Off topic, but I wanted to share a most noteworthy day with you all.
Maybe not completely off topic as I'd lay odds that a few of you
would want some feathers from this critter <g>
On the 18th there were reports of a sighting of a Western-Reef Heron
off of Kittery Point Maine and also across the river in New Castle
NH. As the week progressed the Heron was feeding and roosting
primarily on the inward side of New Castle, an island at the mouth of
the Piscatagua River. This species is a resident of West Africa had
has been seen in the USA only once before. In September of 1983 one
was seen on Nantucket, MA. He stayed in the area for quite sometime
and was seen by many birders.
This last Friday, my friend Howard and I decided to take the 2 hour
drive over to the coast to try and spot the wayward bird. Howard must
be a good luck charm as within one minute of stopping at our first
spot we saw the Heron. We watched him and other shore birds from
about 11:30 to 12:30. He was feeding with about a dozen Snowy Egrets.
We had some great views through both binoculars and spotting scopes.
Don and Lillian Stokes, of birding field guide authoring fame, were
over there on Monday and took some incredible photographs. They can
be seen at http://stokesbirdingblog.blogspot.com/ . Be sure to scroll
through the rather long text block to see additional photos.
We were wishing we had brought along our fly rods as it was nearing
high tide and we saw quite a few large swirls in the fast moving
tides every time we noticed diving terns. Most likely Stripers!
Other birds of note on the journey included:
Roseate Tern
Great Egret
And Saturday morning a male Evening Grosbeak visited my feeders. They
used to be fairly common but now are seldom seen.
Byard Miller
Line's End Inc <http://www.linesend.com>
Virtual Flybox <http://www.virtualflybox.com>
