Day 19.207: At Great Pond

Our nature group gathered this evening in Biddeford Pool. We started and ended with a view of Great Pond. Here is some of what we saw there (in the dying light):

There are two black-crowned night herons in this photo

Glossy ibis (later we saw 40 of them in this pond)

Choke cherry

Great egret

Great egret

Double-crested cormorant

Glossy ibis

Snowy egret and great blue heron

Snowy egrets

Eastern kingbird

Sunset clouds

Day 19.195: Weekend; chicory

It’s the weekend. Here’s a chicory flower:

And - as a bonus - the silvery leaves of autumn olive:

Day 19.193: Breakfast with waxwings

Our second stop on Saturday morning was where the Eastern Trail crosses Scarborough Marsh. At one point our group paused to admire and sample the ripe fruit of a shadbush by the trail. We were soon joined by some cedar waxwings with a similar idea.

Day 19.191: Saturday morning birding (part 1)

Our nature group outing on Saturday morning had three elements. Two outdoor locations followed by brunch. Our first stop was at Dunstan Landing in Scarborough. A first visit to this spot for me. 

Great egret

Eastern phoebe

Saltmarsh sparrow

There were likely Nelson’s sparrows around too, but as far as i can tell, all the photos I got as these birds flew and disappeared into the marsh grasses were of saltmarsh sparrows 

Glossy ibis

Peekaboo northern yellow warbler

Double-crested cormorant

Song sparrow

Red-bellied woodpecker

Ruby-throated hummingbird 

The white pine by the tree parking area had some impressive new cones

Day 19.189: Cemetery sights

Here’s some of what caught my eye on Thursday evening apart from the jumping fish:

Cooper’s hawk

Opposite angle

It’s mushroom season 

Chipping sparrow 

Young chipping sparrow

Two bald eagles in “the eagle tree”

Hairy woodpecker

Goldfinch catching the sunset rays

Day 19.181: Smalls Falls

One episode I didn't get around to reporting from our adventure that included Saddleback and Bicknell's thrushes was our visit to Smalls Falls. We happened to be passing and thought we might as well see what it had to offer. At first impressions, it was a parking lot with a bridge and a view of a medium-sized waterfall.

We followed the trail which hugged the side of the falls and discovered that there are several cascades.

The noise from the tumbling water was quite overwhelming after our peaceful walk on the mountain. There were probably birds in the woods, but we didn't detect them.