For some reason, there is a popular misconception that anyone who hunts — say a grouse hunter who kills and eats a game bird — would not also be a bird watcher. Not necessarily so. Hunting and bird watching are not mutually exclusive.
Take me, for example. Like most dedicated hunters, I hunt partly because I am drawn to the natural world and enjoy the sights, sounds and smell of the great outdoors, as well as the pursuit of a worthy quarry, bird or beast.
Although the sight of a purple finch feeding at the backyard bird feeder doesn’t excite me quite as much as it does my wife, Diane, I do enjoy watching with her the comings and goings of some of Maine’s iconic songbirds.
Visits from the ruby-throated hummingbirds are particularly enthralling for me.
Earlier this month, bird columnist Karen Holmes, who writes a monthly column, “Bird Perch,” for the Northwoods Sporting Journal, made a guest appearance on my state-wide radio program, Maine Outdoors, on the Voice of Maine News-Talk Network. The high volume of phone calls from bird lovers around the state was a vivid reminder of just how popular bird watching is in Maine.
Clearly evident was that bird watchers all have their favorite visitors at the backyard feeders. And they are all different. When it comes to bird watching, Maine is blessed. Because of our diverse habitat, from arboreal forests to rolling fields and coastal shorelines, Maine is a destination point for many of America’s most iconic birds.
Karen points out that songbirds are cyclical like so many other creatures. Although the bald eagles have made an amazing comeback, other bird species are in decline, including night hawks, whip-poor-wills and swallows.
What are your favorite birds? Mine are, in no particular order: Pileated Woodpecker, Canada Jay, Mourning Dove, all hawks and the Great Blue Heron. For me these birds are unique, colorful, have character and purpose and are easy to identify.
I take that back. There is a bird at the top of my list. The Canada Jay, also known as a “gorby,” a “whiskey jack,” and a “camp robber,” has always fascinated me. A brazen bird and an unabashed thief, more than one has stolen tasty morsels from my camp tables right in front of my eyes!
In a trailer park in the Florida Keys where Diane and I hide out from Maine winters, there is a domesticated hobo heron, a Great Blue, that alights on our back deck at lunchtime looking for a handout. Held between her thumb and forefinger, Diane held out a morsel for our uninvited guest. Ouch! Not a good idea. A heron’s beak is razor sharp.
By the way, during our bird discussion on the radio, Karen noted that the nighthawks have begun already to gather together in preparation for the south migration. According to Karen, this is exceptionally early, which may be a harbinger of an early fall.
The author is editor of the “Northwoods Sporting Journal.” He is also a Maine guide and host of a weekly radio program — “Maine Outdoors” — heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on “The Voice of Maine News – Talk Network.” He has authored three books; online purchase information is available at www.maineoutdoorpublications.com.
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