Quiet Morning

 

8:15 to 9:10am, 64 Degrees, Partly Cloudy, Wind 9mph NNW, Bar 30.06 rise

A really quiet morning. As I said yesterday, the more I sit in the Little Forrest the less I know what baseline is. I would have expected a lot more chatter at 8:00 in the morning. I heard a White-Breasted Nuthatch as I walked out to the sit spot. (picture above from yesterday) It was also the bird I heard the most. Usually, the chattiest bird is the cardinal or chickadee. Really a different morning. Merlin did not pick up a cardinal until twenty seven minutes! Almost always one of the first birds I hear. Very few chickadees as well. Maybe the season change has the birds acting differently than what I have experienced. 

Towards the end of my sit I heard a Belted Kingfisher. It sounds a bit like the Downy Woodpeckers song. I am sure it was a kingfisher as I hear them along the East End waterfront, Prout's Pond, and The Marsh in Scarborough. Was kind of surprised as there is no water in The Little Forrest. There is water just across Ocean Avenue. Down stream of the Little Forrest on both sides. The condominiums across Ocean water their grass relentlessly. So that there is water in Fall Brook on one side of their property and water in the unnamed creek on the other. They must have a large water bill!

As I was moving out from under the canopy I heard the screech of a hawk. Merlin says Broad-winged Hawk! I looked up and saw it! I could not get the camera to focus on it when it was close enough to get a usable photo. I did however get to watch it in the binoculars for a bit. The third hawk in the Little Forrest! It will be headed to Central or South America soon. 

Merlin Identified 13 bird species. I am not buying the Northern Waterthrush. It really wants that bird. Almost every time Merlin lights up the bird, the sound is coming from a high spot. Not where the water would be if there was water. Added Broad-winged Hawk and Belted Kingfisher to the Sit Spot Bird List.

Active Afternoon

 

12:05 to 1:25pm, 71 Degrees, Partly Cloudy, Wind 9mph N, Bar 29.97 fall

A really active afternoon for the birds. When I got to the sit spot the Black-capped Chickadees were starting to hit the feeder. I try not to look much or raise the camera towards them. Ignoring them seems to make them more active. The chickadees seem to be a (touchstone?) species. If the chickadees are feeding and moving about the other birds seem to feel safe to do so as well. There was new behavior by the chickadees. Usually, they get close to the feeder and then drop on it. Today, some were flying from over the flood plane of Fall Brook all the way to the feeder. Also, their flight path was directly in front of me! Not all of the chickadees were doing this but enough to notice that this was a new thing. The birds know which way I am looking. Most of the time when the chickadees are at the feeder I can hear Tufted Titmice. Usually behind me. (above) Today one came down to the feeder and I saw it. Took the pictures of this one after it moved off a bit. Then more came! One was less than ten feet right in front of my face! I did not try for a picture. I want them comfortable with me. 

The Blue Jays came down into The Little Forrest in a way they never have before. They flew through at one point. At another one was low where it had a view of me. Was definitely checking me out. Mostly it had a view but its body was on the far side of a branch. One even was on Pinky just above the feeder. It declined to get on the feeder however. 

This Northern Cardinal was also checking me out. It is rare that I get an unobstructed view of a cardinal. It is even more rare that they are as close as this one. I could not resist a picture. It flew off pretty fast. It landed a bit further off. It was mostly behind some branches but had a small direct view of me. It was still checking me out. The birds were comfortable with me today. At one point I saw three Downy Woodpeckers at the same time. They were moving about together. Neat to watch that. 

Jon Young in his book What the Robin Knows talks about base line behavior. The more I sit in The Little Forrest the more I see. I do not really know what base line is. It has been incredibly different so many times. My guess is that it may take a few full years to really know what baseline is. 

Merlin Identified 14 bird species. Most were the normal suspects. Yellow Billed Cuckoo came up. Red dot. It could have been traveling through on their way to South America.

And then...

