A Bird in Maine

Since yesterday's breakfast worked out so well, Denny and I returned to Bea's to start off the day. By the way we went to a Thai restaurant last night and it was a treat. It was right across the street from our motel in North Conway. All the menu items were intriguing, but I got a spicy basel chicken stir fry plus a couple of those unfried spring rolls in rice paper. A great meal. But I digress. Back to today. Near the end of breakfast Denny got a phone call from his contacts, Chris Lewey and Christine Costello, with current information on the only remaining goshawk nest in their study area. In fact the young birds have fledged, but remain in the area of the nest since their parents are still feeding them. Denny mapped out the route and we set off to the north. The site is near Bethel, ME. It took us over and hour to get there. US Hwy 2 had construction in two places which offered a level of frustration, but we moved on through eventually. When we got to the location where we to park the car, we took a deep breath and started up the hill in the northwest direction, through the trees. After we had gone a ways, I heard the young bird call. So I went another hundred feet and waited until it called again, and repeated this procedure until we were quite close to the calling bird. Then it flew and I got a good look at it - gray tail with zig-zagging bands, white undertail coverts, white eyeline, rusty wing coverts, big. It was then that another bird called. The second young bird, which was noticeably bigger than its sibling, flew in and landed near the first. We watched them for a few minutes, but it was apparent that the adults were not near and the youngsters were getting upset. So we went back down the hill and back to the car. At that point I decided to try to catch an earlier flight back to Norfolk, so we set course for the Manchester airport where we arrived about 1pm. An earlier flight was not available. Instead I got a Starbucks bold and settled in with the free airport wifi, airconditioning, and a quiet corner with ac power and wrote this blog. Apologies for the quality of the photo, but I just had to include it instead of snatching a web photo. He was so cute. This was year bird #652.

Bicknell's Thrush

Bea's Restaurant in North Conway opens at 5:30am, but Denny Abbott and I weren't there until 6:30am. Aaah! It was indeed the early morning place to eat recommended by our congenial host at the motel. It turned out fine. Denny and I both ordered eggs and corned beef hash, and I had plenty of hot coffee to go with it. From there it took exactly the half hour to get to Mt. Washington that the motel host said it would. We were second in line to pay our $31 fee and drive on up to mile post 4 at 4000 feet where we came out of the tall forest and into the krummholz, a stunted forest. This is the beginning of the zone for Bicknell's Thrush. When I stepped out of the car, my heart stopped. The wind was blowing 50 mph and I could hardly stand. This was my shot at the thrush and I was being blown away. Not to worry. Denny (photo) recommended we drive a little further along this optimum section to a spot where we'd be much more out of the wind. It worked wonders. Once out of the car I began to hear the call notes of the thrush and eventually the song. Then one teed up on a spruce and I was able to shoot a quick pic (photo). Bird #651 was in the bag. We drove to the top of the mountain, but it was so socked in that you could barely see one car length in front of you. Back down at the bottom of the mountain we visited the center across the road where we both got cups of fresh very hot coffee. From there we drove to Vermont where Denny knew a place where White-winged Crossbills might be possible. After walking an hour, we decided there were no crossbills around and headed for lunch at a market with a deli on the Connecticut River in northern Vermont. Back in New Hampshire we tried the Kancamagus Highway for crossbill spots with the same lack of luck. After a few phone calls trying to connect with someone who could put us onto a nesting goshawk, we called it a day and found a motel. Tomorrow we'll pursue more goshawk opportunities before I have to get to Manchester for my flight back to Norfolk.

Off to New Hampshire

In the afternoon I boarded a Southwest Airlines flight bound eventually for Manchester, New Hampshire, where I would be picked up by my long-time birding friend, Denny Abbott, for a try the following morning for Bicknell's Thrush.  My first leg went fine, but my second flight was late by an hour and a half.  I had called Denny to warn him about the tardiness so he wouldn't be sitting in Manchester waiting for the plane.  When I did get there, he was ready and we headed to North Conway where we eventually decided it was getting so late we should grab a McDonald's dinner.  In North Conway we got a motel whose person on the desk was a Canadian with an aunt in New Market, VA.  After a bit of baseball on TV (Cards didn't play), we went to sleep.  I looked forward to another good night's sleep since we didn't have to be up until 6:00am.

