Recent Excursions

So, only two recent birding trips in the past month what with being bogged down in school and all.

1. On November 10th, Mom and I headed up to Maine for me to interview at two colleges. Coincidentally, three Pink-footed Geese had been reported near the second college for the past month. The two of us, after both college interviews crossed and crisscrossed the roads in the reported area, but no sign of the geese. We did find a large flock of Canada Geese, however, and when we returned to check them again, two more birders were there, one with his scope set up. The four of us scanned the flock in vain again, and then the property owner, a birder even, set off across the fields to check the other side of the small hill that the flock pooled around. On her way back from checking the hill, she spooked some Hooded Mergansers into flight, and that spooked the entire flock of geese. As the hundred or so birds took wing, I searched among them for three smaller, shorter necked birds, but couldn't find any. When the owner got back to us, she told us all three Pink-footed Geese had in fact been with the flock just around the hill. Well, guess I'll just have to chase that one another time.

2. On Wednesday, Dad, Mom, Sarah, and I drove up to New Hampshire to spend Thanksgiving with Nana and Baboo. While there, we took a hike at a place called Tin Mountain Nature Preserve. While the avian life was not exactly spectacular (one Dark-eyed Junco and two Black-capped Chickadees), there were two very cool parts to the hike. First of all, the loop took us around a multi-tiered pond, where I counted eleven beaver dams! Two of these dams were over three feet tall. The other highlight of the hike was when I spotted a Northern Flying Squirrel halfway up the trunk of a White Birch. This was the first time I had ever seen a flying squirrel, but the flattened tail and flaps of skin gave it away, even though it's normally nocturnal.

So, my these are probably the only birding trips I'll get in before the year ends unless I chase that Ivory Gull currently sitting in Cape May.