by Marion Sprague
We had a wonderful time exploring Gilsland Farm on Sept 12 with 5 of the MYBC young birders. Gilsland Farm is 65-acre sanctuary in with more than two miles of trails winding along a pond and through forest, meadow, orchard, and salt marsh situated along the Presumpscot River estuary in Falmouth.
We met at the parking lot near the Audubon Nature Store and did not get far for the first hour—the birds were that good there! The trees along the apple orchard were bustling with activity. We picked up many fall warblers including a Black-throated Green warbler that fed in the open along the apple trees. We also had a juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker calling and feeding. It took us nearly 45 minutes to move on from this spot—because if the birds are a hoppin’ , MYBC is a stoppin’!
From there we headed to the pond and stumbled—almost over—a Great Blue Heron hiding in the tall grass leading to the water. We picked up a few non-avian species at the pond including a few frogs, tadpoles and dragonflies. We had another brief encounter with the GBH. After flushing from its spot in the tall grass, it tried to land in the upper part of the pond meadow. Unfortunately, for the heron, a flock of Wild Turkeys was foraging there with their poults. As soon as the heron tried to land, they lit into him and he immediately took off squawking at them. We managed to get a photo of him backpedaling mid-air. We all got a good chuckle out of it and the GBH flew on to a quieter roosting spot.
The North Meadow and Garden were very productive. We picked up our first Eastern Phoebe of the day here and as we got closer to the water we saw a lone Bonaparte’s Gull in the large raft of gulls on the water. We also got some great looks at a fishing Snowy Egret and a small flock of Semipalmated Sandpipers.
We wrapped up the adventure will a stroll through the West Meadow and marsh overlooks. We picked up a Swainson’s and a Hermit Thrush while walking through the wooded section. Our final stop was at the the at the West Meadow overlook of the marsh and Presumpscot River. Here there were 2 Bald Eagles calling and one settled in a tree across the Marsh from us.
All-in-all it was a great outing. We saw 57 species throughout the morning, including 9 species of warblers. Check out the full checklist of what we saw here: https://ebird.org/me/checklist/S73870287?share=true
See you at the October Mt, A outing! Happy Birding.
