Canada Geese in Magurrewock Marsh

I spent six weeks on limited activity after having surgery in February. No ice fishing, only a little snowshoeing in no more than a few inches of fluffy snow, and certainly no snowmobiling. A girl gets fidgety when she can’t do much. I’m making up for lost time as much as possible these days. Maggurewock Marsh has been my go-to place since the migrant birds started to return. There’s little snow there compared to here in the northern corner of Washington County.

A pair of Canada geese in Maggurewock Marsh, Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Baring, Maine.

A pair of Canada geese in Maggurewock Marsh, Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Baring, Maine.

The Canada goose is the largest waterfowl in Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. The gander weighs up to 14 pounds and the goose up to 12 pounds. They have a wing span of up to five and a half feet. I’m intimidated! I take no chance of getting too close to a bird that can bruise me.

A pair of Canada geese in Maggurewock Marsh, Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Baring, Maine.There wasn’t a lot of open water while I was there Monday morning. Three warm days later, I’m sure a lot more is open. If you’re looking for waterfowl in the area, this is the place to go. I saw Canada geese, Mallards, Woodies, and Hooded and Common Mergansers. I even saw the elusive Maggurewock Penguin pictured below.

The elusive Maggurewock penguin

The elusive Maggurewock penguin

Maggurewock penguin, you ask? Some people call it a hooded merganser.

In other bird news – the Bald eagles on Route 1 in Baring, which is in Moosehorn NWR, are still incubating eggs (assuming there is more than one). And the loons have come back to Lewey Lake in Princeton/Indian Township. I saw two there Wednesday morning. Woodcock returned to my neighborhood by Tuesday evening of this week. I stood on the porch semi-bright and early to listen to three males peenting at 4:45 Wednesday morning. I count woodcock for the Singing Ground Survey in Danforth and Amity. This spring I’m adding a third route in Lambert Lake.

Robin Follette

About Robin Follette

Maine Press Association award winner, 2013. Robin's Outdoors, Bangor Daily News, third place in Sports blogs. I grew up with a fishing pole in my hand and have always loved the outdoors. From gardening to hunting and fishing, kayaking, camping, hiking and foraging, most of my time is spent outdoors. I teach outdoor skills as a volunteer instructor for Hooked On Fishing - Not On Drugs and Becoming an Outdoors-Woman. Pro-staff at The Limb Grip. My personal blog is here. I'm currently working on my first book, a collection of short stories based on my outdoors experiences.