Boyz & Birdhouses

My husband helped the boys build me birdhouses for Christmas, while I was away on my business trip to New Orleans. I LOVE them!

This morning he mounted them each on a pole in our yard.

I can't wait to see who sets up housekeeping in them this summer!!

Goldfinches & Tamaracks

The goldfinches have been eating the cones off the tamarack trees like crazy! They must be yummy? All a matter of personal taste, I guess. I thought they looked so pretty with their bright color contrasting with the dark green spills of the tree & the dark brown, almost red cones.

Bluebird

We have a bluebird that has nested in one of our apple trees! Yesterday evening we watched him chase off a woodpecker who made the mistake of landing on 'his' tree. It was so funny! I'm so thrilled because we've never had one here before...he's a friendly little fellow, but it's been really hard to get a picture of him!

It's a tough day to be a bird...

Robin Red-Breast

A VERY welcome sight this afternoon!!

Although he's probably wondering why he didn't stay down South another week...

Look at what hatched!

Springtime is such an amazing time on the farm. We love to see all the babies. The geese are proving to be wonderful parents. They hatched out 8 goslings!

Bald Eagle

I found some more photos that I took during the Maine Sportsman's Show that I wanted to share with you...This is a 4 year-old bald eagle that lives at the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine. When he was a chick, he and his sibling fell from their nest during a thunderstorm. His sibling died, but this eagle was rescued and was able to recover despite a broken wing. He'll never be able to survive in the wild, so will spend the rest of his days at the park.

Bird Tracks

Here is a really clear set of bird tracks. We're not sure what kind of bird left these prints, but they weren't very big.

Migration

While I was outside taking pictures yesterday, suddenly there was this almost overwhelming noise coming closer and closer to me. It took me several minutes to figure out what the noise was - it was a huge flock of grackels that had gathered together for the trip South. They were flying from tree to tree, making an unbelievable racket. I tried really hard to get a picture, but this is the best I could do...

Bird's Eye View

The birds that eat at this feeder are sitting on some prime real estate. Unfortunately, the feeder is in front of a summer camp up on Ellis Road, so they don't get fed in the winter. I can't imagine it gets very much business during the summer months when there is plenty to eat in the woods?

From this vantage point, we are looking at the Southern part of West Paris...

What a bunch of turkeys!

My husband took this shot out of our kitchen window - looking into the horse pasture. He tried to get some clearer photos by going outdoors, but they were much too skittish and flew off into the trees to get away from him....

Cormorants

After leaving Shagg Pond, we decided to paddle North Pond in Norway (on the other side of West Paris) and see if the boys could catch some fish. We were slightly surprised to find this pair of cormorants living there. We generally only see them along the seashore. What we discovered is that North Pond is a treasure trove of wildlife - we saw lots of birds! The big question is: were the boys any more successful? Stay tuned...

Loon Family

The last 2 posts featured the birds that I was able to photograph during our camping trip. However, I suffered through a lot of teasing because everytime I pulled out the camera, the loons would disappear! And I was so determined to get a shot, but I never did before it was time to go home. It took a trip to Shagg Pond, in the neighboring town of Woodstock, yesterday, to get me the shots that I was looking for - with a baby bonus!! I have never even seen a baby loon before!! We couldn't believe it, but he was diving underwater and playing and splashing. It was so cute!! Mama loon would sing for him when he was under for too long - she would get nervous and stick her head down and look for him. I could have stayed there for hours watching them interact. Unfortunately, the fish weren't biting, so my canoe-mates were anxious to try their luck at another pond....

Mallard

That next morning, I walked out to Natanis Pond, to photograph the mist rising off the water. Imagine my delight when a female Mallard took flight and I got this shot!!

Juvenile Northern Flicker

I actually took this shot a month ago during our camping trip at Natanis Point in Northwestern Maine. There were 2 of these little guys in our campsite, hopping from tree to tree and around on the ground. They were quite talkative. I was able to get really close to one of them, while he was on the ground. By the time he decided to fly back into the brush, he was so used to me being there, that he actually bumped into me on his way by...It was pretty amazing!!

It's a pigeon!!

It looks like he's pretending to be a weathervane! Okay, now, for you city folks this might seem pretty normal, but pigeons are quite unusual around here. Being a bird lover, I enjoy seeing them! This one is quite a funny little bird. Remember the bridge that is just up the street from here? Well, once spring arrives, lots and lots of people fish off that bridge. It crosses over the Little Androscoggin River, which the state stocks with fish. When my husband took the Cub Scout pack down there, they discovered that this bird has figured out that the bait that fishermen put on their hooks is tasty! Each time they would cast their lines, that pigeon would dive at them and try to catch the bait!! I don't know if he ever catches anything, but I kinda hope not because of the hook...

Mrs. Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Look who brought home a girlfriend!! Remember this post? Well, our male Rose-breasted Grosbeak disappeared for a couple of weeks, but we were so happy to see that he came back the other day. Then, yesterday his mate stopped in for some seeds. I so hope that they find a safe place to nest nearby so that we can continue to enjoy their company....

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

Look who came to visit me this morning!

This is my favorite type of bird. I wish that I could have gotten a better picture, but I saw him out there before I was fully awake. I think I'm lucky I got any pictures of him. ;-) Then, I had to scare him off because he's apparently not afraid of my cat, and yet he should be very, very afraid. She's lethal! I love her dearly, but I really wish that she would only kill rodents and leave my birds alone...