Back yard critters

I'd heard we had them in some of the park areas as mentioned, but there's a fair amount of real estate there. I never expected to see one so close to population. I only spotted it because of the people with cameras standing on the side of the road. One guy had a camera lens that looked like it could shoot down enemy bombers. So I'm wondering what they're all aiming at and looked in the trees and holy cr@p!
 
at uncle Stanley house, mrs. & mr. Osprey…

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@Avenger 's Bald Eagle sighting had me thinking that I haven't seen one in a while, which is unusual around here since they're all over the place. Well today, as I went off to collect some oysters, I was greeted with the "nails on the chalkboard" cry of a bald eagle, and looked up to see one of our local birds sitting up in the tree that they love to watch me fishing from.

About 5 min later I heard a large splash, and turned around to see the bird flying up from the water. It had come down to grab something, but didn't connect with anything. It's always a treat seeing them, but you realize that they are real moochers, always chasing the ospreys to steal what they've caught...
 
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@Avenger 's Bald Eagle sighting had me thinking that I haven't seen one in a while, which is unusual around here since they're all over the place. Well today, as I went off to collect some oysters, I was greeted with the "nails on the chalkboard" cry of a bald eagle, and looked up to see one of our local birds sitting up in the tree that they love to watch me fishing from.

About 5 min later I heard a large splash, and turned around to see the bird flying up from the water. It had come down to grab something, but didn't connect with anything. It's always a treat seeing them, but you realize that they are real moochers, always chasing the ospreys to steal what they've caught...

The first time I saw a Bald Eagle in the wild was in Alaska. The place is lousy with them. But the locals told similar stories about how they weren't that fearsome.

But one of them said something that stuck with me. "If there's a pair of them around, NOTHING moves." I guess when mom and dad are teamed up is a different situation.
 
The first time I saw a Bald Eagle in the wild was in Alaska. The place is lousy with them. But the locals told similar stories about how they weren't that fearsome.

But one of them said something that stuck with me. "If there's a pair of them around, NOTHING moves." I guess when mom and dad are teamed up is a different situation.

came down from Albany sometime ago by rail, quite a number of em were alive & kickin… nice to see… cellfish…
 
Tempted to head down to Georgetown to maybe see this bird, but all those "Birders" down there turns me off. Maybe I'll get lucky and the bird will give the crowds the bird and come on up to my backyard. IF it did happen, I wouldn't tell a soul other than my neighbor who is an accomplished wildlife photographer...

Birders cap off 2021 with a first-ever sighting of a Steller’s sea eagle in Maine​

pressherald.com/2021/12/31/stellers-sea-eagle-draws-hundreds-to-small-fishing-village/

By Deirdre Fleming December 31, 2021
bird8-heidi-murphy-thumbnail_20211231-DSC_5075-3-1024x682.jpeg


GEORGETOWN — As Chris Sayers picked up his tripod from the pier at Five Islands Harbor to head back to Boston on Friday morning, the bird biologist said goodbye to Maine Audubon naturalist Doug Hitchcox and asked if the Audubon chapter was having a New Year’s Eve party this year.

More than one birder standing nearby – and there were hundreds – piped up: “This is the party.”

The arrival of the first Steller’s sea eagle ever sighted in Maine – and likely the same individual that is the first ever seen in the Lower 48 – drew hundreds of birders to Georgetown on Friday.

They were not disappointed.

Steller’s sea eagles are native to northern Asia and eastern Russia, specifically the Kamchatka Peninsula. They are seafaring raptors that hunt in cold coastal waters.

The bird sighted in Georgetown is believed to be the same individual that has been sighted in several locations in the U.S. and Canada over the past year or so. A Steller’s was first sighted in Alaska in August 2020, then in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick in July, and later in Nova Scotia, The New York Times reported. It may also have taken a side excursion to south Texas last spring, according to the Times.

The eagle appeared on the Taunton River in Massachusetts earlier this month, and was spotted Thursday afternoon near the Five Islands pier by Linda Tharp, a resident who lives near the water. Word went out on avian-watching social media sites and the birder migration began.

Many birders had already been on high alert recently following reports that the eagle had been sighted in Massachusetts on Dec. 20.

“I was maybe just hoping it would come up here. Then I saw on social media last night it was here. So we got up this morning,” said Carlie Lochner of Sabattus, who brought her two children, ages 3 and 6 and both birders. “They are here for the birding. And they have their own binos.”

The rare brown bird with the huge yellow bill is easily identifiable by the striking white markings on its wings, as well as its 8-foot wingspan. It weighs 11 to 20 pounds, making it one of the largest eagles in the world – up to twice as big as a bald eagle.

