My World: Maine in Green and Gray

Aroostook County Extension Farm 6-26-09

Song Sparrow 6-26-09 behind motel

Mantle Lake Park Presque Isle 6-26-09


Muskrat at Mantle Lake 6-26-09



Arnold Brook Lake Presque Isle, ME 6-27-09

( I saw two loons in the water here.)

Into the woods @ Arnold Brook Lake 6-27-09

(It is down this path that I found the magnolia warbler)

Amish Carriage on State St. Bridge,

Presque Isle, ME 6-27-09

Presque Isle alley 6-27-09

( I counted a couple of chickadees in the tree down this alley.

Birds are everywhere!)



Falmouth, ME

Seagull and unknown birds in the harbour 6-29-09

Common Eiders at Falmouth Landing 6-29-09

Lobster cages stacked in the harbour 6-29-09

Boats in the harbour 6-29-09

Mackworth Island Causeway looking towards the mainland.

Laughing gull in gray sky (he's the only one laughing!)

In June I took a trip to the east coast where I visited Connecticut and Maine. Together my mother and I took a drive up to Aroostook County, ME where my second son lives with two of my grandchildren. Though normally gorgeously sunny and blue and green this time of year, the skies remained leaden and gray the whole weekend. Trees dripped rain drops constantly and the wet grass soaked though my shoes. Still, every morning before everyone else got up I was out the door looking for birds.

Aroostook County is the largest and least populated county in Maine. It is best known for its potatoes and lumber mills. Vast tracks of land are owned by the lumber companies and thus are undeveloped. The many small towns are influenced by their french speaking Canadian neighbors and up along the border in Fort Kent the local fast food chains have the menu in both English and French. When I lived here in the late 90's one could easily cross the border into Canada and back, but now all of that has changed. The people of Aroostook County have a strong sense of place and their identity is strongly tied to being from "The County." When I lived there I met people who have never even been to Bangor, ME, which is the largest town to the south. It takes about 3 hours to get from Bangor to Presque Isle. When you leave Bangor it feels like you have just left the edge of the known world. From there on out it is all trees, rivers, swamps, mountains and rolling hills. Near Millinocket one can see Mt. Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine.

On our way home from Aroostook County my mother and I stopped in Falmouth to visit a cousin. Early Monday morning I was out the door once again looking at birds. The constant rain has turned the land lush green under gray and foggy skies and thus I decided to name this post, Maine in Green and Gray. (If anyone thinks they know what the bird in the water is, please feel free to make a guess in the comments!)

and that's...

MY WORLD Tuesday

My World: Cohen Woodlands

Lily Pads in Cohen Woodlands Pond 6-30-09

On my last day in Connecticut I took a drive out to the Ruby and Elizabeth Cohen Woodlands located on McDonald Road off Route 354 in Colchester. After two weeks of endless rain, this day dawned bright and sunny. The property is named for Ruby and Elizabeth Cohen. Ruby Cohen served 30 consecutive years in the Connecticut legislature. He was also the one-time owner of Harry's Place, a favorite hamburger stand still in operation in Colchester Center. This 121 acre property was owned by him and purchased by the town in 2000 as a town park.

Ruby and Elizabeth Cohen Woodlands 6-30-09

There is an ample parking lot with a porta potty on the edge.

Gazebo 6-30-09

Right next to the parking area is a shady gazebo.

Baby Barn Swallow on the Gazebo 6-30-09

Which also serves as a launching pad for baby barn swallows!

Pond and meadows across from Parking lot on McDonald Rd.

McDonald Road bisects the park with a pond on either side. The ponds are surrounded by towering trees and grassy meadows.

Gazebo Pond by parking lot. 6-30-09

Beyond the gazebo pond lies a vast woodland with shady trails. I did not venture down the trails, but chose to stay out in the bright sunshine!

Northern Rough-winged swallow takes flight 6-30-09

There was so much to see right here in the open, with Canada geese in the pond, a great-blue heron stalking fish, Eastern bluebirds hunting insects and swallows on the wing!

Bees in the Bird House 6-30-09

A row of bluebird house rim the pond across the street. While some are occupied by swallows, this one has been taken over by the bees...