 

4:15 to 5:00pm, 71 Degrees, Mostly Cloudy, Wind 8mph NNE, Bar 29.86 rise

The birds were chattering normally for a half hour and then.... they went quiet. Not sure why. There were no alarm calls, just quiet. It will remain a mystery. Picture is of a female Downy Woodpecker in the tree I call Pinky. Most days I sit a downy will appear in this tree. Some great dead branches for a woodpecker. And it is on the way from the deeper woods across Fall Brook to the feeder ant Number 1. 

Just because the birds are quiet does not mean they are gone. Or out of my sight. I saw what I think was a song sparrow in the detritus on the side of the Gulley. A two inch bird moving amongst leaves and twigs is hard to spot at 200 feet. It was motion. It hopped a few times. Then I used the binoculars to see it. In its own way it was very exciting to see and identify a bird that way. The hoping motion gave it away. 

Merlin Identified 15 bird species. Most of them were probably there. I still do not think the Northern Waterthrush is there no matter how many times Merlin says it. But you never know. The song sparrow was not on Merlin. I also saw a Mourning Dove. Not on Merlin. 

Subdued

 

 

8:00 to 8:40am, 65 Degrees, Cloudy, Wind 3mph NW, Bar 29.79 even, 

It felt really subdued in the sit spot this morning. As quiet as it gets at this time of day. The normal cardinal chatter was not even there. Does the barometer have something to do with bird activity? It is pretty low. Moon phase? Even the cars on Ocean Avenue seemed quiet. High humiidity and fog warning on the coast can dampen sounds. 

Merlin Identifies 15 species. I got a Carolina Wren, My bird of the day! A year round resident of Maine. It was the highlight of the morning. The little guys can really belt it out! 

Wow!

 6:20 to 7:10am, 63 Degrees, Cloudy, Wind 5 SSE, Bar 30.00 falling

I talked to a neighbor yesterday and she suggested I sit behind Number 1.No body is in Number 1. It has a nice view of the Fall Brook valley. Fall Brook rises to the east and drops off to the south, running down to Back Cove in Casco Bay. It is definitely more wild back there. Fall Brook is part of Canco Woods there. I am going to have to walk and explore back there at some time. I did not like the sound of the cars coming from Ocean Avenue. I can still hear the car pollution from my normal sit spot. However, it is less. So, I decided to move back to my regular spot. 

I am glad I moved back to my normal spot. I like feeling that I am in the woods. At Number 1, I am on manicured grass above a retaining wall. Shortly after moving to my regular spot, I saw a large bird fluter to the top of Old Red. I could not see it through the leaves. Way to many Norwegian Maples. Then it took off heading west. Large hawk! In The Little Forrest. The light was not great. When I looked at Merlin It had added Red Tailed Hawk. So I am going with that. I have heard them overhead but not seen one in the Little Forrest. Thinking of moving my sit spot to below the retaining wall so I can see the Crick in the Gulley and Fall Brook Valley. Some exploring will happen. 

It was a subdued morning. Storm is coming. It looks from radar mostly north and south of here. Birds still moving about. A few birds flying from the feeder at Number 1 to the dense copse of trees. I noticed a spot that needs a name. At the end of the back yards where it gets wild again. I saw a few birds moving about there. I do not have a great line of sight. However it needs to be checked out. At one point I could hear Downy Woodpeckers calling back and forth. One was over by the feeder at Number 1. And the other at the spot where it starts to get wild. Then the downy at the feeder flew through the Gulley into the wild where its partner was. Pretty cool. Also, there was another close pass. A dark bird flew within five feet of me below head hight. Moving fast. Maybe a catbird. 

Merlin Identified 15 bird species. Mostly the normal suspects. I saw the Red-tailed Hawk. It will be moving south soon. It will probably stay in the States. Northern Water Thrush, Merlin really wants that one. They migrate to Central America. It is possible one is here and remembers when there was water here. And again with the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. 

Dreary

 

6:40 to 8:00 am, 64 Degrees, Cloudy, Wind 8mph E, 

There is a a storm coming. I think I need to start adding barometric pressure to the top line. I suspect birds are far more attune to that than modern humans are. Should start raining after dark tonight. I may have felt some heavy mist or a drop in my sit spot. The birds seemed subdued. There was chatter just not that much. Also, I do not think it was blowing 8 mph like the app said. 

