Coos County raptor and waterfowl loop on 4/21/18

[Christian Martin]

On Saturday I drove a circuit of various raptor hotspots around Coos County, starting at Pinkham's Grant near Mt. Washington, and traveling thru Gorham, Milan, Cambridge, Errol, Dixville, Colebrook, Stewartstown, Groveton, Stark, and Berlin before ending at Pinkham's Grant again.  Lots of snow still in woods and at higher elevation.  Rivers open, but Umbagog Lake and other large water bodies still ice-covered.  Highlights included the following:

Bald Eagle - 5, including 3 incubating/brooding at 3 nests in Milan, Dummer, Northumberland; known nests in Errol and Cambridge were empty when I checked
Peregrine Falcon - 5, including 2 pairs at nesting cliffs at Abeniki Mtn in Dixville and Devils Slide in Stark, Abeniki pair were actively harassing a Common Raven that was trying to incubate
Osprey - 7, all 7 perched on nests in Dummer, Columbia and Northumberland, 6 of 7 nests checked had birds present
Merlin - 2, pair copulating near Groveton Water wells in Northumberland

Pied-billed Grebe - 1 at Magill Bay on Pontook Reservoir in Dummer
Ring-necked Duck - 95 (about 50:50 males to females) on Mile Long Pond in Errol
Common Goldeneye - 53 (about 50:50 males to females) in pool below Errol Dam, several 1st yr males ID'ed
Barrow's Goldeneye - 2 with COGO flock, obvious half-moon facial spot

River Otter - 1 above Errol Dam
Mink - 1 above Errol Dam, checking out spot where otter had hauled out 5 mins before 

- Chris

Chris Martin
Senior Biologist, NH Audubon
cma...@nhaudubon.org

84 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH 03301
603/224-9909, ext. 317 (office)
603/226-0902 (fax)

www.nhaudubon.org

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