For The Birds

To start the first new week of this new year, I thought I’d share a couple of happy local bird stories • First: volunteer firefighters and members of Avian Haven and the Biodiversity Institute rescued a loon from a frozen lake this past weekend. Ice was encroaching on a small area of open water and the loon didn’t have enough water to take off. Such a relief the bird was not harmed! • Second: over the weekend MrsP and I talked to another couple birdwatching along the river at The Boat Landing. They had just returned from a location about an hour away where hundreds of people had gathered to spot the rare Stellar’s Sea Eagle, native to Russia. It’s the largest eagle in existence with an 8’ wingspan. They shared a fuzzy photo of it perched in a distant tree. The bird has been causing quite a stir in midcoast Maine over the past week. Residents of the town aren’t happy with all the fuss as it’s a small rural community without places to park or accommodate so many visitors • Thankfully this red-bellied woodpecker can come and go without too much notice :)