Red Eyed Vireo

6:35 to 7:25am, 68 degrees, Clear, Wind 5mph SSW

I can not say for sure if this is a Red Eyed Vireo or not from this picture. This is a very cropped picture. It was on the far side of The Little Forrest and high up. I am really happy that I was able to see this bird and another. About the time this bird Came into The Little Forrest, Merlin started identifying the Res Eyed Vireo. I do not know for sure but I am going to think so. The vireo was definitely the star singer this morning. Starting high on the east side and moving across to the west. Maybe ten or fifteen minutes of consistent calls across The Little Forrest.

It would have been easy to miss the bird in the picture. My vision in The Little Forrest is improving. More in tune with the place and its movements. At one point I heard a jay, looked up saw a bird in the spot I thought it came from. It quickly dropped and glided out of sight. It is hard to see in The Little Forrest. Sun and shade are always close together. The Sun did not hit the floor where I was sitting until 7:10, An hour and twenty minutes after sunrise. I saw several other birds flitting about. They were consistent size/shape with the song birds I heard. Still hard to identify in the shade and inconsistent light of The Little Forrest.

Merlin heard 22 different species. Only two had the red dot. Northern House Wren and Eastern Towhee. The towhee use to be called the rufous sided towhee. A much more fun sounding name to my ears. Also, heard the Red Breasted Nuthatch again. Still in the unlikely in Portland mode. September it looks likely. 
 

Practice Makes Progress

 

4:00 to 5:00pm, 74 degrees, Sunny, Wind 5mph SE

Not the best shot of this Downey Woodpecker. However, I saw the Downey! The time spent in my sit spot is paying off. I am seeing more and more birds. I saw my first Goldfinch. After all the noise they make it was nice to finally see one. I saw a Cedar Waxwing, a Black Capped Chickadee, most likely a Tufted Titmouse and crows. The waxwing was maybe twenty feet from me and it was still hard to see and identify in the dappled sunlight. It is quite possible birds have been doing this the whole time and I have just not seen them. Also possible, that the birds have gotten used to me. Or maybe, the bird feeder is bringing them in. It is now clear the seed level is going down. Maybe all of the above. No matter what the cause I am seeing more birds. Practice makes progress. 

The Crows making a ruckus again! They do not live in The Little Forrest. However, they will fly over and through from time to time when chasing something off. I think they live in Chevrus Woods. That is where their calls seem to originate the most. Today some flew through the understory. Always fun when that happens. They were making a general ruckus for a while. I heard what I though was a raven.(No Merlin conformation) Then the chase was on! I could see 5 crows on the other side of the little woods chasing something. Seconds later a large crow or perhaps a raven came through the understory and perched. It looked furtive. Tucked in tight dense leaves. No calls. Then it was gone and the crows calls ended. Did I see crows chase off a raven? I am not sure. However I think that is what happened. Crows and ravens are not friendly. 

The Goldfinches were really active at one point during my sit. Mostly I hear them off to the east, my right. I could here them moving around the canopy in Old Red. I could see birds flying about the canopy. Mostly, near the upper branches of Old Red. Never seeing one directly, for even one second. Moving between the branches and leaves as Goldfinches will. Are the getting closer or am I getting batter at seeing into The Little Forrest? Some of both I suspect. Practice makes progress. 

Merlin heard twenty species. How many where there? I do not know. It heard four woodpeckers Hairy, Pileated, Red Bellied(Not likely in Portland today) and Downey. I saw the Downey! Several were new to The Little Forrest: The Hairy, Eastern Bluebird, Chimney Swift. All unlikely in Portland today. Not a red dot though. So maybe. 

Ominous Skies

 6:00 to 6:45am, 66 degrees, 100% Clouds, W 8mph S

Storms a coming! Did not go out for sunrise because the conditions were not conducive to good pictures. Went to the sit spot a little after sunrise.(6:47am) This is usually one of the most active times for bird song. There was some good song this morning. Goldfinches leading the way, less Cardinals than usual. I am seeing better into the Little Forrest. I saw a few birds this morning up in the canopy. 

I saw what I think was a Blue Jay. Light was not good. It started up high on the other side of the Crick. Moved over to the high eastern branches of Pinky. (White Oak side) Then lower in the middle somewhere. Flitted behind the trunk and was on some of the lower west branches in front of the trunk. Stopping at each spot and checking things out. It was a somewhat circular motion around the bird feeder. The feeder is to the east of Pinky and below their branches. Then it was gone off to the west. I think the seed is going down. It reminded me of the Downey Woodpecker yesterday. 23 has a new suet cake out. It came down from the east. I heard it over there. I believe it flew behind me before landing on one of Pinky's dead branches. Lower west side. Then to the bush in front of the suet. Checking to see if it is safe before going to the feeder. I suspect the Blue Jay? knew I was there. I sit maybe fifteen feet to the east of it. 

