I have, at least in my own mind, named the male and female turkeys who vist most frequently Sam and Harriet. Sam stopped by yesterday and waited by the slider as if waiting for an invitaion to enter. 

I noticed both turkeys scratching and diggibg in the snow after acorns. When they find one, they swallow it whole, no cracking the shell required.

My phone received a National Weather Service alert at about 9:05 this morning about a snow squall.

A snow squall is an intense, but limited duration, period of moderate to heavy snowfall, accompanied by strong, gusty surface winds and possibly lightning. Snow accumulation may be significant.The phenomenon is not new, but the term and warnings associated with it only began in 2018.

At 9:10 I saw the first flakes drifting down, By 9:15 the air was thick with snow, and it was sticking to the patio furniture. By 9:25 the snow had stopped.

They've been visiting almost daily this week Today both Harriet and Sam, the female and male adult turkeys who first appeared September 29, 2024, stopped by twice.

Harriet did not linger long; she wandered off. But Sam settled in.

I've seen brief glimpses of them at the feeder in the past, and was pretty sure I saw one on Thanksgiving day. I know neighbors have been seeing Eastern Bluebirds quite a lot this winter.

This morning, I saw three males at an ersatz feeder I set up, hoping to attract Bluebirds. Here's a very bad photo I took through the slider door.

Not a lot of snow this winter, but we did get a few (c. 3”)inches of pretty snow on December 8th, and I managed to take this picture of a male Northern cardinal through my window with my iPhone.

Male Northern Cardinal

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I first saw the turkeys, two of them, a young male and a female on Sunday. I was busy doing something, when I noticed a shadow on the patio. It was two turkeys, a male and a female. The male has the beginnings of a wattle, and both turkeys are showing attractive colored tail feathers.

Neighbors reported seeing the turkeys throughout the campus on Monday. Today the turkeys returned to Mom’s patio, finding spilled bird seed acceptable food, and enjoying the patio furniture.

Turkeys were once native all over New England. These turkeys are descendants of turkeys dekibwrately restored after mostly vanishing. I hope that these two survive and continue to visit this Winter, not only for their own sake, but because squirrels avoid them.

Male wild turkey Meleagris gallopavo silvestris

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Not sure how much snow we got but I’d guess at least five inches. It was a wet, heavy snow, and knocked the power out for a couple of days.

I took this picture at 6:55 AM on Thursday April 4th, while it was still snowing, and before the really heavy winds kicked in.

Heavy snow the morning of April 4, 2024

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I took this picture on Sunday afternoon. Late Satrurday night, the snow turned to freezing rain, covering even the top branches of the oaks with glittering coats of ices.

Oaks covered with ice

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It’s been a rough winter, and a rough year, in a number of ways. The birds have been scarce, which is always hard, but it’s especially hard in a Winter marked by COVID-19 and self-isolation.

Today I took a picture of this male Northern Cardinal sunning himself. This was the first morning this year that I heard a Cardinal sing at dawn, which this fellow did right outside my window. This picture was taken about five hours later, when he returned to catch some rays and preen a little. The picture is not high art; I took it through the window, using my phone. Still, he’s a handsome fellow, and I was happy to see him.

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Early this morning, between 4:15 and 4:45 I heard a female Barred owl’s “solicitation call.” This is a strikingly odd, very distinctive high-pitched call that signals male Barred owl’s that she’s interested and available for mating. I was too tired to record it, but here’s an excellent recording from YouTub:

Female Barred Owl solicitation call

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This fellow was on the patio this morning, under the green plastic chair, which is my excuse for such a poor photo. The Eastern American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) is the only toad native to Maine. They’re pretty common all over New England. Females are generally larger then males (egg-laying necessities) and males usually have a darker colored throat than females. I always liked American toads because, while you can’t see it in the photo below, American toads have gold eyelids. Honest!

Eastern American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus) Image: LLS

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A young fox on May 27, 2020

I missed seeing the fox I’d been seeing last summer and fall; not a single sighting all winter, and I didn’t hear the fox much either. But people had been seeing one on the grounds in May, and finally, a saw a young fox trotting across the patio. I was looking up at the trees with a scope trying to see the crows my mom spotted, when I saw the fox out of the corner of my eye. He trotted across the patio, then along the gravel between apartments to our neighbors patio, where he paused to devour what the neighbor reported as a possible chipmunk.

