It will be several more weeks before the beautiful colors and songs of our neotropical songbirds fill the forests again, but right now the pickings aren’t so meager. Arrival announcements fill my e-mail inbox daily, and I got out this weekend to do a bit of birding myself. I was far from disappointed.

Because I am participating in the Maine Owl Monitoring Program, I had gone out to re-check my route and add the prescribed additional two stops at the end before conducting the actual survey. My route comprises a roughly 10-mile section of the County and Stud Mill Roads in Milford. After completing the route, I continued on the Stud Mill Road into Costigan and turned onto Rte. 2. At this juncture there is a public boat launch located near where Burrs store used to be. I parked and went to the river to see what I would see.

Although ice still covered much of the river, small pools of open water had started to appear, abetted by the mild temperatures and strong sunshine. I immediately noticed a male and female hooded merganser near the bank directly opposite the boat launch. They appeared unconcerned by my presence, and I watched the male preen while his mate floated serenely nearby.

Both female and male hooded mergansers have distinctive appearances. Both have a fan-shaped crest that extends from the top to the back of the head, but it is the male that sports the larger, black-bordered white crest. He can raise and lower it at will in elaborate courtship displays; when raised it is quite beautiful and eye-catching; when lowered, it shrinks to a slim white line.

At one point something startled them and they flew off down river. A lone American black duck swam into view, dabbling for food. He was soon joined by five wood ducks – three males and two females. All were resplendent in breeding plumage; the females, elegant and understated; the males, gorgeous and outlandish.

I observed some interesting behavior. I expected to see the males clashing; they’d rush at each other for a short distance before breaking off the chase as if nothing had happened. I was surprised to see the females getting into the act; one hen appeared to take exception to a male who appeared to get too close to her and what I thought was her mate.

More surprises awaited me. Driving past the Old Town Airport, I caught a quick glimpse of a killdeer as it foraged in a ditch near the shoulder of the road. At home, I was greeted by a pair of robins, a few juncos, and a common grackle who cackled from atop a pine tree. In the distance, the liquid notes of a red-winged blackbird rang out. Ah, spring!

After all this, once I sit down to my computer I will be e-birding. Ebird, developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, is an interactive database that enables birders all across the country to report their sightings, view other’s sightings, and find out where the birds are. It is much more than a listing service, though; scientists use the data to find out more about bird population dynamics and numbers. In fact, there are certain birds they want us to look out for because their numbers are in decline or migratory patterns not well known. To ebird and discover which birds are on “The Ten Most Wanted List,” go to http://www.ebird.org/content/.

Ebirding is easy and fun; although I was reluctant at first to spend more time in front of a computer, I found logging my sightings quick and easy. I could then spend as much or as little time as I wanted perusing the database.

Also, get out and bird. Come join Maine Audubon on a quest to see more early spring waterfowl on Saturday, April 10. There is a small fee; to sign up, call the Fields Pond Nature Center at 989-2591.

Chris Corio, a volunteer at Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden, can be reached at fieldspond@juno.com