Many mysteries in The Little Forrest. At one point the crows were crowing off in Chevrus Woods. Several swooped in through the understory. A squirrel was agitated and calling an alarm in the red maple just outside the tree line. (Merlin Thinks this is a Mallard) It went on for some time. Maybe a hawk, owl, or eagle. Who knows. Perhaps, if I sit enough some of the mysteries will reveal themselves. 

Merlin Identified 17 species. Mallard was a missed guess. That was a squirrel. Perhaps the Junco is an early one. I think the Red Bellied Woodpecker was there. 

Winter is Coming!

 

10:15 to 11:30, 68 degrees, Cloudy, Wind 6mph ESE

So far one of the coolest sit spots, especially for the time of day. Merlin heard a few birds that should not be here for another few weeks or a month. Dark Eyed Junco, Red Breasted Nuthatch, White Throated Sparrow. They could be early arrivals. They could be wrong guesses. Either way, winter is coming. 

I am definitely seeing better into The Little Forrest. I saw this Blue Jay and never heard its cry. A very cropped picture. Way up in a tree on the other side of The Crick. By the time Merlin heard a Blue Jay this one was long gone from my sight. How many birds have gone through my line of sight without me seeing them? I saw many more birds today than any other day! Yes, it was longer than any other sit spot. However, it was longer because I was seeing birds! I was able to get pictures of this Jay, a White Breasted Nuthatch and a Downey Woodpecker. 

At one point I heard a hawk on the wind above The Little Forrest. I am not sure how I knew it was a hawk but I knew it was a hawk. Not sure I have heard enough hawks while seeing them for this knowledge. Micah Mortali, often talks about ancestral knowledge. Perhaps this is how I knew. Eventually, Merlin showed a red tailed hawk. Likely in Portland today! That was a really cool experience. Getting in tune with my spot and nature in a way I have not before. 

I also heard a Great Blue Heron on high flying from the south (Back Cove) to the north. (perhaps Sebago Lake) I heard and knew before Merlin showed Great Blue Heron. Also, I could hear it after Merlin stopped lighting it up. While the heron and hawk did not stop in The Little Forrest, I count them on the bird list as they are here: visibly and audibly.  

Motion

 4:45 to 5:30, 78 degrees, Partly cloudy, Wind 2mph SSW, 

The birds were fairly quiet, as they are at this time of the day. Eleven bird species, only one not in Portland today. The American Redstart. Played the recording and it matches. 

The squirrels were about as active as I have ever seen them be. Part of that, I suspect, is that I am getting better at picking up motion. Or maybe a better way of saying what is happening is " I am seeing motion caused by animals/birds better." The Little Forrest is in constant motion from the wind. I noticed motion in the ferns down by The Crick. I really wanted it to be not a squirrel. The animal was not hopping like a squirrel. However, whenI got a good look: Squirrel! It is the first time I noticed this behavior. I suspect it has been happening and I have just not picked up on it. At one point I saw the motion of a shadow go through the Little Woods. Then crow calls. Was it a crow that flew over? Probably. 

Flicker!

8:45 to 9:15, 69 degrees, Clear Skies, Wind 9mph NW

With the wind and the shade of the trees it felt cooler than 69. Gusts would sometimes blow drops of water off the leaves. A storm came through yesterday afternoon. Bird feeder was turned a bit. No doubt it was from the storm. Hard to tell if the seed level has gone down. 

I am definitely getting better at telling the different types of motion. The wind moves the trees a certain way. Motion throughout the Little Forrest. A squirrel will make one branch move. Or several branches if it is jumping from one place to another, a more localized motion. I saw some motion up high across The Crick and to my right. My first thought was squirrel. However it was not moving like a squirrel. Then it was clear that it was moving like a woodpecker. I figured Merlin was going to give me Downey Woodpecker soon. I heard some interesting calls and looked down to see Northern Flicker. (Not likely in Sit Spot today) I played back the merlin tape and all 11 calls on Merlin. It definitely could have been a flicker. So I am counting it. 

Merlin heard 16 different species today. 

Nest?

 8:45 to 9:15am, 68 degrees, drizzle to part sunny, Wind 3mph W

When I got to the sit spot, there was a squirrel coming down Old Red. The squirrel had a small branch with leaves on it. I know squirrels use leaves in building their nests. Their nests are called dreys. So far I have only seen grey squirrels here. Was this nest building behavior? Do squirrels like oak leaves better than maple leaves. Those are the predominated trees in the Little Forrest. I guess it will be easier to find nests in the Little Forrest when the leaves fall. 

Not a lot going on this morning. There was some construction going on off behind house number 1. Big earth moving equipment sounding noises. So, things were kind of subdued. The construction noises overpowered the bird sounds. At one point the goldfinches sounded closer than they have ever been before. 

Merlin identified 10 species. Nothing new or not likely in Portland today. Saw a couple of birds flying high and cruising over the Little Forrest. Only caught glances of them as they passed on the wind.