Song Sparrow 6-30-09

...and in the grassy meadows the song and savannah sparrows sing,



A Quiet place to sit 6-30-09

...while I wander back to the picnic tables that sit beneath the towering white pines. I find a quiet place to sit and think with bird song filling the air, sunshine warming my skin, and and a soft breeze ruffling my hair.

I would highly recommend Cohen Woodlands as an excellent place to watch birds. I was able to identify 31 species in the short 2 hours I spent there but I know there were a few more that I could not. Next year when I return to Connecticut I will certainly return here, for there is so much more to explore.

And that's...

Birds seen at Cohen Woodlands:

1. Canada Goose
2. Great-blue heron
3. Turkey vulture
4. Mourning dove
5. Ruby-throated hummingbird
6. Great-crested flycatcher
7. Eastern kingbird
8. Blue jay
9. American Crow
10. Tree Swallow
11. N. rough-winged swallow
12. Barn swallow
13. Black-capped chickadee
14. tufted titmouse
15. Eastern bluebird
16. Wood thrush
17. Robin
18. Gray Catbird
19. Cedar Waxwing
20. Pine Warbler
21. Ovenbird
22. Common yellow-throat
23. Eastern towhee
24. Chipping sparrow
25. Savannah sparrow
26. Song sparrow
27. Northern Cardinal
28. Red-winged blackbird
29. Brown-headed cowbird
30. American goldfinch
31. House sparrow

My World: Agua Caliente Park

Agua Caliente Park in Tucson, AZ

It’s the middle of November and I have the day to myself. I drop Gus at the airport for a business trip in the morning, then do a few errands before buying myself a subway sandwich and heading to Agua Caliente Park on the northeast side of town. A warm lazy sunshine greets me as I enter the park off Roger’s road.

I immediately start scanning the area for birds, wondering who has arrived here for the winter. As the road curves around the perimeter of the park I look towards a certain corner where I always see a road runner. Sure enough it is there. I put on the brakes and roll down my window to get a better view of this desert dinosaur-like bird. The prehistoric looking creature cocks its tail and lifts its head to get a better look at me. We stare at each other for unspoken moments, then it turns, drops its tail and head while elongating its body and slinks away into the brush.

I continue on my way past the row of palm trees on my left and the scrubby desert on the right to the parking lot. After parking the car I grab all my birding gear and my lunch and head for a picnic table in the shade of the palms that grow along the stream. The shallow stream flows from the original spring for which Agua Caliente is named. It flows slow and lazily out to a reservoir providing a home to waterfowl, turtles and fish. Soras and blackbirds seek shelter in the reeds. Ducks and turtles live in the water and on the tiny island near the eastern edge. Agua Caliente is a true desert oasis providing shelter for body and spirit.

In the cool, dark shade of the palm trees I gaze through the frame of palm fronds to the sunny desert beyond. I can see the spot where the roadrunner was, but the bird itself has vanished. In the slow and shallow nearby creek a few mallards and a widgeon paddle and wade, ruffling their feathers, or drifting lazily with the slow current. Palm trees and palm leaves are still so foreign to me. The shade they cast is different and darker than the shade of a maple tree or a mesquite. I always feel like I am in some exotic place when I come here. While I eat my sandwich I search the surrounding area for birds, but I only see the ducks at this time of day. All the smaller birds are hiding from the afternoon sun. I walk back to my vehicle to return the remnants of my lunch. Now it’s time to get down to some serious birding.

Along the paved path a tiny bird flits about from tree to tree. When I see its lemony rump I know I am seeing a yellow-rumped warbler, my first for this fall. Overhead the towering date palms are loaded with their apricot-colored fruit. Gila woodpeckers squawk nosily in their branches as they compete for it. I wander across the open lawn area of the park and cross a little bridge to the south side of the pond near the reeds. I’m looking for something beside the numerous widgeons and mallards floating in the water. Far across the pond I see a ring-necked duck, but here near the shore I only see turtles bobbing.

I gaze across the sky-blue water at one of my favorite views. Here in bold colors I see the incongruity of palms and mountains reflected in the water’s mirror. Then, from the cattails the whinny of a sora fills the air.

