Today, on a clear, windy 12 October, while walking along a trail in 100-Acre Wood, we saw a Golden-crowned Kinglet (GCKI) high in the spruce trees, and two Ruby-crowned Kinglets (RCKI) flitting amongst shrubs around Brackett Pond. The GCKI is Maine’s second-smallest breeding bird; only hummingbirds are smaller. It is common in coniferous forests and is the smallest insectivorous bird that winters in Maine. The hyperactive RCKI is ¼” longer, and only rarely over-winters in Maine, instead migrating further south1.
This article, the third in a series about the woods of Peaks Island, focuses on an awareness of birds, i.e., one aspect of “forest bathing”, a state of awareness described by Eleanor Morse in the previous article in this series. Many of us enjoy watching birds at bird feeders. Here we consider the types of birds that you might encounter in the woods, in the fall and winter, on the island. There may be a future article on spring/summer birds.
Some of the birds you can see in the fall are year-round residents, such as American Crow, Common Raven, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird and four species of woodpecker. Others are visitors that can be divided into several groups. Winter residents, such as White-throated Sparrow, Red Crossbill, Dark-eyed Junco are arriving here to escape the harsher conditions up north where they breed. Summer residents such as Gray Catbird, Great-crested Flycatcher, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, several thrushes, warblers and swallows breed here and overwinter further south; many have already departed. Finally, some migrants from further north are (or were) just passing through on their way to their southern wintering grounds, such as the Blackpoll Warbler and many other warblers; they are here only briefly.
Each type of habitat on Peaks has its own collection of trees, other plants, and birds. In a forest dominated by conifer trees, you might see Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch and Red-breasted Nuthatch; all three are year-round residents. Hardwood forests may support different birds. Ponds and swampy woods invite other species such as woodpeckers and Wood Ducks. Some bird prefer a particular habitat while others don’t seem to care. If you watch birds often enough, you may develop an intuition of what birds you might see in a particular habitat.
We are well into Fall migration now. Some departed as early as August for their winter homes in the southern U.S. or beyond, but the majority migrate in September and October. Seasonal migration might seem like a risky way to perpetuate a species, but what advantages might there be for raising offspring? Indeed, these birds do face big hurdles. According to a recent podcast about fall birding on Maine Public radio, fall migrants typically fly at night. Then, exhausted, they descend to the nearest land mass to rest and feed during daylight. They may reach the ground in the woods or in the city. I recently met a group of volunteers with Maine Audubon who monitor Fall-migrating birds that collide with the windows of large buildings in downtown Portland. Window strikes take a huge toll on birds (~1 billion per year in the U.S.2). Saddened after experiencing several bird collisions with windows at our own house, we did some research and bought Acopian bird savers, designed to keep birds away from windows (www.birdsavers.com).
Take these along when you go birding: 1. A good pair of binoculars, 2. A field guide, 3. The Merlin app from Cornell University, installed on your cell phone. 4. A small notebook to record your observations. Turn Merlin on and watch as your phone “hears” bird sounds and identifies them in real time! While you can combine your birdwatching with a walk, a more immersive approach is engage in “forest bathing”: find a quiet spot, sit still, and look and listen. You may hear an odd croaking sound, it might be a raven; an accumulating pile of wood chips on the ground might point you to a Pileated Woodpecker; faint chirps in a tree overhead may be a conversation amongst a mixed flock of warblers.
Consider logging your observations in an online database such as Cornell University’s eBird. These data are used for scientific studies on geographic ranges, bird migration, and changes in distribution driven by climate change. Citizen science in action!
The birds you see will change with the seasons. After a while you may see familiar faces; they may even become friends.
1 Vickery, P.D. 2020. Bird of Maine, Princeton Univ. Press.
2 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Photo by Patrice Bouchard on Unsplash
Photo by Jessica Kirkpatrick on Unsplash
Acquiring, preserving, and stewarding open space for public use on Peaks Island.
