Unruffled Ruffed Grouse

Drew parked the car, got out, and was getting ready to take one of our dog nephews for a walk today, when an unruffled ruffed grouse casually walked past Drew, around the car and then entered the woods. Look how well the grouse blends into the sand at the side of the road. They are so well camouflaged that we rarely see them in the woods.

Loons are amazing underwater swimmers

I was able to spend a few hours on the pond, and half of the time was spent communing with the mated pair of loons that has called Caesar Pond "home" for this summer season. Enjoy this video of my time with them.

I started out by scouting all the islands at the sound end of the pond, to see if any were suitable nesting sites, as that is where the loons have nested in the past. But, the islands were beaten down too much by winter and the 7.5" of rain we had in a 30 hour period last week.

I love the loons and they are so relaxed around boats before nesting season. 

The loons swam toward the south end and spent a few minutes with me before heading north. I spend the next hour puttering around the perimeter of the pond and eventually made it to the north cove. By that time, the loons had gone back to the middle and south portions of the pond.

I parked myself in my favorite spot, near the beaver lodge, to eat my breakfast. Eventually, the loons joined me and proceeded to dive and swim all around my location. The water is shallow there and I was able to watch them zip around underwater right next to my boat. They are incredibly fast swimmers and I often could not keep up visually with where they were. I was enthralled by these magnificent birds. Soon, I will be buying an underwater Go Pro knock off camera to try to get some better footage from underwater!

The first hummingbird and white-throated sparrows have arrived.

Our first ruby throated hummer arrived yesterday to stake out his territory. We only saw him briefly then, and have only seen him a couple of times when he flew to the front feeder to sup on some sugar water, today. In the past, the first male has buzzed us as we gardened to let us know that he had arrived. This male is not as communicative yet!

After the hummingbird flew off, I turned my attention to a white-throated sparrow (white-striped variety) with bright yellow lores (tiny feathers between his beak and his eye.) What a beautiful bird! I love the rich brown coloration of the wing feathers.

Two loons on Caesar Pond

 At 10:35pm, a cacophony of loon calls erupted on the pond. Up until now, there has only been one loon (presumably a male). I am wondering if the female has just arrived! I'll be taking a look-see tomorrow! I am so excited!

American Woodcock peenting

MaineNatureDiary · 230323 American Woodcock Peenting

 This evening, I went out looking for amphibians for a Maine Big Night survey. That part of the evening was a bust. But, Caroline, my companion for the survey, heard a woodcock peenting. My hearing is not the best, so she had to point me in the direction of the sound. Eventually, I heard it myself and was able to record a short snippet before a car passed by.

It is breeding season for woodcocks, and the easiest way to find them is to listen for the "Peent" call while the males are on the ground. At dawn and dusk, males perform their mating display flight where they spiral upward into the sky, and back down again. Caroline actually heard and saw the display flight of a couple of woodcocks this evening. They display in fields and openings in the forest.

This is one of a couple of photos that I took when we spied a woodcock in our woods in 2005.

Woodcocks eat earthworms and other invertebrates that they find in the soil. They will nest on the ground and it is important for the female to be perfectly camouflaged. Their coloration is key to rarely being seen in the forest. Click here to gain more knowledge about the American Woodcock.

Slate-colored Junco

Even though Slate-colored Juncos are supposed to be in our section of the state all year long, I don't see them very often at our feeders during winter. But, one did sit on the railing of our front deck and flew down to a stump. It is a sign of springtime for me.

Happy Superb Owl Sunday!

 Isn't it great to have a day dedicated to owls! We love them so much.

I wish that we could see more of them in our woods, but at least we hear the barred owls almost nightly, especially in January-April, as they are thinking about mating and nesting.

I would love to see and hear a Great Horned Owl in Maine, but have yet to have this experience. I will have to settle with having seen this one in Florida while visiting with my mother years ago.

Snowy day with piles of snow!

Wowee, what a series of storms. Between Jan. 20 and 23 we had 19.5" of snow! It just keeps piling up! Luckily, my birding bench is strong!

As I was looking at the feeder area, I saw an Evening Grosbeak hanging out on a limb. He did not look amused!

In the mounds of snow below the seed feeder, I saw a series of tunnel openings from which an adorable red squirrel popped out! They keep me chuckling at their antics.

Bluebirds of Happiness visited briefly

A flock of bluebirds, along with a few goldfinches, did a quick fly-through of our yard! It is always such a pleasure when they visit.

Loon Chick at 35 days old (5 weeks)

This photo allows you to compare its size of the chick to an adult.

Wow, what a wonderful morning photographing the loons on Caesar Pond! The loons spent a lot of time in the middle of the pond directly opposite from our dock at about 600' away. This afforded me much better photos.

The poor chick looks so ragged as it is developing juvenile contour and primary feathers.

You can see so many bald patches on its wings!

When the chick finished a preening session, it flapped it wings. You can really see the new primary feathers and their patterning, as well as all the down in patches.

Here you can see the underside of a wing. In another week or so, the juvenile plumage will fill in the bald spots!

Finally, one of my favorite photos from today...

Loon Chick on Caesar Pond - 3rd Week of Life

Yay! It is week 3 of the loon chick's life and it is thriving! I think the parents are oh, so proud! Enjoy this little video from the last week.

