[Maine-birds] Biddeford Pool Point Razorbills

This morning, for reasons that made perfect sense last night in the comfort of my heated apartment but seemed increasingly ludicrous at 5:30 am in the pre dawn twilight, I headed out to Biddeford Pool to try to get a look at comet ISON as it rose over the ocean just before dawn. A combination of full moonlight, dodgy star charts, an even dodgier ability to read said star charts and some low clouds in the east against me, so I eventually gave up and was content to gave in wonder at Jupiter through my scope (quite impressive, actually, I could even make out the bands of dark and light clouds around the planet and it's 4 moons, but hardly requiring getting up at 4:30 am and driving to the point...). I figured I'd give it one last shot finding the comet and low and behold once I realized the star I was looking at was climbing far too high in the sky to be Mercury (I'm pretty sure Mercury is terrified of heights), I was able to just glimpse Comet ISon! While it failed to burn with the brilliance of a thousand suns (or even the full moon.. or even be visible with the naked eye, as promised by the internet), it was pretty cool to see (it looked like a teeny tiny jet contrail shimmering in the haze and hanging in place just a few degrees above the horizon). 

Ok, ok, now for the birds. With the sky rapidly lightening and the comet dwindling in visibility, I headed out to the end of the point to see if any seabirds were moving in the predawn gloom. A few Black-legged Kittiwakes wheeled in high arcs offshore, including one juvie that obligingly came in close enough to positively ID in the scope. Small flocks of Black Scoters and Common Loons seemed to be the only birds definitively migrating, but eiders, Long-tailed Ducks and White-winged Scoters rearranged themselves looking for the best foraging grounds and Horned and Red-necked Grebes appeared and disappeared and vanished at will. The highlight was a small group of 5 Razorbills diving in a min feeding frenzy with some Red-throated and Common Loons and a group of thieving gulls about 50 feet off the point. Some of the best looks I've had of this species. 

A few Lapland Longspurs and Horned Larks passed overhead during the seawatch, calling as they went. An odd and poorly glimpsed black bird flushed from the edge of the trail out to the point and dove into the bushes in the predawn gloom. My impression was of a blackbird/cowbird, but I never re-found it.. Oh well, the one that got away.

That's enough of my rambling for now!

Good birding, 

David Rankin

Biddeford

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