyr photographed a pair that were strutting through the outskirts of Presque Isle on the 21st. Heres one of the colorful jakes on the wing...

Drumming Ruffed Grouse were encountered by many birders that ventured to the woods during the past week. Ken Lamb photographed and videoed the displaying male seen at the top of this post near his home early last week. Ken also posted a fantastic video he made of the same bird drumming madly on Youtube here. Crank up the volume! Its great.... There's sounds from at least four other species of birds on the video...can you identify them?

More early Pied-billed Grebes were seen this week at Puddledock Pond and Christina Reservoir in Fort Fairfield. A Common Loon was calling as it landed in Christina Reservoir on the 20th. The first Double-crested Cormorant of the season was perched on a small island at the mouth of Presque Isle Stream in Presque Isle on the 16th. This arrival date was right on schedule by my records.

The bird of the week goes to a Sandhill Crane that was spotted flying north along Route 1 in Westfield on Sunday. There are only a handful of records of these birds for northern Maine. As seen in this first through-the-windshield-shot, the bird's big size and extended neck as it flew were key in making this ID at a distance. The much more common Great Blue Heron is big but generally keeps its head tucked in and its long neck looped under it when flying. The big bird was winging its way through a snow squall and we were able to turn around and follow it for several miles before it landed in a large field off the Henderson Road in Presque Isle! Ever at the ready to jump in his vehicle and chase the rareties, Paul Cyr arrived on the scene quickly and was able to get this wonderful shot of this rare visitor as it legged its way around the field. The orange patches on the wings and neck are the result of staining from iron compounds rather than any bird produced pigments. The crane only stayed for a short while then continued on northward.

Rough-legged Hawks (all light phase) were seen in Stockholm (1) and Cyr Plantation (2) on the 17th. Northern Harrier and American Kestrels were reported in increasing numbers through the week.

Gull flocks continue to migrate through the area. Most interesting among these is at least three adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls that are splitting their time between Collins Pond in Caribou and the landfill in northern Fort Fairfield several miles away. I snapped a photo of one of the dark backed adults resting with a bunch of Herring Gulls at the top of the garbage heap on the 20th.

A Northern Hawk Owl was reported seen along Route 1 in Littleton on the exceptionally late date of April 11! The bird was seen near the spot where the first hawk owl of the winter was reported back in December 2009... It could well be the same bird lingering.

After a long dry spell, I was finally able to locate a Three-toed Woodpecker again this week. The male was feeding along a woods road in the northeastern part of Stockholm in an area of overgrown and reverting farm fields known as the California Settlement.

The first Winter Wrens and Hermit Thrushes of the the season were singing just off the Muscovic Road in Stockholm on the 17th. My first Ruby-crowned Kinglet was mumbling in the brush nearby on the same date.

Sparrow migration has been unusual so far this season. It appears that arriving sparrows are well dispersed and not showing up in concentrations at northern feeding stations. New arrivals this week included Swamp Sparrows which are singing at marshy locations in Fort Fairfield and Presque Isle. A Savannah Sparrow was singing near the Presque Isle Airport on the 21st, and my first Aroostook Co. Chipping Sparrow was heard just down the street the following day. American Tree Sparrows continue to linger in small numbers at area feeders.

Mixed flocks of blackbirds continue to migrate through the area.

Purple Finches and White-winged Crossbills are currently quite common in "the woods" areas north and west of the Route 1 corridor in central Aroostook county . Handfuls of Pine Siskins are also being seen in these locations. A few Evening Grosbeaks are still being encountered as well. Hordes of American Goldfinches are visiting just about any feeder still offering seed. Paul Cyr got some nice shots of nearly-fully-molted males in Presque Isle on the 20th. Here's one.