[Maine-birds] Gilsland Farm Bird Walk, 1/27

Hey Maine-birds:

During yesterday's bird walk at Gilsland Farm in Falmouth we managed to tally 32 species, helped in part by the high tide but trails remain a bit icy. Here are a few highlights from the walk:

Waterfowl numbers were about average with a surprising lack of goldeneye. The last few years we've seen goldeneye disappear off Gilsland during late January and early February despite the river staying free of ice over that period. One drake Gadwall was mixed with the American Black Duck / Mallard flock off the West Meadow; likely one of the four that has been reported from the Mackworth Causeway earlier this month.

One very vocal male Red-bellied Woodpecker was found visiting a potential/incomplete nest cavity near the pond. There is a great paper from the Auk on "Pair formation, mutual tapping and nest hole selection of Red-bellied Woodpeckers" by Lawrence Kilham that describes a synchronous mutual tapping behavior I hope we get a chance to see at this site. The paper is worth a skim if you have these birds near you: https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v075n03/p0318-p0329.pdf

Frugivores remain in good numbers with 120+ American Robins, 13 Cedar Waxwings, and 4 Eastern Bluebirds around the property. 

A complete list form the walk is available at: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S33943620

Good birding,


Doug Hitchcox
Staff Naturalist
Maine Audubon
207-781-2330 x237
dhitchcox@maineaudubon.org