RESULTS of the field trip to Ogunquit/Wells York

Saturday, Dec. 3, 2005
With the exception of a stiff breeze, the weather was rather pleasant; bright sun all day, and when out of the wind it was rather comfortable for the four participants: Joan & Stan DeOrsey, Jim Walker, Dan Marquis (leader & recorder)

The trip was an unqualified success, considering our first stop produced a life bird for all of us. Our trip was expanded from the scheduled Ogunquit area to include coastal hotspots all the way to Fort Foster in Kittery, in hopes of finding the Black-headed gulls that have been sighted in the area. We made that our first stop, and after about 20 minutes of sorting through the 200 or so Bonapartes Gulls, Stan spied the first of two Black-headed gulls that gave us a good show at close range. Jim got some photos which I will post on the web site soon.

We were not so lucky with two other hot prospects on our "wanna see" list. While at Marginal Way in Ogunquit, we were told by some other birders that there was a King Eider in the area. But search as we might, we were unable to find it. However, we were rewarded with some rather nice views of Harlequin & Longtailed ducks, as well as all three species of Scoters, and the Black Scoters were present in impressive numbers.

The other bird we were looking for was some American Avocets which were being reported in the Webhannett Marsh area of Wells. Unfortunately they were nowhere to be found when we got there. Even so, we went home feeling triumphant after a great day of birding and a new "lifer" under our belts.