Another Rare Bird and the Coast of Maine - Part 1

Spotted Towhee

 On our way to Portland, Maine to visit friends, we stopped in Rye, New Hampshire to snag a rare bird. Somehow this spotted towhee veered right instead of left and ended up on the east coast. Related to our Eastern Towhee (they were previously considered one species), this bird is usually found west of the Mississippi.

In Rye since at least the end of January, he was in the thicket scraping the ground for seeds in typical towhee fashion on the corner of Rte 1A and Central Road.

purple sandpipers

 On to Portland and out birding with our friends Ron and Chuck. A stop at Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth gave us our first-of-the-year views of purple sandpipers. These hardy shorebirds winter along the rocky coast and usually found on the rocks.

harlequin ducks

 Another bird found along the rocky coast of Maine, is the harlequin duck. Harlequins have smooth, densely packed feathers that trap a lot of air, vital for insulating such small bodies against the chilly waters. It also makes them exceptionally buoyant, they bounce up to the surface like corks after dives.

Harlequin ducks riding the waves at Dyer Point.

long-tailed duck

 

 

According to online sources, unlike other waterfowl, the Long-tailed Duck wears its "breeding" plumage only in the winter. It gets its "nonbreeding" or Basic Plumage in the spring and wears it for the breeding season.

Gerry got a nice shot of the long tail feathers as the duck dove.

While Ron and I were scoping the waters, Gerry got a shot of this Great Cormorant flying by.

One female Black Scoter swimming among the Common Eiders. We had all 3 species of scoter: black, white-winged and surf, along with black guillemots, horned grebes, red-breasted mergansers and common goldeneyes. Part 2 of our bird sightings tomorrow!!

Crabs, Crabs, Crabs

Gerry went to Rhode Island to visit family and did some birding on his own. He came back with lots of pictures with birds eating crabs. Must be the food of choice!

This Herring gull dropped the crab and then flew down to enjoy the meal.

This is another herring gull enjoying his crab, one leg at a time.

The gulls weren't the only birds enjoying crabs, here's a common loon with one.

common loon (winter plumage)

And here's some other birds he photographed.

double-crested cormorant

common eiders

common eider

red-throated loon (winter plumage)

Great Cormorant

November 17th was this year's first sighting of a Great Cormorant in Vermont. While double-crested cormorants are a common sight inland, the great cormorant is a sea bird, preferring to stay along the coast. But every so often, one goes further inland, and as you might expect, are found along the Connecticut River or Lake Champlain.

The difference between double-crested and great cormorant immature birds, as this one is, is the reversal of the coloring on the breast and belly. Immature great cormorants have white bellies and dark breasts (as you can see in this picture), while double-crested have dark bellies and pale breasts (see the picture below).

immature double-crested cormorant

Enjoy the pictures of the great cormorant taken at Lake Runnemede in Windsor. 

 

Casco Bay, Portland, Maine

looking back at Portland

We took the Casco Bay Lines "Mailboat Run" on our visit to Portland. The 3 hour long trip brings mail, passengers and freight to the islands; Little Diamond, Great Diamond, Long, Cliff and Chebeague.

common tern

There were lots of gulls and terns, fabulous scenery and great photo ops!

double-crested cormorant taking off, running, across the water

common terns

I don't envy this boat owner's clean-up job! Maybe the terns didn't care for the boat's name, "Osprey"!

laughing gull

laughing gull

common loon

lighthouse and a profile rock