Kristen Lindquist

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April 23: Rare bird

My husband and I spent almost the whole day standing in a backyard in Sheepscott with dozens of other birders hoping to catch a glimpse of a Fieldfare. This bird was first observed a few days ago, and has never been recorded before in Maine. So it would have been an exciting sighting. But it was not to be.
 
However, we enjoyed our day of waiting, seeking, and hoping. We caught up with birder friends who had shown up from all around the state while soaking up the first sunlight we'd seen in days. And while we may not have seen the Fieldfare, we did see pairs of Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Tree Swallows, Bald Eagles, and Red-tailed Hawks, and were serenaded by Ruby-crowned Kinglets and bluebirds. Love was literally in the air. And we saw a fox, which was shooed away by a loud pair of Canada Geese.
 
We didn't see the rare bird
but perhaps that's not
what we were there for.