There are only about 4,000 Steller’s sea eagles in the world, Hitchcox said, making its presence in Maine not only a first-time event, but an unexpected, unthinkable end-of-year hurrah for Maine’s tight-knit birding community.

For nearly two hours Friday morning, the massive eagle sat high in a conifer tree on an island across from the public wharf as a steady stream of cars rolled down to the pier. Birders parked along the road while others on the pier waved newcomers down to the water’s edge.

“This is the dream,” Hitchcox said. “It’s now just sitting there, showing off for everyone. And everyone wants everyone else to see it.


The Stellar’s sea eagle glides low across the waters off Georgetown on Friday. Photo by Luke Seitz

“I don’t even know what to compare it to. We often say these (rarities) shouldn’t be here. This bird should not even be on this continent. But because there are only about 4,000 in the world, you could travel the world birding and never see one. And it’s an hour from my home.”

Many in the crowd were from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. More were expected to arrive from New York and New Jersey on Saturday, Hitchcox said.

Matthew Gilbert of Cumberland was the birder who found it Friday morning. Gilbert, 17, and his two friends got to the public wharf around 7:30 a.m. to find many birders already there, but no sea eagle – everyone was just standing around.

So Gilbert and his two friends headed to Golf Cove, and there Gilbert spotted it.

“I saw eagles in a tree and looked through my scope and saw bald eagle, bald eagle, and then the big white patches on the wings of the next bird, and that big, honking, yellow bill – it was unmistakable,” Gilbert said. “I said, ‘Guys, guys, guys, I got it, I got it.’ It was super exciting.”

The fact the Steller’s eagle winters in northern Asia and Russia gives birders hope it could survive a Maine winter should it stay, unlike the great black hawk that hailed from Central and South America and settled in Deering Oaks park three winters ago, only to succumb to frostbite.


The Steller’s sea eagle sighted in Georgetown is believed to be the same individual that has been sighted in several locations in the U.S. and Canada over the past year or so. Doug Hitchcox

Others think that given the Steller’s eagle already has traveled thousands of miles means it will likely soon pick up and leave Maine.

Birders have confirmed that the large eagle seen in Massachusetts and Nova Scotia in recent weeks is the same individual by comparing distinctive markings on its wings. While photos of the eagle Friday morning had not yet been compared to earlier ones, Hitchcox said there was a high probability it was the very same individual.

Birders Mitch Heydt of Stow, Massachusetts, and Heidi and Brian Murphy of Littleton, Massachusetts, saw the rare bird alert on social media Thursday while they were out birding along the Massachusetts coast. They decided to rise at 5 a.m. Friday and drive to Maine.

“We wanted to see the otters in Evergreen Cemetery (in Portland) anyway,” Heidi Murphy said.

They were joined at the wharf by birder Dan Oh of Beverly, Massachusetts, but at the time, the eagle was nowhere to be found. They followed the crowd to Golf Cove after Gilbert had reported his sighting, and Heidi Murphy knocked on a front door to ask if she could look for the bird from the woman’s deck.

The homeowner not only invited the four to the deck, but a man guided them through the woods to get a better view. Neither were birders, Murphy said.

“They were so generous. We thanked them and said we would send them a framed photo of the bird,” Murphy said.

For Heidi Murphy, who took up birding during the pandemic, the communal gathering was like a massive, joyful festival. And even to Heydt, a birder of 10 years, the atmosphere was special: an ideal New Year’s Eve celebration.

“We got here at 8:15, and by 8:30, we saw the eagle,” Heydt said, laughing and shaking his head.
 
Tempted to head down to Georgetown to maybe see this bird, but all those "Birders" down there turns me off. Maybe I'll get lucky and the bird will give the crowds the bird and come on up to my backyard. IF it did happen, I wouldn't tell a soul other than my neighbor who is an accomplished wildlife photographer...

Birders cap off 2021 with a first-ever sighting of a Steller’s sea eagle in Maine​

pressherald.com/2021/12/31/stellers-sea-eagle-draws-hundreds-to-small-fishing-village/

By Deirdre Fleming December 31, 2021
bird8-heidi-murphy-thumbnail_20211231-DSC_5075-3-1024x682.jpeg


GEORGETOWN — As Chris Sayers picked up his tripod from the pier at Five Islands Harbor to head back to Boston on Friday morning, the bird biologist said goodbye to Maine Audubon naturalist Doug Hitchcox and asked if the Audubon chapter was having a New Year’s Eve party this year.