Since then, I’ve seen very brief glimpses of another young fox/the same fox.

ETA: At least one the young foxes frequenting the campus has been hit by a car. I’m hoping that others will thrive.

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An official directive from Maine Governor Janet Mills regarding Certain Magical Creatures as Performers of Essential Services:

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On April fourth a friend gave us a bunch of pussy willows and Forsythia. The willow blossoms were in full bloom, but the Forsythia hadn’t even quite leafed out yet.

Pussy willows on the left, with unleafed Forsythia April 4.

I put them in water, and the Forsythia proceeded to leaf out and then bud, and then blossom.

Forsythia on April 7

Then this happened today:

It’s still snowing even now. It started at 4pm.

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Male House Finch Haemorhous mexicanus

This is not a great picture, but it serves to make identification easier. The tricky thing about House Finches is that they look a lot like Purple Finches. Here’s a guide to help distinguish House Finches from Purple Finches and Cassin’s Finch.

As a kid in New Hampshire in the 1970s and early 1980s I regularly saw Purple Finches. House Finches had not yet become commonplace. Now, in Maine, I rarely see Purple Finches and see House Finches pretty much all winter long (though having said that, I’m not always sure that I’m looking at a House Finch and not a Purple Finch, particularly with the females). House Finches are in fact a fairly recent arrival to this part of the U.S.

The House Finch was originally a bird of the western United States and Mexico. In 1940 a small number of finches were turned loose on Long Island, New York, after failed attempts to sell them as cage birds (“Hollywood finches”). They quickly started breeding and spread across almost all of the eastern United States and southern Canada within the next 50 years.

The House Finches arrived in force a couple of weeks ago, along with a fresh infusion of American Gold Finches. I’ve seen more than ten at a time fairly often; once, I counted fifteen individual House Finches; oddly they seem to prefer the black oil sunflower, and the Gold Finches love the two finch socks.

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I first saw the fox in early July; its appearance heralded by a cacophony of crows and jay complaining. I saw only the fox’s back at first, and the color, more blonde than red, made me think I was seeing a straying dog. But then I saw the fox’s head, and his brushy tail. It was trotting, and I glimpsed it only for a moment before it disappeared from view. Later, I again heard the crows and jays proclaiming their displeasure, and saw the fox making his return trip. His fur was dense and healthy, the white of his tail and chest gleaming and clean, and his black socks strikingly dark.

Since then, I‘ve seen that first fox, and a smaller, slightly darker and thinner fox together. I’ve also realized the odd, almost feline sounding cry I’ve heard several times late at night is not the Bob cat or Lynx I suspected, but a fox bark. I’ve made two very bad recordings with my phone; I’ve linked to them below, and to a much better YouTube clip for comparison.

Fox Bark 1

Fox Bark 2

This is a better example of the way a fox sounds; more scream than bark.

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I‘ve taken the suet cage with nest-building fibers down since I took this picture, but it’s not too late for one last hatching of American Goldfinches. They breed very late. I‘m seeing young ones now, old enough to have left the nest, but not quite sure where to land on the feeder in order to successfully obtain seeds. This adult male Goldfinches has it completely figured out.

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), male

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The Forsythia was stunning this year, but the weather for taking pictures of the Forsythia was less stunning. It was a strange winter, and so far, a strange spring. Lots of rain, lots of over cast skies, and the spring migration of birds was a little behind the usual schedule. That said, the Ruby-throated hummingbirds were back the first week of May, and they seem ravenous and populous.

Though I missed pictures of the Forsythia, here are some magnolias.

Tulip Magnolia

Tulip Magnolia

Star Magnolia

Star Magnolia

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The fog here is beautiful, and not the same as the Cheshire County N.H. fogs and mists, or the fog from home—though we do get some very dramatic fogs in Puget Sound, especially in late fall and early winter.

