Day 19.040: Four miles on the beach

As I mentioned, on Presidents Day, Exile #2 and I went for a walk on the beach at Old Orchard Beach. We ended up walking 4.2 miles which took us from south of the pier nearly to the Scarborough town line and back.

Here is some of what we saw along the way:

American herring gull

Rock pigeons on the pier

The largest gull in the world (great black-backed gull)

Clam for dinner

The pier was wearing ice shorts

Sanderling

Horned grebe

Common loon

Sanderlings

Sanderlings in flight

Wind vane

Some of the 31 sanderlings that we counted when several groups converged

Another clam bites the dust

Day 19.039: Saturday birding

Amazingly, I have yet to give my report on last Saturday's birding. We gathered at Biddeford Pool and had views from different positions of the Pool, the narrow entrance "the Gut", and out into the bay in two directions.

Horned grebe

Common loon

Common goldeneye

Bufflehead

Long-tailed duck

Bald eagle (on this distant flagpole on an island in the bay)

White-winged scoter

Distant scaup

Canada geese

American herring gull

Surf scoter

Surf scoters

American tree sparrow

Northern cardinal

White-throated sparrow

White-throated sparrow

Northern mockingbird

House finch

Surf scoters

Black scoters

Black scoters

Day 19.038: Pancakes

After our Mardi Gras themed potluck at church on Sunday, it was back to Shrove Tuesday today with some pancake flipping to mark the occasion:

Day 19.037: Washington’s Birthday

Today goes by various names but for me it is one of the holidays that my workplace observes and it was a beautiful sunny day.

After a morning getting some chores done, Exile #2 and I ventured out in the afternoon for a walk along the beach at Old Orxhard Beach. We ended up walking over four miles and - for the first time in a while - both felt rather over-dressed for the weather.

Day 19.036: Exile #2’s Sunday Column #543

Exile #2 writes...

We had a Mardi Gras potluck after church today, which was fun, and involved at least some attempts at southern food. A friend I was sat with reminisced about the time she had gone to New Orleans for a couple of days during its famous Mardi Gras celebrations. “But not,” she added, “the last couple of days. It gets really wild then!”

True to our roots, I expect we’ll go a little bit wild and flip some pancakes on Tuesday. Phew - watch out, everyone!

Day 19.035: Love birds?

As well as Valentine’s Day, today was a Saturday and therefore a bird-counting day at our feeders. We say a downy woodpecker early on (not unusual), a little later a hairy woodpecker (less common but not too surprising). Then, later, two downy woodpeckers and then two hairy woodpeckers were flying around. All four were visible at the same time. Maybe spring is in the air. 

We also had a brown creeper. Only the second time I recall having seen one from the windows at home. 

It’s a terrible photo, but identifiable. I’m pleased to say I was almost certain without the photo mostly from size and behavior. 

Day 19.034: Turtle showers

All along Clearwater beach - between the sand and the road were beach showers with a variety of cute turtle sculptures. Here is one (with a palm tree for good measure).

I’m not in sunny Florida now, but it is the weekend.