Category Archives: Birds

Did you know American bitterns are surprisingly strong swimmers?

American bittern

I stopped at a small marsh in Springfield Friday morning. I’d seen Canada geese there and wanted to take a few photos. An acquaintance was there and we talked a few minutes about other birds she’d seen. I sat down to watch the geese, two of them, hoping that if I stayed still for a […]

Live nature cameras to watch while you’re stuck indoors

whitetail bucks

Are you running out of things to do indoors while it snows again? It’s harder than usual to get outdoors this winter but we can at least watch what’s happening outdoors while staying warm in our homes. I’m a live camera fanatic. I almost always have one running in the background while I’m writing. If […]

Politics, Hunting, and Sunrise on Democrat Ridge

Surise on Democrat Ridge

The television was spewing hateful political ads and bad news when Steve turned it on this morning. I wasn’t long in turning it off. Facebook wasn’t much better. I’m sick to death of all this trash talk. It seems like there’s no getting away from hate and discontent in today’s connected world, and Tuesday can’t […]

Banding Geese at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge

My daughter Taylor is the Youth Conservation Corps leader at Moosehorn National Refuge. When she mentioned banding geese I was all over it. “Can I help?” “I think so. Call Maury or Ray.” Maury Mills manages the Woodcock Singing Ground Survey I’ve been participating in for so long, and Ray Brown allowed me to go […]

The soaking wet broad-winged hawk

The rain isn’t giving us a break over here in northern Washington County and I don’t do well with being housebound. “Want to go for a ride,” I asked Steve and Taylor. We rode out to Loon Bay on the St. Croix. I hoped to see moose but we didn’t. We stopped along the way […]

Banding woodcock with biologists and students

One of my favorite parts of spring is the Woodcock Singing Ground Survey Steve and I have been a part of for more than a decade. We added the Lambert Lake route this year, and our most interesting event happened on that route. Being an avid turkey hunter, I was excited to hear commotion in […]

The weather was lousy on opening day of turkey season but that didn’t stop me

It was raining hard at 2 am and pouring by 3:30 am. Howling wind kept me awake most of the night. It was opening day of the spring turkey hunt. “I’d be happy to just go for a ride and stay dry and see what happens,” I offered. Steve, my husband, didn’t answer me. We […]

Turkey season opens Monday and I won’t be hunting here

Eastern Wild Turkey (hen)

We’ve been scouting turkeys for more than a week now and haven’t found anything close to home to pursue when the season opens Monday morning. We’ve seen two lone hens, always in the same spot so they’re most likely on nests, jakes and a tom. The jakes and tom are in an area we can’t […]

Canada Geese in Magurrewock Marsh

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

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 […]

The Eagles of Maggurewock Marsh

The American Bald eagles of Magurrewock Marsh in Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge in Baring can be seen in their nesting area on Rt 1 nearly year round. When I stopped to take these photos on March 21 or 22 neither were on the nest. I pushed the lens to its max on a gray day […]

A ruffed grouse budding on a late afternoon

I’ve been watching for the grouse, curious about how well they’ve managed this winter. Now and then I get a glimpse of one when I’m walking in the woods. Last year’s wet spring during nesting time drowned a lot of nests and chicks. I’ve seen the snow roosts left behind after nights spent in the […]

Life in the Woods: Bald Eagle

Bald eagles are a wonderful sight…most of the time. When one is perched high in a tree and glancing at my ducks and chickens I get a bit concerned. Our English shepherd spent a couple of hours in the pen with the birds this afternoon to keep them safe.

There’s finally some action at the bird feeders!

Finally! After months of not having the usual winter birds at the feeding stations the snow buntings appeared yesterday. When I see them they’re up the road in the huge field or in a clearing on Democrat Ridge. As I understand it, they prefer open space to forest. A flash of white caught my eye […]

Maine Bear Hunting Referendum: hunting with Bob Tigro

This is an incredible story. Refill your coffee and get comfortable. You’ll be drawn in quickly. This is Bob Tigro’s story of bear and coyote hunting at Oxbow Lodge in Oxbow. What do coyotes have to do with hunting bears with bait, snares and hounds? If it weren’t for bear hunting Bob wouldn’t have made […]

Susan Morse: Keeping Track of Animals

My daughter Taylor texted me last week to ask for wildlife photos for a video she was producing with Shannon Johnson, Chelsea Thomson and Matthew Leagan. They’re students at Unity College. This is their video about Susan Morse and how climate change is affecting wildlife.