Monthly Archives: January 2019

Mergansers on a 5 Degree Morning

With the rest of the country encased in the annual winter vortex, it is 5 degrees in Maine, plenty warm enough to try for the Canvasback (a rare visitor to the state).  I’ve been out 3 times in 4 day looking for my white whale, and like Ahab I’m not going to give up. On […]

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Searching for the Canvasback

Eighteen days after having my knee replaced . . . I felt strong enough to go out birding.   A Canvasback, a relatively rare visitor to Maine, has been seen regularly at nearby Damariscotta Mills. We saw all the usual winter birds . . . all three Mergansers, Eagles, Black Duck and Mallards . . . […]

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Recovering from Knee Replacement

For the second time in less than a year, I am laid up and unable to go birding because of a knee replacement.  For a person that is out in the field just about every day . . . being forced to sit on a couch all day is depressing. To keep myself sane, I […]

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Last Birding for a Month

  Monday, I skipped out of work several times to get a little birding done . . . now January isn’t exactly prime time for such behavior . . . most species and birders have hunkered down for the winter.  Unfortunately I was having my right knee replaced on Tuesday and our year to date […]

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Ring-necked Duck (the Rare Bird that is always Here)

Ingrid and I subscribe to several eBird’s Rare Bird Alert (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA) . . . and each winter the Ring-necked Duck is listed on the Maine Report . . . and always at the same place . . . Damariscotta Mills. Damariscotta Mills is a small hamlet in Mid-Coast Maine that is […]

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White Dove

Having returned to the real world after a birding week in Texas . . . we’ve gotten off to a relatively slow start.  During a stop at the Newcastle Maine Mail-It-For You I noticed a white pigeon among a group of feral pigeons.  He had a band on his leg. I asked around and the […]

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