Loon Chicks on Caesar Pond-2nd Week of Life

Loon Chicks grew a bit bigger this week. Look at the amount of feathers, the body length, and even bill length. And, don't forget about their huge webbed feet! Because they no longer ride on their parents' backs, they are more vulnerable than ever to predation.

Loon Chick Update

 

Whew! Friday night into Saturday morning was rough. There was so much loon cacophony on the pond that I was sleepless wondering if a chick was killed. Unfortunately, my fears came true. There is only one chick left.

Let's hope this chick makes it through week 2 of life and thereafter! I shot some video this morning and both parents are feeding this chick almost continuously, and the chick is growing fast because of all this attention.

Loon Chicks on Caesar Pond-1st week of life

I shot video of the loon chicks through their first week of life. Did you know that for the first two days, the chicks can actually walk on land as their bodies are short enough to place their feet more directly under their bodies? Cool! As they grow longer they lose that ability. And, check out their big feet! It was so much fun to see these chicks zipping around in the water.

When chicks are so young, they cannot regulate their body temperature very well and thus have to ride on their parents' backs periodically. They can swim immediately, but are prey to all kinds of animals. You will see a dramatic scene of a snapping turtle pulling one of the chicks underwater. I did not think it had survived, but Mama bird was somehow able to free it from the turtle. In subsequent photos, I did see a few markings on the chick's chest, but it did not seem to be seriously hurt and acted like nothing had happened.

As chicks near one week of age, they can regulate their body temperature better and stay in the water for longer periods of time. They practice diving and are so cute when they pop back up to the surface!

As always, here is a map of my location from the loons. I used a tripod on land for the entire week. This way, I could be assured of somewhat steady photography without bothering the loons whatsoever. Letter A represents video from when the chicks were 2 days old and for the action scene of 4 days old. Letter B represents video from when the chicks were 4 days old and had been hanging out in the middle of the pond. Letter C represents video from when the chicks were 7 days old (hence the very blurry video.) Anytime the birds were farthest away, the auto focus had difficulty keeping the chicks in focus as they were so small in the distance.

Loon Chicks are 4 days old

At 4 days old, chicks ride on their parents' backs as they cannot regulate their temperature that well yet. 

Their wings are still little stubs, their bodies are covered with down, and they are dark brown above with cute little white bellies.

They swim enthusiastically, dive underwater periodically, and then climb up under a parent's wing to hop on board.

The chicks are entirely dependent on their parents for food.

The food consists of tiny minnows, leeches, and tiny aquatic insects.

Chicks are very enthusiastic about their food and seem to be fed constantly! For more information about loon development, check out the Loon Preservation Committee website.

Loon chicks have hatched!

 

I think the chicks hatched out either Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. Which is about 27 or 28 days from being laid. Mama loon was still sitting on the nest Tuesday afternoon. I heard quite a commotion in the evening and on Wednesday. When I went over for a quick peek this afternoon, I saw a chick on Papa's back. Yahoooo!

The chick sat up and looked around...

Stretched its neck... 
Then, it dropped its head down and fell asleep. Do you see where the other chick might be? They have big feet compared to their tiny two day old bodies! I spy extra feet sticking out from the side of Papa.

There it is! This is a screen grab from video so you can see both chicks!  Now, cross your fingers and toes that these chicks survive. (Sorry for the blurriness of the photos. As always, the loons were at maximum reach for the camera from shore.) For more information on loons, check out the Loon Preservation Committee website.

Canada Geese on Caesar Pond

We have 5 Canada Geese on Caesar Pond, at the moment; two females and three males. As you can imagine, it is rather noisy out there as the females seek to find their true loves for this year! Enjoy!

Starlings nesting in the ash tree

 Drew set up a video camera to capture footage of birds nesting in the ash tree because all we could see was bird poop on our deck.

The old woodpecker nest hole in the ash tree has been taken over by Starlings who are raising chicks.  We have no idea how old the chicks are, but figure that they are within 10 days of fledging as the entire nesting period is about 21-23 days. Here is a screen grab from the video that shows a parent bringing food to chicks. We cannot see the chicks as, unlike the woodpeckers that have nested here previously, they cannot climb the walls of the cavity.

Another screen grab from video footage shows a parent flying from the nest after tending to the young.

Loon pair on Caesar Pond

I cannot believe it took me this long to photograph the loons. Mind you, I still haven't gotten out in the boat. But, I got lucky to see the loons on our side of the pond this afternoon.

They were fishing, preening, and enjoying the calm of the late afternoon.

I love loons...These aren't the greatest of photos, but they are the first of many that I hope for this season. if you want information about loons, check out the Loon Preservation Committee website. It is awesome!

Bird species are arriving for summer one by one

 Birds, birds, birds! They are migrating back for summer one by one! Today, we saw three new species: Red-breasted Grosbeak, Chipping Sparrow, and Song Sparrow, all of whom I was able to photograph.

I love the splash of red that the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks bring to our neck of the woods. Click on All About Birds to hear their call.

The Chipping Sparrows are scarfing up seeds from the ground. I don't have any sound recordings, but check out their calls on All About Birds!

Another sparrow that arrived this week is the Song Sparrow. At least, I think it is a song sparrow. I am notoriously bad at identifying birds. Here is a front view showing his gorgeous striped breast. Click on All About Birds to hear their calls.

And, here is more of a side view showing you the feather patterning of the Song Sparrow. They are so pretty! They scratch the ground looking for insects.

P.S. Please tell me if this is a different bird so that I can correct the I.D. if necessary.