Though I could have spent a couple of hours with the grouse, I had a task to complete and so eventually I ventured down to the wetland where nothing spectacular made itself known.Īnd on to Highland Lake. On Christmas Bird Counts in the past, I’ve always had brief glimpses of Ruffed Grouses as they explode from their snow roosts in such a manner that it causes my heart to quicken for a second. It’s feet weren’t talon-like as a hawk’s would be.įeeling confident the porcupine wasn’t in the tree, I walked under and around for a better look and confirmed the identification. Which hawk could it be? Coopers? Goshawk? Rough-legged?īut wait.

A bird with a long striped tail.īrain cramp. The end of each patch of scrapes is where the upper incisors held firm against the tree and the lower ones met them.īecause I once stood under these trees expounding about how porcupines are known to fall off branches to a group of people who from their location about fifteen feet away told me to be careful because there was one sitting above, I’ve learned to scan first before stepping under.Īnd to my utmost delight, I spied. If you look closely, you’ll begin to see a pattern of five or six scrapes at a time forming almost a triangular pattern.

My heart sang when I saw the pattern of his tooth marks as the lower incisors scraped away at the bark to reach the cambium layer. In his usual hieroglyphics he left this message: I was here. Porky had posted signs of its presence everywhere, including upon this American Beech. I can use the masculine pronoun because it’s the males who occasionally tend to hang out in trees during the day.Ī nipped twig dangling in a Striped Maple sapling smack dab in front of my face further attested to the porky’s occupancy of the area.Īnd under the tree–a display of tracks and scat all not completely covered by the snow that fell earlier in the day. In the scene before me at HRF, by the sight of the American Hemlock on the left, I knew porky had done much dining and I could see disturbance on the ground so I scanned the trees in hopes of spying him. Porcupine sightings were hot topics of conversation at our home over the holiday weekend as the one who lives under our barn made its nightly appearance and even attacked a Christmas kissing ball hanging in a Quaking Aspen ten feet from the kitchen door. Other than the Mallards, and Black-capped Chickadees, and Red-Breasted Nuthatches, all was rather quiet.Īfter a few hours walking through the park and other than the aforementioned, plus a few Bluejays and American Crows, I headed north to Highland Research Forest (HRF) where I was sure a wetland would offer something special.īut first, I decided to treat myself to a visit to a set of trees at HRF known to host a porcupine. I walked the trail in slo-mo, listening and watching and hoping for the rare sighting. Handsome as he was, she followed he in an act of synchronized swimming, for it seemed that with each swivel he took in the water, she did the same. on Willet Brook, where she was accompanied by her Mr. And she stood out from the many as I counted about 43 Mallards all together, and it seemed they were divided almost evenly by gender, but most dabbled along Stevens Brook. Notice how he’s all puffed up? That’s because birds can trap their body heat between feathers to stay warm in the winter. His red coat provided such a contrast to the morning’s snowy coating. Or a whole lot quieter.īut quiet can be interrupted and by its chirps I knew a Northern Cardinal was in the neighborhood. I couldn’t speak for smaller downed wood or leaf litter or saplings, but still, this space is a bird’s paradise and in the spring the amount of song and color and flight bespeaks the wealth this community offers. Looking about, I thought about Maine Audubon’s Forestry For Maine Birds assessment and how this spot checked off many of the needs noted: into the park I went–from the backside because it’s the easiest way for me to access the park from our back door. My assignment: Walk the trails in Bridgton’s Pondicherry Park and Lake Environmental Association’s Highland Research Forest, both highlighted in red, and count birds of whatever species presented on this winter day.Īnd so. Such was the message that Mary Jewett sent out for those of us covering Maine Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count in the Sweden Circle. You can start later in the day if you need to. I encourage you to assess the conditions at your house, and communicate with your co-counters (if you have them) about your comfort level going out. It looks like the snow will end soon and it is supposed to be a beautiful day today. As many of you probably know, we are having some light snow at the moment.

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