The Wrack

Bird bander June Ficker recalls how she got started netting saw-whet owls, shares some details about the birds she has banded, and explains a few precautions taken during the autumn saw-whet season…

Thanks to the aspiring Eagle Scouts of Troop 356, the Wells Reserve now has new real estate options for its nesting avian neighbors! This group of generous and hard-working scouts crafted and installed five new bluebird houses at the Reserve this month, and we have already had at least one bluebird fly in for a closer look. An additional ten birdhouses were donated by the Troop, to be used for a community birdhouse workshop at the Reserve in the spring of 2014. Many thanks to Troop 356 for your kind gift!

Goal

To improve understanding of spatial and temporal patterns of migratory land bird movement in coastal and offshore regions of the northeast, in order to assess vulnerability to offshore wind development and guide responsible siting of turbines.

Our International Migratory Bird Day celebration on May 12 offered myriad activities for visitors of all ages. The event kicked off with a bird walk. Many warbler species were observed, including the rare Worm-eating Warbler. June Ficker and her faithful team of volunteers demonstrated their bird-banding process all morning, allowing visitors to carefully release the captured birds once the data collection was complete. Special guests Allison and Jeffrey Wells, authors of the new book Maine's Favorite Birds, gave a presentation about migratory birds followed by a book signing.

When birder Brian Harris photographed a Barnacle Goose on the Moody marsh, he documented a new species for both the Rachel Carson refuge and the reserve. For the reserve, this would be species number 265.

I noted 132 species during 2011, but only 92 of the ones on our "99 common birds" checklist. These are the ones I missed:

1. Lesser Yellowlegs
2. Spotted Sandpiper
3. American Woodcock
4. Eastern Wood-Pewee
5. Great Crested Flycatcher
6. Red-breasted Nuthatch
7. Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Yesterday's Lunch 'n Learn in Mather Auditorium drew over 20 people who were interested in learning more about the birds of York County. Marie Jordan of York County Audubon Society shared her vast knowledge of birds, as well as an impressive slideshow of her bird photographs. Following are just a few of the snippets of information that I documented in my notes from the program: Pine Siskins come throug…

Our first International Migratory Bird Day event was a big success on Saturday, with 200 people in attendance! Scott Richardson led a bird walk on the trails of the Reserve, where participants were treated to a white-eyed vireo sighting.

The avian community at the end of March is not dramatically different than the one that has been around for the past few months, but behaviors have changed. The birds are getting noisier.

2010 was not a good year for piping plovers on Laudholm Beach, though the overall Maine population held steady. Maine Audubon reports that 30 breeding pairs fledged 49 young along the state's sandy shorelines, with beaches from Kennebunk to Fortunes Rocks in Biddeford being the strongholds this year, but Laudholm put up zeros for nests and young.