Bird Watching in The White Mountains

Late spring means different things to different people. For me, it is time to hang up the skis and prepare for the next of several outdoor activities. While the golf courses are drying and the striped bass edge closer to their summer feeding grounds, I grab my binoculars and bird identification book and strike out to one of several excellent local bird watching areas.
 
While the area does hold a good number of year round species, and even a few that make The White Mountains their winter southern terminus, the onset of warmer air, bare ground and ice out bring north an awesome array of birds.
 
On Rt 113 in Conway, there is a small pond visible from the road. As ice out begins, small areas of open water appear and soon after, ringneck ducks. I have been visiting this spot for 15 years or more now, and they show up almost on cue. Generally 10 -20  birds will appear 2 or 3 at a time. These birds are in full winter plumage and absolutely striking. The purple head feathers appear almost holographic when I glass them through my binoculars. As soon as the pond is fully open, the birds are gone.

 
Another favorite spring arrival is the red wing black bird. There is a swampy spot in Bartlett that is a great venue to watch the comical display of these vocal and flamboyant birds. They will land gracefully atop the fragmitie reeds, bending them downward, then ride them back up as the reed regains its shape. Easily identifiable by there bright red wing patches, these birds are abundant and frequent back yard seed feeders as well.
 
I had an afternoon to dedicate to bird watching last week which included a trip to the coast and ID’d the following birds.
 

 
Robin
Chickadee
Mourning Dove
Junko
Cardinal
Ringneck Duck
Hooded Merganser
Mallard
Black Duck
Canada Goose
Old Squaw Duck
Eider
Night Heron
Herring Gull
Turkey
Merlin
Red Tailed Hawk
 
 
 
For some great pointers on how to get started in bird watching and identification, visit

http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/travel/nh/spring-bird-watching.html
 
 
David Emmet

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 at 10:19 am and is filed under Outdoor Activities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.