A Murder.......Of Crows

 7:15 to 8:00am, 66 degrees, Cloudy, Wind 4mph WNW, 

Wow! Were the crows agitated this morning. While I often hear crows in my sit spot they are usually a bit away. They don't live in the Little Forrest. mostly sound like they are in Chevrus Woods or Canco Woods. This morning they were directly above, also left and right above. They were not happy. Perhaps, there was a murder of a crow and they were chasing the killer off. It was five minutes before Merlin heard another bird. Nothing but agitated crows. At ten minutes they calmed and I thought move on. They were clearly still there and communicating for a while. I would hear one over by Fall Brook, then one overhead, then one off to my left, and then one back towards Chevrus Woods. Not sure what happened but it was interesting to hear the calls go from outside the Little Forrest, through it, then out the other side. 

Merlin said 18 different species. Indigo Bunting and Wood Duck were new. Also, not likely in Portland today. Both could enjoy The Little Forrest and its surroundings. I am going to Scarborough Audubon tomorrow and will ask about how to tell if Merlin is correct. 

Orientation to Place

 1:20 to 2:00, 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy, 56% humidity, Wind 8 mph W

Not much seems to happen on a hot afternoon. I have not been doing it long enough to know for sure. However, Jon Young says, in What the Robin Knows,  it is a quiet time of day. That has been my lived experience so far. 

My sit spot is just inside the tree line not far from the parking area for the condominiums. There was a noticeable change in temperature just stepping off the black top. And again, a drop in temperature when I stepped inside the tree line. Today, I pulled out a compass and found that I sit facing due north. I sit overlooking a gully and facing perpendicular to the crick. Fall Crick starts in the west and drops to the east and hits Fall Brook before turning south and running down to Back Cove of Casco Bay. There was a farm here until the 1980's when the condominiums were built. Some of the trees in the gully are probably older than the condominiums. 

The first people to show up on this land showed up about 12,000 years ago. After the ice sheets retreated. Some were as thick as 5,000 feet. The ocean was much further away at that point in time. The first peoples here were known as the People of the Dawn. What happened between the People of the Dawn and now will require some research. I would like to know who owned the farm for starters. 

One interesting thing did happen during my sit. Merlin heard a Great Horned Owl! (Not likely in Portland today) Then The Little Forrest got silent. Now, I did not hear an owl. It is a low activity time of day for the birds in The Little Forrest. This is now the second time this has happened. Who knows? 

Morning Chorus

 5:35 to 6:20 am, 71 degrees, Cloudy, Wind 4mph from the SW, 

Went out for the morning chorus. Usually the time song birds are most boisterous. 18 species this morning. Lately, I have been chasing sunrises, so I have not been in the sit spot. It is a great time to go out especially on a Saturday(today) or a Sunday. The humans have not yet woken and disturbed the little forrest. I heard a woodpecker pecking for the first time in my sit spot this morning. It sounded like it was coming from over in Canco Woods. Probably, one of the larger ones. I see and hear downey woodpeckers in the little woods. However ,when I see them peck on the trees they do not make the distinctive woodpecker pecking noise. 

In the quiet, I heard a red shouldered hawk. Up and away to my right and behind. Clear calls as it passed over the little woods. Perhaps it was communicating with another heading to far off places. Not the only new bird this morning. I heard a bobolink. Which surprised me. It has a very distinctive call. It sounds like bob-o-link hard to miss. It is a grassland bird. Not really enough open grassland around the little woods for a bobolink to have as its home. Also new to the little woods, Eastern Phoebe, and Eastern Pewee

Not Much Happening

 5:45 to 6:10, 81 degrees, Partly Cloudy, Wind 5mph SSE 

Really quiet in the sit spot tonight. This is definitely the latest I have been out. This could be normal for this time of day. Only five bird species. No Northern Cardinal, usually the first bird I hear. Also, the bird I hear most often. Had a long day and did not want to go out and sit. Glad I did even if it was not exciting. I am super tired. No signs that the bird feeder has been "found". There were more mosquitoes than I have experienced  before.  

