Finally, the weather and road conditions cooperated enough that I could do some scouting for tours coming up in June. These always visit the roads west of Baxter for boreal specialties.
The Ruffed Grouse had to work hard to outnumber the Spruce Grouse. After a day and a half in the woods, I tallied 9 Ruffed and 8 Spruce.
Speaking of which, the good news is that “Skidder” is right back on his territory, same as last year. As spruce grouse go, he’s a real clown. I was even more pleased to confirm that all of my other “named” grouse survived the winter. Topper, Skidder, Kidder, and Camper were all on station, and Kidder was entertaining a female spruce grouse when I visited, I sheepishly admit.
Other than that, the late winter is keeping the North Maine Woods a little quieter than normal. The usual suspects are singing everywhere – ruby-crowned kinglets, palm warblers, white-throated sparrows, blue-headed vireos, etc. But no Nashville warblers or any flycatchers have arrived yet. And NO crossbills, which is not a surprise since they were absent all winter, too.
Gray Jays…excuse me…Canada Jays were abundant – the most I’ve seen. Boreal chickadees did well. But I managed only two Black-backed Woodpeckers.
Bob Duchesne
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