NH.Birds for Thursday, December 3, 2009

Messages are displayed in the order they were received.  Subject  From  Time   RE: Grouse Attack   Beth Rogers    12:15am   Storm birds (not much), but turtles and a dragonfly!   Steve Mirick    12:38pm   New yard listing piece posted at BirdFellow.com   David Irons    5:39pm   Hampton-Rye, in brief   Patience Chamberlin    8:46pm   Re: Isles of Shoals CBC Compiler/Organizer Duties Open   yugruguru(AT)aol.com   9:56pm

To use email addresses replace '(AT)' with '@'. This is done to confuse the spam 'bots.

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Subject: RE: Grouse Attack
From: Beth Rogers <bethmcke(AT)msn.com>
Date: 3 Dec 2009 12:15am

 Hi,

If you like owls, you might enjoy seeing this National Public Radio blog on
owls featuring an interview with and the photography of Paul Bannick. If you
like these photos, you should see his book The Owl and The Woodpecker.

Paul is still touring North American with this book. His schedule can be seen
at http://www.paulbannick.com/#tour.

Beth Rogers

Issaquah, WA


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Subject: Storm birds (not much), but turtles and a dragonfly!
From: Steve Mirick <smirick(AT)comcast.net>
Date: 3 Dec 2009 12:38pm

Got out to the coast for an hour just at the tail end of the storm as 
the winds shifted, ,rains ended and the visibility lifted......but 
surprisingly not much for pelagic species.  Then....after 2 hours in the 
dentist chair, walked around the Exeter WWTP.  My target was a 
dragonfly.......and I got it!

Winds SE gusting to 40 knots at dawn.  Shifting to S and the SSW in 
morning with clearing skies.  Record high temperatures soaring into the 
mid to upper 60's.

Little Boar's Head (7:30 AM to 8:30 AM)
-------------------------------------------
Northern Gannet - 24 (2 juveniles, 22 adults)
Black-legged Kittiwake - 4 adults
Alcids - 0
Shearwaters - 0

Exeter WWTP (11:00 to 11:30 AM)
---------------
Lesser Scaup - 23
Double-crested Cormorant - 1
Red-winged Blackbird - 2

PAINTED TURTLE - 4
AUTUMN MEADOWHAWK - 1 in sunny sheltered area.  Record late date for 
state!  Not surprising considering mild fall and incredibly warm day 
today.  Wouldn't be surprised if other oders got them today if they were 
out searching.

http://home.comcast.net/~smirick//photos/paintedturtle120309.jpg

http://home.comcast.net/~smirick//photos/autumnmeadowhawk120309.jpg

Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA


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Subject: New yard listing piece posted at BirdFellow.com
From: David Irons <davidirons20(AT)yahoo.com>
Date: 3 Dec 2009 5:39pm

This morning I posted a new piece about yard listing to the BirdFellow.com
online journal. We encourage you to share your own yard listing
highlights, and if you are so bold tell us where you live and what your
current yard list is by posting a comment.

Good birding,

Dave Irons

Content Editor BirdFellow.com


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Subject: Hampton-Rye, in brief
From: Patience Chamberlin <patiencechamberlin(AT)gmail.com>
Date: 3 Dec 2009 8:46pm

Couldn't resist "winter" birding in 66 deg. temps. this afternoon.  Howling
SW wind until the sun started to go down, but most impressive was extensive
flooding on marsh side.  At 1:30, most of the marsh was well underwater, and
water was lapping around houses on Island Path Rd. and the whole west side
of town.  It was actually a pretty creepy look at what could lie ahead with
warmer temps and sea-level rise.  But back to birds...

Hampton Beach State Park:  couple hundred gulls hunkered down in the parking
lot.  great looks at 20 Horned Larks close by once I sat on the ground with
my scope in the lee of my car.

Hampton Water Tower:  One juv. Peregrine Falcon perched.  We watched each
other for a long time.

Very rough water made for difficult viewing, but there were good numbers of
scoters and ducks, loons all along coast.

Eel Pond:

Am. Coot -1
Bufflehead- 12
C. Goldeneye-1 female
Mute swan-2

The wind was tough, but the light was beautiful.  Wonderful sunset over the
marshes.

Patience Chamberlin
Exeter


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Subject: Re: Isles of Shoals CBC Compiler/Organizer Duties Open
From: yugruguru(AT)aol.com
Date: 3 Dec 2009 9:56pm

Hey Ed - is anyone doing this this year - do you know how I can find out if
you don't know?

Steve Mesick, Albany NY

-----Original Message-----
From: edward.raynor(AT)maine.edu
To: New Hampshire Birds <NH.Birds(AT)lists.unh.edu>
Cc: massbird(AT)TheWorld.com; Maine-birds <maine-birds(AT)mainebirdlist.net>; Julie
Suchecki <jsucheck(AT)maine.rr.com>
Sent: Wed, Sep 10, 2008 3:58 pm
Subject: Isles of Shoals CBC Compiler/Organizer Duties Open

Hello fellow New Englanders,
I am posting this opportunity for anyone interested in taking over as
organizer and compiler of the Isles of Shoals Christmas Bird Count.
Historically, this count has usually occurred during the weekend before
Christmas. The trend for the trip actually going is that it goes 2 out of
every 4 years due to inclement weather. The UNH Gulf Challenger,
http://www.marine.unh.edu/facilities/vessels/rv-challenger.html , has been the
transportation for the four years that I've organized the trip. Also, the Star
Island Corporation, http://www.starisland.org/, allows access to Star Island,
where we usually discover some half hardy songbirds attempting to overwinter
in the island's thickets. We went out in 2003 and 2004 but not 2005 or 2006.
When the trip does run, everyone has a great time. Plus, we cover an area that
receives little attention during the CBC season due to lack of access and
fills a void in this region of the Gulf of Maine's CBC coverage. Also, this
may be something to add to a resume for anyone pursuing a career in the
environmental/wildlife biology field or ecotourism.

The reason for my abandonment of the organizer/compiler duty is due to my
current position as a graduate student in southern Louisiana at Nicholls State
University. If any would like to take over this duty please feel free to email
me or call me at 203-610-3920.

Good birding,
E.J. Raynor
Formerly of Fairfield, CT and undergraduate in Machias, ME
Currently in Thibodaux, LA