I heard some goldfinches off towards Fall Brook, however Merlin was not picking them up. My hearing and distinguishing birds is getting much better. Eventually, Merlin picked up the goldfinches. Many times I have no idea what the bird calls are. There is an old lobsterman I know, Jerry. He has Shanghaied me a few times when he was desperate for a sternman. As I would learn something he would say "Petit a petit, L'oiseau constuit son nid." Little by little the bird builds it's nest. Seems appropriate to remember that now. 

A little Bit Uncomfortable

 

10:30 to 11:00am 81 degrees, Sunny, Wind 2mph out of the East

Walking across the parking area was much hotter than the advertised 81. It felt much better in the little woods than out in the open. Usually a pretty quite time of day. Merlin Identified 11 species of birds. Only one out of the ordinary. A pileated woodpecker, beautiful birds. There was a mourning dove above me. which is not usual. I heard what I thought was a dove flying off to  the left. The dove's normal spot. When I looked down at Merlin, Pileated WoodPecker had been added. Merlin says not likely today. I have however seen one very close to here. I was in Payson Park and took a picture of one in someone's yard. So they are here sometimes. It is a bird much more associated with deep woods. I always think of Shenandoah National Park. Man do they make some noise there.

I heard some white breasted nuthatches squawking up a storm. They started back over by the island. Not sure of this behavior.  At one point one was on the island and one was in Pinky. (white side) I saw the one in Pinky for a moment! It was exciting as most of the birds stay up in the overstory. I can not see them there.

Not sure what kind of wasp that is but it made me uncomfortable. It was over an inch long! Look at that stinger!

Bird List for Sit Spot

 Mostly these are birds IDed from Merlin but some I saw and Merlin did not hear.

Coopers Hawk

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Grey Catbird

Downey Woodpecker

American Crow

Robin

Black Capped Chickadee 

Northern Cardinal

American Gold Finch

House Finch

House sparrow

Song Sparrow

Blue Jay

Canadian Goose

Common Grackle

Killdeer

Great Horned Owl

Gadwall 

Common Raven

Hermit Thrush

Red Breasted Nuthatch

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Short Billed Dowitcher

Osprey

Veery

Wood Thrush

Eastern Kingbird

Herring Gull

European Starling

White Throated Sparrow

White Breasted Nuthatch

Swamp Sparrow

Northern Mockingbird

Mourning Dove

Eastern Towhee

Cedar Waxwing

Red Winged Blackbird

Carolina Wren

European Greenfinch

American Redstart

Spotted Towhee

Northern House Wren

Red Eyed Vireo

Tufted Titmouse

Chipping Sparrow

Pileated Woodpecker  

Red Shouldered Hawk

Eastern Phoebe 

Eastern Wood Pewee

Bobolink 

Sitting Behind the Dumpster

 My sit spot is indeed behind the dumpster. The spot is just beyond the part that is mowed. So I sit in the little woods that are there. My guess is they are about 150 feet deep. Houses on the other side of an intermittent creek bed. (the crick) The crick is about 20 feet lower than the dumpster. It is high to my left than to my right. The largest trees are red and white oak. The little woods go about a quarter mile to the left. However on the right it meets up with Fall Brook in about two hundred yards. Fall brook goes through Canco Woods and a good ways up (3 miles?) the Presumspcot River Valley. It also travels about a half mile to Back Cove. Back Cove is part of Casco Bay. A surprising amount of stuff goes on back there. I need to make a bird list. One morning Merlin heard 22 different species. Probably close to 40 altogether in about a month. 

Today 81 degrees, cloudy, wind 4mph out of the southeast.  2:30 to 3:15 

Afternoon is not the time birds sing the most. Merlin heard ten different species in my forty five minutes. It does not always hear birds that travel through. I saw a ruby throated humming bird one time. (No Merlin) A hawk came cruising through this afternoon and it was moving at a good clip. From left to right. Maybe five to ten feet below me and fifty or so feet in front. I saw it for a second or two. My guess is that it was a coopers hawk. (Merlin says not likely in Portland today) It is really cool to be that close to a raptor and above! (No Merlin)