Tuesday, September 04, 2012

I'm a Mainah!

It's official: we moved to Maine last Wednesday, I've had a bite of lobstah and a mussel, and soon I'll have Maine plates on my car. I'm a Mainah!

Actually, it's apparently very hard (hahd?) to become a true Mainer. Many generations must live here, work here, die here. So we're not really Mainers, but we are Maine residents and (as soon as I get back there from a work-related training thing in Chelmsford, Mass) will soon be registered voters and car owners and licensed drivers of Maine.

Here are some pics from Popham Beach, where I watched a Herring Gull steal a paper sack out of someone's unattended bag:

 

 Empty, dammit! Curse you, human!



So far, we've only had time to play around a little. A zillion thanks go to the in-laws who helped us unload the cubes last Friday. We're still unpacking boxes, but we did take some time to go to Wolf's Neck State Park (awesome!) and Popham Beach State Park. Birds seen were pretty expected: mostly Herring Gulls, some Canada Geese, a couple of Laughing Gulls, American Goldfinch and House Finch, and the like. I don't think I'd know a ranging pelagic bird if it bit me on the nose, so I have a lot of studying to do.

Now, as I mentioned, I'm stuck in Chelmsford until Thursday but then I can go back home. I can't wait for the weekend!

There aren't a lot of reports from my area on eBird, but I have seen a few hotspots in the area that I can try. I live pretty near to the coast and to a bird sanctuary, so I'm hoping to get some time this weekend to bird a little bit. I've signed up for the state listserv, and I'm on the lookout for other Maine birding resources. Any suggestions? I live in Brunswick, which is Mid-coast, but farther southwest than the bigger Mid-coast places like Camden and stuff (the cities mentioned on the Mid-coast Audubon Society page).

AB's mom gave me a couple of Maine birding books, so that's helped tremendously. Now it's just a matter of finding the time to get out there before the migration is over!

5 comments:

Drew said...

Good luck! The best part of moving for me is finding my own new hotspots. I think birders pick up ideas of what make good spots based on where they bird the most, and when they move they often find new areas that local birders missed or ignored.

Dr. Monkey Hussein Monkerstein said...

Congrats on the move. Watch out for the snow and for mooses.

dguzman said...

Drew-that will likely be what I'll have to do; thanks to work schedule, I won't have time to join birding clubs or anything like that. Also, there aren't a lot of lists entered in eBird for my area; I'm hoping to change that!

Dr. Monkey--thanks! I'm kinda worried about the snow....

RG said...

Lots more light in the summer - (lots less in the winter!) I have read that lobster is dirt cheap there. Have two for me and BL!

dguzman said...

Rabbits' Guy--in State College, it got dark as early as 5pm; I imagine it'll be like that here. Grrr. Lobster is like 3.99/lb! I actually didn't like it that much. It tasted okay, as did the mussel, but it just wasn't a taste that appealed to me. And the idea of it -- cracking the thing open and ripping it apart, etc. -- ick.