A little song sparrows hops out of the reeds to investigate me and the sound. Its eyes are wide with curiosity. We watch each other for a bit, then I head on my way.

My path takes me along the edge of the water where ducks are settling down for their afternoon nap. A few of the numerous turtles decide to join them and I laugh at these odd companions snoozing on the island’s shore. I wander past the old ranch house that is now a museum and Audubon gift shop.

At the eastern edge of the house stands an old mesquite, rumored to be the oldest one in the Tucson area. Its many heavy branches are supported by brick columns and steel poles to preserve the tree for as long as possible. Frequently I can find warblers, wrens, or Verdin here, but today all I see is a rock squirrel scurrying for its hole. It freezes at the underground opening, hoping I do not see it, but I do, and I snap it’s portrait, before moving on. When I look away, it disappears.

Today only a few people are here in the park. I relish the solitude as I meander at will. I find a verdin busy in the branches of a nearby tree, and watch as it searches for insects among the tiny leaves.

A familiar silhouette on the bare branch of a Eucalyptus tree catches my eye. I walk ever closer to confirm its identity as a Cooper’s hawk. The towering tree elevates the bird far above my head. It has no fear of me as I walk slowly beneath it, then wander off towards the mesquite bosque.

A bosque is a Spanish term for a thicket or wooded area. Here the paved trail squeezes between the north end of the pond with its palm trees, willows and reeds, and the cottonwoods, eucalyptus trees and mesquite on the other side. In this narrow wooded fringe I have found brown creepers before. And this is where I have seen towhees, vireos, warblers and other woodland birds. Though the area is small in size it is rich with birds at times. The path before me is a tunnel through the mesquite. I have seen a hermit thrush in here before, but today the thicket is quiet and empty.

Most of the trees are shedding their tiny leaves for the winter, but scattered among them are cholla cacti and even a few barrel cactus. Then I spot a baby saguaro beneath a nurse tree. At only 12-15 inches high it’s already 15 years old. Saguaros have to grow in the shade of a nurse tree to be protected from sunlight and from being trampled. It takes a long time for them to get established and even longer to gain height. By the time you see the many armed saguaros that are the familiar backdrop of westerns, you are looking at a “tree” that is over 100 years old!

Bright white sunlight blasts my eyes as I emerge for the bosque into the desert beyond. The cacti are more numerous here along with other typical desert scrub. Desert grasses have turned gold and brown in this dry season. Agua Caliente Lake is white and empty, its surface cracked and baked, its shadows blue and long. Along the circular path the blue-black males and gray female Phainopeplas call from the surrounding trees and bushes, their eyes red as the berries they eat.

A rufous-winged sparrow flies up on a stag-horn cholla to check me out. I spot its two dark whisker marks and its rufous epaulets, for which it is named. This tiny sparrow is a fragile resident of this area. Southeast Arizona is the only place in the United States to see this little sparrow. Even over the border into Mexico it does not inhabit a large area. Loss of habitat here could doom it to extinction.

The path around the dry lake is a silver thread of compressed caliche. Though I have never seen this area flooded with water, apparently sometimes it is. The few palm trees that dot the lake look like island women in grass skirts ready to dance in the slightest breeze. It is mostly still today as I round the bend and head back towards the desert oasis. I have wondered aimlessly for well over 2 hours. In that amount of time the sun has sunk casting longer and bluer shadows.

Alongside the trail this heap of earth is carved by rain into a sculptured mound. I find it pleasing to look at. I’m intrigued by its geography and topography. What are you made of? Why are you here? What forces shaped you into this silvery beauty. Are you something dying, or growing? Or are you a reflection of my soul?

The cackling of cactus wrens shakes me from my reverie. I put my feet on the silvery path until I reach the pavement once again. Passing through the mesquite tunnel, along the water’s edge the turtles sunning on an emerged log act bored with my existence. They tilt their serpentine heads upwards to soak in the last warm rays of sun.

The croaking call of a common raven catches my ear as I leave the cool tunnel of trees and enter the open area of the ranch lawn. I turn to see the Cooper’s hawk still sitting on its bare branch silhouetted against the late afternoon desert sky. Below it on another branch the large black raven croaks and calls and twists and turns its head, taunting the bird above him.