As I said yesterday, I moved the sit spot ten feet to the east. And was rewarded with a view of this hole in a tree. Maybe a white oak. Will definitely investigate more. It looks as if there is a whole on the left hand side as well. A green leaf in there makes me think it is in use. Perhaps a woodpecker? A squirrel hole? I saw nothing come or go, yet. More will be revealed if I just sit and let it happen.

Since the birds were quiet this morning I was sitting very still. No turning, shifting, craning my neck, just still. At one point I turned and a small greenish yellow bird was coming right for me. It was perhaps five or six feet from me when I picked it up. It flew within two feet of my face and it was moving. I never really got to focus on it. It came and went in about a second. One of those did this just happen moments. Wild! I am guessing Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. Unlikely in Portland today. I am only guessing this as Merlin Identified it today. The Little Forrest is wild. 

I am once again reminded by how much can be learned by sitting quietly and listening. Not just learning about birds. I never once learned anything by speaking. It is by listening that I learn. Folks will talk to fill the void. It is amazing what can be learned by sitting quietly and letting life happen around you. 

Merlin heard 23 species. It did not pick up Herring Gull. I heard a few on the wind. Northern Waterthrush again. This was a mis identification today. It was picking up a chipping noise at the top of the Gulley. Not where the waterthrush would be. It heard a Great Egret for the first time in The Little Forrest. This I will add to the list. Very plausible one was flying over. Not going to add the fly catcher to the list. It is plausible that the flycatcher was migrating to its wintering grounds in Southern Mexico and Central America. Wildly connected to the world is The Little Forrest.

Small Changes, Big Rewards

 

3:40 to 5:00pm, 68 Degrees, Partly Cloudy, Wind 7mph E

Wow! Another Black_capped Chickadee feeding frenzy. I moved another ten feet to the east. A seemingly small change. Big difference. The chickadees fed for a long time. My small change made a large difference to the inhabitants of The Little Forrest. I am closer to where the crick turns south into Fall Brook. Or would if there was any water. I could hear the chickadees off to the east. Then see them is silhouette on the far side of The Little Forrest. Near the yards of the houses on the other side of the Gulley. Into the dense copse of trees. Into Old Red, Into Pinky, then everywhere! Mostly I sat still and let them be. From their perches near the feeder to the feeder and back they went. At times they would perch on a branch less that five feet from my face! Too close for me to move. Sometimes flying just feet over my head. On and on they sang and flew. The Little Forrest was alive with bird song and activity. It became contagious. Then came the White-breasted Nuthatches. 

And then the Downy Woodpeckers

It was amazing at one point there were maybe thirty chickadees, two nuthatches, and two downys that I could see at once. Just alive and letting it be. I think letting the chickadees feed freely allowed the others to feel safe. The Blue Jays came lower into The Little Forrest than they usually do. I saw more of the jays than I ever have. Maybe five at one time. I suspect some of that was my small move, ten feet, to the right.Small change, big reward! A better advantage point of seeing where Fall Brook is. Fall Brook comes out of Canco Woods and the south into Casco Bay, in the Gulf of Maine, in the Atlantic Ocean. 

The Little Forrest is connected to the larger world. And the larger world affects The Little Forrest. At one point I could hear the Norwegian Cruise ship blow its horn. More than two miles away as the crows from The Little Forrest flies. Do the people of Norway think of The Little Forrest when they send their ships here. Probably not. However their noise pollution comes anyway. Today the Little Forrest was connected to Norway. It is all connected. I have a meditation teacher named Devon who says, "if a butterfly flaps its wings in China it affects us here."

Merlin heard 21 species. Most were probably there. I question the wild turkey. I know I put it on the list for the Little Forrest. However, I am thinking of taking it off. Northern Waterthrush came up again. No water in the crick or Fall Brook so... I did see a bird down where it is clearly damp and water would be. It was the size and shape of a waterthrush and the colors were right. I can't say for sure. A little move in the right direction and was rewarded with a new sight.