More than one birder standing nearby – and there were hundreds – piped up: “This is the party.”

The arrival of the first Steller’s sea eagle ever sighted in Maine – and likely the same individual that is the first ever seen in the Lower 48 – drew hundreds of birders to Georgetown on Friday.

They were not disappointed.

Steller’s sea eagles are native to northern Asia and eastern Russia, specifically the Kamchatka Peninsula. They are seafaring raptors that hunt in cold coastal waters.

The bird sighted in Georgetown is believed to be the same individual that has been sighted in several locations in the U.S. and Canada over the past year or so. A Steller’s was first sighted in Alaska in August 2020, then in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick in July, and later in Nova Scotia, The New York Times reported. It may also have taken a side excursion to south Texas last spring, according to the Times.

The eagle appeared on the Taunton River in Massachusetts earlier this month, and was spotted Thursday afternoon near the Five Islands pier by Linda Tharp, a resident who lives near the water. Word went out on avian-watching social media sites and the birder migration began.

Many birders had already been on high alert recently following reports that the eagle had been sighted in Massachusetts on Dec. 20.

“I was maybe just hoping it would come up here. Then I saw on social media last night it was here. So we got up this morning,” said Carlie Lochner of Sabattus, who brought her two children, ages 3 and 6 and both birders. “They are here for the birding. And they have their own binos.”

The rare brown bird with the huge yellow bill is easily identifiable by the striking white markings on its wings, as well as its 8-foot wingspan. It weighs 11 to 20 pounds, making it one of the largest eagles in the world – up to twice as big as a bald eagle.

There are only about 4,000 Steller’s sea eagles in the world, Hitchcox said, making its presence in Maine not only a first-time event, but an unexpected, unthinkable end-of-year hurrah for Maine’s tight-knit birding community.

For nearly two hours Friday morning, the massive eagle sat high in a conifer tree on an island across from the public wharf as a steady stream of cars rolled down to the pier. Birders parked along the road while others on the pier waved newcomers down to the water’s edge.

“This is the dream,” Hitchcox said. “It’s now just sitting there, showing off for everyone. And everyone wants everyone else to see it.


The Stellar’s sea eagle glides low across the waters off Georgetown on Friday. Photo by Luke Seitz

“I don’t even know what to compare it to. We often say these (rarities) shouldn’t be here. This bird should not even be on this continent. But because there are only about 4,000 in the world, you could travel the world birding and never see one. And it’s an hour from my home.”

Many in the crowd were from Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. More were expected to arrive from New York and New Jersey on Saturday, Hitchcox said.

Matthew Gilbert of Cumberland was the birder who found it Friday morning. Gilbert, 17, and his two friends got to the public wharf around 7:30 a.m. to find many birders already there, but no sea eagle – everyone was just standing around.

So Gilbert and his two friends headed to Golf Cove, and there Gilbert spotted it.

“I saw eagles in a tree and looked through my scope and saw bald eagle, bald eagle, and then the big white patches on the wings of the next bird, and that big, honking, yellow bill – it was unmistakable,” Gilbert said. “I said, ‘Guys, guys, guys, I got it, I got it.’ It was super exciting.”

The fact the Steller’s eagle winters in northern Asia and Russia gives birders hope it could survive a Maine winter should it stay, unlike the great black hawk that hailed from Central and South America and settled in Deering Oaks park three winters ago, only to succumb to frostbite.


The Steller’s sea eagle sighted in Georgetown is believed to be the same individual that has been sighted in several locations in the U.S. and Canada over the past year or so. Doug Hitchcox

Others think that given the Steller’s eagle already has traveled thousands of miles means it will likely soon pick up and leave Maine.

Birders have confirmed that the large eagle seen in Massachusetts and Nova Scotia in recent weeks is the same individual by comparing distinctive markings on its wings. While photos of the eagle Friday morning had not yet been compared to earlier ones, Hitchcox said there was a high probability it was the very same individual.

Birders Mitch Heydt of Stow, Massachusetts, and Heidi and Brian Murphy of Littleton, Massachusetts, saw the rare bird alert on social media Thursday while they were out birding along the Massachusetts coast. They decided to rise at 5 a.m. Friday and drive to Maine.

“We wanted to see the otters in Evergreen Cemetery (in Portland) anyway,” Heidi Murphy said.

They were joined at the wharf by birder Dan Oh of Beverly, Massachusetts, but at the time, the eagle was nowhere to be found. They followed the crowd to Golf Cove after Gilbert had reported his sighting, and Heidi Murphy knocked on a front door to ask if she could look for the bird from the woman’s deck.

