Day 4

Allow me to start by saying that Maine, at least since i have been here get a LOT of rain. It was a wash out for banding today, both literally and figuratively. It poured rain this morning and there was cascading water going over the cliff we needed to climb. It was very dangerous with all that water going over the cliff so we called it off.  I was then free for the day so I decided to go explore some. my first stop was to go find these falcons nesting cliff. It was dreary and foggy at the top of the rise they were on but I eventually found them. I was there at Precipice Trail for about an hour, I then headed off to see what kind of bird life i could find along the shore.

I was surprised! I found Common Eiders, Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls and Black Guillemots all within my field of view; three life birds!!! It was pretty amazing. I was so happy that I went out. I thought to my self i could go back to the house now and be happy, but i didn’t, I kept going found Common Loons. All the while the background noise was of Red-breasted Nuthatches, White-throated Sparrows, Black-throated Green Warblers (These are rather ubiquitous here) Yellow-rumped Warblers And some that i have not identified yet. Later at Otter Cliff I saw about 10-12 Black Guillemots just floating and swimming around. Off in the distance there was a lobster boat checking their traps. It had a small flock of gulls flying along behind. As Dave always taught me “scan the group, you never know what you might find.” So I did, and saw a Sooty Shearwater in the crowd as well. Yet another Life Bird! I don’t have a good, or working, long lens currently so I don’t have photos of the birds I saw today.

--As a side note--

Anyone who reads this and would like to take pity on a poor Graduate student and gift them, ME, with a big fat Canon 100-400mm lens just e-mail me and I can give you the address :D

--back to the story--

So I drove around the East side of MDI (Mount Desert Island) and saw some beautiful houses, if it weren’t so cold here that Regina, Erin and the boys froze to death I could see my self staying here. It is a lovely place, I just need to find the local cheap restaurants. I am currently at the Opera House Internet Cafe writing this. the sun has finally come out, which is the reason for the internet cafe. After I am done with this I am going to fill up the coffee and head over to the Village Green and attempt, again, to connect to the free internet. After next week I will have internet at my house and these updates will happen more frequently. Hopefully I will also be able to buy that point and shoot soon so i can carry it where ever i go and be able to dress these posts up. sorry for no pictures.

That is all for now, I will chat with you all later.