Local birding report

Although March’s weather is often unpleasant and unpredictable, for me this late winter month also brings a unique anticipation for what is just around the corner, spring migration. Courtship displays, both subtle and more elaborate are already underway in our woods and along our rocky shorelines.

On February 20 I watched a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers excavating a nest hole in Robinson Woods III. One may be able to distinguish between the two sexes by the red whisker stripe on the male. Woodpecker courtship behavior includes several types of drum-tapping. The expeditious drumming I witnessed from these mighty carpenters of the forest most likely meant the two birds were in agreeance that they had found a potentially suitable nest site hole.

Across town Northern Cardinals began singing their sweet songs and on Wells Road I heard my first Red-winged Blackbird calling on February 23. And on February 26 off Kettle Cove, I observed a raft of frisky Bufflehead ducks chasing each other. This elegant little duck’s common name refers to the shape of the bird’s head which is reminiscent to that of a miniature buffalo. Activity intensi-fies as spring approaches because as with all diving ducks, pursuit of a mate takes place on the wintering grounds.

On this same day I came across a male Belted Kingfisher perched in an old Birch tree along the Spurwink River Crossing. Interestingly, I learned that this bird is considered an uncommon but regular winter resident in southern Maine.

In the last days of February off of Dyer Point, Trundy Point, Pond Cove and Fort Williams I saw the following - Common Loons, Common Eiders, Harlequin Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Black and Surf Scoters and Red-breasted Mergansers.

I have not yet seen a Barrow’s Goldeneye this winter. Two Great Cormorants passed through my binocular lens as well. A single Razorbill and two Black Guillemots were also recorded. A member of the Auk family, the Black Guillemot is a medium-sized black seabird with bright red legs, feet and mouth. This time of year, Guillemots can be tricky to identify because younger seabirds have mostly whitish heads, neck and underparts Lastly, on the afternoon of February 26 my son and I came across a flurry of activity along a bare patch of grass in the parking lot of Crescent Beach State Park.

As we crept closer a drift of six Snow Buntings swiftly took flight, rising and falling in concert before settling back down on the sunlit branches of a nearby tree. Their sweet rolling whistles and sharp beez beez chatter filled the crisp air for a few short seconds before they disappeared.

Soon these hard weather birds will return to their artic breeding lands. The journey home will require them to cross through the boreal forest, which to an open country species is an enormous undertaking.

Snow buntings are the earliest songbirds to return to the Arctic. The first males arrive in Greenland in early April when snowstorms can rage for days and temperatures may drop below minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Competition for the best nesting sites is likely the reason male snow buntings return so early and brave this harsh weather to secure choice crevices between rocks and holes in the ground where they will build nests. Although these magnificent birds are still rather common in winter, their populations have declined by an estimated 38% since 1970.