Spring Census Mystery Bird Makes Number 100

 I've been working on the Spring census for the town of Portland and having a blast! It's so much easier to look for birds in your own town because you know where everything is. If you want to add a Great Blue Heron to the list just visit the local rookery. Of course it doesn't matter if there are 150 herons there because you can only count 1. I also found one Great Egret at this sight which was pretty cool.

I visited some of the nature preserves but found more flowers than birds. What kind of flower is this? 

I can usually count on finding Peregrine Falcons around the bridge this time of the year. They like to spend time making friends with the pigeons before giving them the bad news. I didn't have any luck on this particular morning but it was a nice view of the river though. I don't know where the falcons are hiding but I still have until this weekend to find one.

You never know what you'll find this time of the year. I went looking for warblers and then just when I Least expected there was a sandpiper.

My most exciting moment so far came when I heard a bird singing a song at the power-lines. I was unable to get a good look at the bird because it was hidden back in some cedars. It kept repeating the same song but I had no idea what it was. I recorded the song and the members of Birdforum identified it for me. It's a White-eyed Vireo which aren't that uncommon along the shoreline but I've never seen one in Portland. Later I was able to go back with my spotting scope to get a decent look at it. Don't bother watching the video but if you listen closely you can hear the White-eyed Vireo singing which turned out to be the 100th recorded species for the Portland Spring Census this year.

Birding Along The Trail of Forgotten Cars

As I was driving along route 17 in Portland a dirt pull-off caught my attention. I pulled my truck in and noticed an unmarked dirt trail going down a steep hill. 

 I was walking down the hill, curious as to where it might lead, when I came across an old car full of bullet holes. I like finding old cars in the woods. They're like a historic sculpture with a story to tell. What happened on the very day that this car ended up in the woods? Who was driving it and what were those people like? It all makes for an interesting mystery to me.

I see these old vehicles as self-contained time capsules from a different era. 

There was a day when these cars were brand new off the lot. They probably spent some time at the local drive-in theater or other hangout spots. It looks like they're lined up for the parade.

When I reached the bottom of the hill I found a couple of nice surprises. This was my first Blue-winged Warbler of the year "Bee-buzzzz". 

I also found the first Brown Thrasher I had seen in Portland for a few years. It seems it is going to be a good year for Brown Thrashers . A couple of days later I found 2 more at Haddam Meadows including the one in the photo which popped out onto the road for a few seconds before going back into hiding.

Do you recognize the year, make, or model of any of the cars in the photos?

Rare Sighting Of A Numida meleagris!

 I was rambling through the woods the other day when I saw a couple of large birds that were partially obstructed by vegetation. What is that?! It's not a turkey or a pheasant, maybe it's something special! Then I got a better look at it and figured it must be a bird that wandered off of someone's property. I found it listed in Sibley's as a Helmeted Guineafowl or Numida meleagris .They like to eat ticks so that could be beneficial in a high tick area. They're common in zoos and farmyards but I can honestly say that I've never found one wandering in the woods before.  That makes it a rare woodland sighting for me. Have you ever been fooled by a farmyard or escaped bird before?