The homeowner not only invited the four to the deck, but a man guided them through the woods to get a better view. Neither were birders, Murphy said.

“They were so generous. We thanked them and said we would send them a framed photo of the bird,” Murphy said.

For Heidi Murphy, who took up birding during the pandemic, the communal gathering was like a massive, joyful festival. And even to Heydt, a birder of 10 years, the atmosphere was special: an ideal New Year’s Eve celebration.

“We got here at 8:15, and by 8:30, we saw the eagle,” Heydt said, laughing and shaking his head.
very cool
 
Loons are definitely cool and even though we live on salt water, we get to enjoy their haunting call from mid-Fall to mid-Spring as they migrate to the coast as the lakes freeze up. They are definitely not "STOL-designed" and they need as much runway space to take off as a swan, and their landings are more like a aircraft carrier controlled-crash event than a 747 touching down on a runway...

Monmouth firefighters rescue iced-in loon on Tacoma Lake​

pressherald.com/2022/01/02/monmouth-firefighters-rescue-iced-in-loon-on-tacoma-lake/

thumbnail_IMG_20220102_162812_03.jpg


MONMOUTH — Monmouth firefighters rescued an iced-in loon Sunday afternoon on Tacoma Lake.
Fire Chief Dan Roy said such a rescue was “unique,” happening when a bird becomes trapped in open water that is surrounded by ice. A loon typically needs at least 100 feet for a “runway,” and since the bird was iced in, it did not have room to take off.

Don Fournier, a volunteer transporter for the nonprofit Avian Haven of Freedom, said he had kept an eye on the loon for five days, and contacted the Monmouth Fire Department to see if it could help with the bird’s rescue.

Bill Hanson in blue assists Lt. Luke Boucher of the Monmouth Fire Department in rescuing a loon Sunday afternoon that is trapped on Tacoma Lake in Monmouth. Contributed photo

“We’ve recused people,” Roy said, “but never a loon.”

Fournier said he had seen iced-in loons before, but never was involved in their rescue.

Information from Avian Haven shows that when there are mild temperatures during winter, bodies of water can take a while to freeze, sometimes well into January. Iced-in loons are usually seen in the first couple weeks of January.


Bill Hanson, left, holds a loon with Lt. Luke Boucher of the Monmouth Fire Department after the bird was rescued Sunday afternoon from Tacoma Lake in Monmouth. Contributed photo

The loon was about a quarter-mile out, so retrieving the bird was difficult, according to rescuers.
The ice was 4 or 5 inches thick, a couple of ice fishermen told Roy.

“One of our firefighter lieutenants, Luke Boucher, fell through,” Roy said. “Once he went in, he was in the water with the bird. The bird never dove under water. He (Boucher) used the net to scoop the bird and get under the ice.”

It took the team about two hours to get the bird. The Fire Department was assisted by Bill Hanson of the Biodiversity Research Institute of Portland.

Diane Winn, co-founder of Avian Haven, said the bird weighed a little more than 9 pounds. She and other s were not sure certain Sunday of the loon’s gender.

Winn said no one in Maine rescues loons regularly, but there are operations in New Hampshire and Vermont that provide such services.

Winn said there were at least a half-dozen loons Sunday about which rescuers had concerns, but the one in Monmouth was the only one rescued.

Roy said the call helped rescuers with their ice training, including rescuing a person who had fallen through the ice, because “it would be no different.”

He also said it served as a good reminder that the ice is still fairly thin, especially with rain in recent days.
 
Might have to retire the .410...

Virus That Threatens Porcupines Turns Up In Maine, Kills 3​

By The Associated Press

BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) — At least three porcupines in Maine have died from a virus that wildlife experts said could pose a threat to the population of the spiky rodents.

Five porcupines had to be rushed to Acadia Wildlife in Bar Harbor during a week this fall because of illness, the Bangor Daily News reported. Three of them died, the paper reported.

Biological samples later diagnosed the porcupines with skunk adenovirus 1, which was first seen in a skunk in Canada in 2014 and has since been spotted in other mammals, including foxes, porcupines and raccoons.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is now working with wildlife researchers, rehabilitators and trappers to study the virus. David Needle of the University of New Hampshire Diagnostics Lab said it “seems quite likely that this is legitimately a currently emerging disease.”

Researchers aren’t certain how far the virus has spread, Needle said. It doesn’t appear the virus can infect humans, but it’s also not certain yet, he said.

Porcupines are common in Maine, where they are often seen by drivers as they awkwardly waddle near wooded areas. They mostly feed in the tree canopy in winter.
 
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