Ducks heading up river, sign of spring

Last week was unpleasantly frigid. I was frantically searching for signs of spring, and on a sunny day I got into my car. The sun had heated my car – a sign of spring! The sun wouldn’t heat a car in January, but it does now, in April.

For a naturalist, that was stooping low. I was desperate for signs of spring. The sun is strong now, and will prevail against the snow. Another sign of spring is a leaf six inches down in a hole in the snow the exact shape of the leaf. The sun is so strong that it heats the leaf sufficiently so that it melts itself down into the snow.

Others found many wonderful signs of spring. The ice is gone from the Penobscot River in Bangor, and the ducks are on the move. Male ducks are in their most beautiful, flashiest plumage, whereas the females are well-camouflaged for incubating the eggs and guarding the young.

Wild ducks are heading up the river. The ducks that spent the winter here, such as common goldeneye, common merganser and Barrow’s goldeneye, are heading north.

Flocks of Canada geese have been spotted flying up the river, perhaps to Canada.

Despite the cold, spring birds keep arriving, bringing joy to winter-worn birders. Gene Stuart spotted the first killdeer in the Bangor area. He saw it fly across a pasture in Winterport.

Ed Grew found ring-necked ducks and wood ducks in Orono. Male wood ducks are gorgeous with their crested green heads, maroon chest and blue wings. Those vivid colors are accented and delineated by bands of white. The female makes a nest and incubates her eggs in a hollow tree. This intriguing species is often seen perched on trees near water.

Grew also found a woodcock, a small plump bird with a long, three-inch-long bill.

Jerry Smith found a large flock of hooded mergansers in Orrington. And he found a rare duck – a canvasback. That is a very handsome duck and rare in Maine. Canvasbacks nest in the western United States and Canada.

Smith immediately let his birding friends know that a rarity was here because advanced birders often have a “Maine List,” and the goal is to see as many species as possible in Maine. This canvasback will be a sitting duck for several birders seeking a new Maine species.

For information on Fields Pond Audubon Center, call 989-2591.