At home they call this ground fog. It’s especially common in early evening, when you can see it roll in to cover the ground.

When the fog is thick like this, it lingers for hours, coating windows and flat surfaces with drops of water when the fog leaves

You can get lost in the fog at home, especially on low-lying boggy
areas

I’ve been trying to take pictures of the Maine fog in the early morning and evening, as it winds through the trees. The fog looks like someone has wound gauze ribbon in and out and around the trunks and branches of the trees. I’ve mostly failed to capture the way the fog looks. The fog looks tangible, as if you could reach out and tug on it to move a ribbon.

My friend Heather has done much better in these Bailey Island Lands End photos.

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At home, we don’t see icicles that often; frost is more common. It’s often a thick, deep frost that is clearly crystalline in nature, coating solid objects, leaves, and even blades of grass.

Image credit: Mel Sherman

Image credit: Mel Sherman

I’ve been trying to take pictures of icicles in Maine and the way they reflect the light, often displaying an almost iridescent shimmer that I have completely failed to capture. The icicles have been impressive every winter, but this year was particularly remarkable for the extent and frequency of ice coating the bushes and leaves.

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The Portland Press Herald article is pretty clear:

No way around it: Winter storm on track for Sunday will be huge

Most of the snow will be early on Sunday. The prediction is for “10-18 inches of snow at the coast and up to 2 feet inland.” And then c. noon, the snow turns to “wintery mix” otherwise known as snow, sleet and rain. It’s ugly for bird, beast, and Mainer. The icy coating (and cold temps) make foraging difficult, and driving impossible.

I have filled the feeders, and put out fresh suet. And I purchased a 4.5 quart bean pot at Reny’s. I have yet to obtain any beans, but I am working on it.

Today is high is 22F. I still have one more suet cage to fill, and am understandably reluctant to do it. So far the grey squirrels, who are obese and numerous, are less than fond of the Capsaicin-laced suet and hot-sauce coated black-oil Sunflower seeds.

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It’s been raining freezing rain most of the day; not a lot of birds. I’ve seen Juncos, a couple of Chickadees, a Titmouse, a very cold looking puffed-up male House finch, and this female Northern Cardinal who let me take some slightly out-of-focus pictures.

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I’ll probably add more pictures throughout the day. It’s still snowing; the flakes are clumping together now. I heard geese off in the distance when I went out to take pictures today, and many, many Nuthatches in the trees. 

It was still snowing when I took this picture. 

This was taken at about 4 pm; the snow was wet, and thickly coating branches.

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It’s going to turn to rain, probably, in a couple of hours, but we have a light snow falling. It’s the kind of snow they put on greeting cards; not too thick, not windy, just white snow falling steadily. 

Naturally, when the Cardinal landed on the Rhododendron, I had to take a picture (through the window, on my iPhone). If it had a little more snow on the Rhoddodendron, and I had taken a slightly better picture, I’d have a holiday card. 

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House finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) were initially regarded with some rancor by many New England birders; the House finch is an invasive species. As a kid in New Hampshire, we had Purple finches and Red polls as reliable feeder visitors; I saw my first House finch in Southern California, and became familiar with House finches in Puget Sound. 

A slightly better photo. 

OK; none of these is very good.

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This is a out-of-focus but recognizable Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis).

I took the picture yesterday; that’s an American Goldfinch in winter plumage next to the Nuthatch. Today I spotted the first returning (or passing through) Junco.

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It’s not technically the first snow of the season, but it’s the first I’ve seen happening. Rain turned to mixed snow-and-rain. 35F.

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I saw a red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) a few times during the winter in 2017, but it disappeared before spring. Recently a red squirrel has been gleaning on the ground near the bird feeders. The red squirrel is a reddish-orange with a white belly, smaller than the numerous (and greedy) Eastern grey squirrels. In late summer and early fall there’s a dark grey to black stripe between the red squirrel’s red-brown body fur and the white belly. That fades as winter nears, as does the bright orange-red body color of the squirrel.

This has the Eastern Gray squirrel on the left and the Red squirrel on the right. I didn’t realize the Gray squirrel was in the photo when I took the shot. 

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