Cheryl Ring (Augusta Birding Club) and I went boreal birding up the Telos Road today, west of Baxter State Park. Ever since I first reported the American Three-toed Woodpeckers on the Harvester Road last February, they’ve been getting lots of attention. The gate keepers at the Telos Checkpoint are amused and delighted that so many birders have been up to visit. Fortunately, the woodpeckers seem unperturbed. Using a camcorder on a tripod, I zoomed in from a respectful distance today and made a movie star out of the male, who alternately drummed and preened. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D2-zBpZWfk. A female Black-backed Woodpecker just down the road shared a guest starring role. By 2:30, we had managed the Boreal Big Five: Gray Jay, Boreal Chickadee, Spruce Grouse, and both toe-challenged woodpeckers. Six different American Kestrels were up in the woods. I don’t know how they are doing around Maine farms, but they’re still pretty numerous around clearcuts. We had a bunch of Olive-sided Flycatchers, one Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and one quick flyover of crossbills (or crossbill) which I deemed to be a Red. Before the thunderstorm moved in, we had witnessed every northern woodpecker except sapsucker.
Bob Duchesne
Woodpecker Whisperer
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