Irritated, the Cooper’s tries to ignore the rascal beneath,

but suddenly another raven flies in to join the fun and when I look again, the Cooper’s Hawk is gone and only ravens laugh in the waning light.


Visit MY WORLD Tuesday to continue your tour around the globe.

Birds seen Today at Agua Caliente Park:

Location: Agua Caliente Park, Tucson
Observation date: 11/19/08
Notes: Sunny, warm, bright day. The Cooper's hawk was sitting on the branch of a Eucalyptus tree for at least an hour until 2 ravens came along and chased it away. The blackbirds were seen at the end of the day as I was leaving. They were diving in and out of the reeds and rushes.
Number of species: 25

1. American Wigeon 49
2. Mallard 73
3. Ring-necked Duck 2
4. Cooper's Hawk 1
5. Sora 1
6. American Coot 5
7. Mourning Dove 1
8. Greater Roadrunner 1
9. Anna's Hummingbird 1
10. Gila Woodpecker 12
11. Black Phoebe 1
12. Common Raven 4
13. Verdin 10
14. Cactus Wren 4
15. Northern Mockingbird 1
16. Curve-billed Thrasher 2
17. Phainopepla 11
18. Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
19. Rufous-winged Sparrow 6
20. Chipping Sparrow 1
21. Song Sparrow 3
22. Yellow-headed Blackbird 2
23. Great-tailed Grackle 12
24. House Finch 3
25. Lesser Goldfinch 2

Photographer's Notes: All of today's photos are by Kathie taken with the Nikon D80 and the 70-300mm lens set either in Sports Mode or Programmed Auto for landscapes.

Birding Connecticut: Comstock Bridge

(Today's Photography Courtesy of Kathie with the Nikon D80; 70 to 300mm lens, as always, click on photos to enlarge for best viewing.)

Comstock Covered Bridge is located on Rt. 16 just west of Colchester center. Built in 1791, it spans the Salmon River.

In 1936 it was repaired by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It has been repaired once again recently but whomever did it made a bad job of it. Huge rusted metal beams run along both sides of the bridge to stabilize it. Long metal bolts were then drilled through the wooden beams of the bridge and into the steel girders. Because these girders run the length of the bridge and onto the banks it would be easy for people to climb out on them. The solution? Let's make this once picturesque bridge even uglier by putting wire cages at both ends of the girders! There, that solved that problem. While no one can hurt themselves now, neither will anyone want to photograph this bridge except to show everyone else how the job was botched!

This flock of barn swallows doesn't seem to mind one bit. They are having as much fun watching me as I am having watching them. The swallows are sitting on wires across the street from the bridge. It is in these same trees where I saw the American Redstarts.

The Salmon River flowing beneath Rt. 16. On the other side of this bridge and across from the Comstock Covered Bridge is Salmon River State Park. (Click on the links to see pictures of the bridge prior to the steel girders being added. This is the way I remember it.) As a child I knew it as a fun place to swim as well as a place where my Grandfather went fishing. Now I am exploring these old haunts as new places to bird. For today I will keep to this side of the river.

A song sparrow catches a moth in the grass near the bridge.

Then it hops up on a fence post to sing about its breakfast!

My son, Alex walks along the rivers edge.

We cross the wooden bridge and head around this bend of the river.

A great blue heron flies in and lands among the rocks...

...but I am distracted by the sounds of Cedar Waxwings in the trees overhead. I observe them hunting insects over the water in a flock. I have never witnessed this behavior before. It is new to me. I thought they only ate berries, but these birds are acting like flycatchers flying out from the trees, grabbing an insect and then returning to their perches.

This little chipping sparrow bids us good-bye as we head back home to Gramma's house.

View of the bridge with the steel girders running along side. Notice the chain link fence at the end near the bank.

Birds Seen today:

Location: Comstock Bridge
Observation date: 7/9/08
Notes: With Alex. Sunny, warm, light breeze. Cedar waxwings hunting insects
over river.
Number of species: 14

Common Merganser 1
Great Blue
Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Barn Swallow 6
Black-capped Chickadee 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
American Robin 6
Cedar Waxwing 8
American Redstart 2
Chipping Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
American Goldfinch 2