by Marion Sprague
On Jan 1st MYBC set out on our Annual Christmas Bird Count for the Biddeford/Kennebunk CBC! Our crew consisted of 8 birders—6 young birders and 2 adults. We shuffled the count day to Friday to avoid the unfriendly weather forecasted for the original count day of Jan 2nd. We had mild sunny weather all day making for very comfortable birding. Due to COVID-19 and our restrictions on carpooling, we opted to met at OOB and bird our section on foot. We walked about 8 miles!
We caught the first sunrise of 2021 at the Old Orchard Beach Pier and then proceeded to bird along the beach. We picked up several Common Loons, Long-tailed Ducks, Surf, Black, and White-Winged scoters and a few Common Golden-Eyes. The highlight of the early part of the day was a flock of 20 Sanderlings!
Our journey next brought us to the marsh at Goosefare Brook. We picked up the expected Canada Geese, Mallards and American Black Ducks. We also saw a small European Starling murmuration and a White-tailed Deer on the marsh. Most interesting on this stretch was 2 impersonations of a Broad-Winged Hawk. First we heard a European Starling do a passible rendition and then a Blue Jay.
Our final stop as a group before disbanding for the day was Guild Park. Here we were greeted along the road by a mixed flock of Tufted Titmice, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinals and a Downy and Red-bellied Woodpecker. Once on the wooded trail we heard a small group of nuthatches.
As we were waiting for parents to arrive a few of us spotted a Cooper’s Hawk hunting the pigeon flock at the OOB Pier and we picked up a lone Horned Grebe.
In total (now that the official results are in) there were 81 different species seen on the count day. MYBC had a lot of fun and can’t wait to participate next year!
Stay-tuned for the February 2021 Trip Announcement coming soon!
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