Fourth of July

We spent the morning relaxing and getting things ready for our afternoon celebration.  I cleaned up the outdoor chairs, which had collected leaves and debris and were stained.  I also spruced up the grill for cooking the hamburgers.  Joyce prepared the vegetable slaw and the potato salad.  At the appointed hour the guests arrived and a fruit salad and ratatouille were added to the offerings.  We had made margaritas and they went over well.  When it came time to do the hamburgers, I discovered after the grill went out that we were out of propane.  So the hamburger cooking shifted to the broiler in our oven.  Everyone had a good time and it was nice to see friends and celebrate getting to 650 together.  Tomorrow I fly to New Hampshire.

Home in Norfolk

You have no idea how good it feels to get a really good night's sleep - one that you know ahead of time will be uninterrupted and as long as you please.  That sleep would, of course, be followed by a pot of fresh-brewed Starbucks coffee with my Cheerios, bananas, and blueberries.  Then doing the daily newspaper puzzles at the new patio table that Joyce bought to replace the last glass-topped table that crashed in a storm.  And the weather was cool and dry, and the birds were singing and carrying on.  I love it.  Since I was home and unexpectedly available, Joyce and I decided to celebrate my getting to 650 by inviting a few people over on the fourth of July.  So we planned a menu, made a few phone calls, and it was in motion.  We went to Cosco to get some supplies and while we were there I got both my pairs of glasses straightened.  You'll recall that I rolled over on one of them at St. Paul and the next day fell hard on my spare pair.  After the repair, they both fit a whole lot better.  Ran a few errands on the way home, and then watched in horror as the Cards played badly and lost badly even though Carpenter was pitching.  This game marked the half-way mark of the season with the Cards 1 1/2 games behind the Reds who are hitting the cover off the ball.  In the evening I did some prep work for the remaining trips this year.

Out of Michigan

For those of you hanging by a thread awaiting word of whether we got the Yeller Feller, the answer is again...no.  On top of that we were up really early the following morning so we could be on the road toward Detroit to catch our re-booked flights.  As such coffee was delayed as was any suggestion of a breakfast since nothing was open along the road at that hour of the morning.  After we crossed the Mackinac Bridge (shown here in a web photo at sunset), we stopped and got some food.  From there it was pretty much drive, drive, drive.  We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, so John and I had lunch and watched a piece of the Brazil/Netherlands soccer match.  John's a big soccer fan, and he and the world cup are sweeping me up in the mania.  It's fun!  After lunch, John went on to his gate and I settled in my chair at mine.  Moments later I got a text message from Southwest telling me that my plane would be late, but that my connection to Norfolk in Baltimore was not threatened.  So I relaxed, made my flights, got home a little late, and had a nice evening with Joyce.  And the Cards shut out Milwaukee too!  Before I went to bed, I made arrangements with my friend Denny Abbott in New Hampshire to go with him next week to look for Bicknell's Thrush.

Spruce Grouse and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (#650)

Up at 4:00am and out the door with a cup of fresh-brewed coffee in hand before anyone noticed it was still dark.  We stopped at a gas station on the way and picked up a sort-of breakfast.  It was quite light out but the sun still had not risen when we drove into Whitefish Point.  We scouted out the location that Calvin Brennan had put us onto and drove even further on the same road.  However, the habitat deteriorated, so we returned to his suggested spot.  We spread out and walked through the spruce woods on a bed of reindeer moss.  After about half an hour John called, "I've got one."  I moved over to where he was and there, not fifteen feet in front of him, was a male Spruce Grouse, feeding on the grasses that had sprouted there (photo).  We got Dave over and the three of us watched the bird for fifteen minutes.  I got a few pictures although the light was very dim and the bird was either too close or behind twigs.  We then took off and returned to the spot wher Calvin had told us to look for the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher but which didn't prove fruitful yesterday.  Today, however, there was no wind and we got the bird.  This was bird #650 for the year.  After breakfast we went to Hulbert Bog where we found four more of the flycatchers.  We drove on to Newberry where we had lunch and checked into a motel.  We made arrangements to fly out from Detroit tomorrow, a couple of days earlier than planned, and then napped because we're making a last ditch effort for the Yellow Rail at Seney NWR again tonight.  We just love those late nights.