Birding Lunch & Learn Feb. 25th @ Schupf Center Lobby 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Diane Weinstein
Yes, we are meeting this week as a reward for everyone digging out after the blizzard. AND CONTINUE TO KEEP A LOOK OUT FOR MUSEUMS OF CEDAR & BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS! Diane W
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Our next Lunch & Learn is Wednesday February 25th from 11:30 am – 1:00 pm in the lobby of the Schupf Center in downtown Waterville.
This is the building with the large glass windows bordering Castonguay Square and also the location of the Maine Film Center. We weekly meet on the west side of the lobby where you can see Main Street on either the 1st or 2nd floor. After the meeting some folks may do a little birding nearby, so you may want to bring your binoculars, boots and hand warmers!
February 18th Discussion
Distinguishing Black-capped vs Carolina Chickadees was one of our discussion topics on Wednesday. Excerps from the following article, Identifying Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees, from the August 15, 2013 Audubon Magazine by Kenn Kaufman summarized what we learned:
Range:
--Carolina Chickadees live all over the southeastern U.S., as far west as Oklahoma.
--Black-capped Chickadees are found all across the northern U.S. and much of Canada. They meet in a very narrow zone from New Jersey west to Kansas. The boundary between the two has been shifting northward very slowly for many decades.
--Carolina Chickadees seldom wander north of the line, but a few Black-cappeds show up south of it during winter “invasions.” Where the two species meet, they often interbreed, producing a hybrid zone. Within this narrow zone (usually no more than about 20 miles wide), many of the birds are intermediate, and can’t be identified.
--The range of the Black-capped extends southward in the Appalachians, and there are places where Carolinas live in the lowlands and Black-cappeds live at upper elevations, probably with hybrids in between.
Voice
--The typical songs differ. Black-capped whistles See-beee or See-bee-ee, the first note higher, the second part sounding either one- or two-syllabled.
--Carolina’s usual song is a four-syllabled See-bee-see-bay, with the first and third syllables sounding very high-pitched.
--This is no help for separating them where their ranges meet, however, because each can learn the song of the other. Near the hybrid zone, many chickadees sing both song types.
--Both species make a wide variety of call notes, and most of those calls are of no help in telling the species apart. However, the rapid Chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee call tends to be faster and higher-pitched when the Carolina Chickadee is doing it, and with practice you can hear the difference.
Seasonal changes
--Visible differences between the two are more obvious at some seasons than others. Chickadees go through the annual molt (replacement) of their feathers from midsummer to early fall, so they are in fresh, clean plumage during fall and winter. By late spring and early summer, their feathers are becoming more worn and faded, so differences between the species are less apparent then.
Wing pattern
--When they’re in fresh plumage, Black-capped shows more contrast in the wings, with white edgings on several feather groups including the greater coverts and secondaries.
--Carolina Chickadee also has white edgings on the secondaries, but they show less contrast, and its wings look plainer and grayer overall. However, bright sunlight reflecting off the wings can make gray feather edges look white from some angles, so you may have to watch the bird for a minute to judge this accurately.
Face pattern
Both species have white cheeks setting off their black cap and black bib. On Black-capped, the white area looks clean and bright all the way to edge of the upper back. On Carolina, the white fades gradually into gray as it goes back toward the nape. This is only apparent if you have an excellent view in good light.
Lower edge of bib
On Carolina Chickadee, the division between the black throat and the white chest creates a relatively even, straight line. On Black-capped, the line tends to be more uneven, giving the bib a blobby, messy lower edge. The appearance of this can seem to change from moment to moment as the bird moves around and the feathers are rearranged, but it can be a useful minor point to look for.
Overall color
--When the birds are in fresh plumage in fall and winter, Black-capped tends to look more colorful overall, with more buff on the flanks below the wings and more of an olive tinge to the back.
--Carolina tends to look grayer overall at this season. By late spring, after months of wear and fading on the feathers, they all look fairly dull and gray.
Size and shape
--On average, Black-capped Chickadee is larger and longer-tailed than Carolina Chickadee.
--However, chickadees in general vary in size from north to south, with the largest Black-cappeds in the northern stretches of their range and the smallest Carolinas in the deep south. Where their ranges meet, the difference is minor and hard to see even with a direct comparison.
*A special thank-you to Ashton Wesner PhD, who is a Colby College professor and local birder associated with the Colby College student bird club. On February 19th, Ashton arranged for the showing of Birders: The Central Park Effect. at the Maine Film Center. The film was a documentary about the wild birds--and dedicated birders--who populate Central Park in New York City. The theater was packed with participants from the Waterville Area Birding Enthusiasts, Augusta Birding Club, Colby Students and other folks from Central Maine, including several young students on winter break eager to learn about birds and birding!
BIRDING EVENTS IN MARCH YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS
*Thursdays, March 12, 19, & 26 at 6:00 PM
The Maine Bird Atlas: New Information On Breeding And Wintering Birds In Maine
KENNEBEC LAND TRUST 2026 Lyceum Lecture Series
Hallowell City Hall Auditorium
1 Winthrop St., Hallowell, ME
(207) 377 - 2848 | in...@tklt.org | www.tklt.org
This is a three-part series exploring what the Maine Bird Atlas reveals about bird populations across the state and here in Kennebec County. Learn how breeding and wintering birds are changing over time and what the data mean for conservation in Maine. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in partnership with Maine Natural History Observatory, Maine Audubon, and Biodiversity Research Institute collaborated on this project. The data collection phase was from 2018-2022 with the help of hundreds of volunteers. The Maine Bird Atlas will be published this year and feature more than 1,600 maps and photographs, making it the most comprehensive book on Maine breeding and wintering birds ever produced. The cross-agency editorial team included Glen Mittelhauser and Logan Parker (MNHO), Adrienne Leppold and Amy Meehan McLaughlin (MDIFW), Evan Adams (BRI), and Doug Hitchcox (Maine Audubon), as well as 75 contributing authors and 69 contributing photographers.
*Tuesdays March 17, 2026 - March 31, 2026 from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Spring Birdwatching
Waterville Site - Mid-Maine Adult Education
Ian Lynch, Instructor
*Wednesday March 25, 2026 at 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Waterville Area Bird Enthusiasts Lunch & Learn
Serena Sanborn: Bird Drawings and Explorations
Serena Sanborn is a science communicator, artist and arts educator who designs experiences where creativity and ecology meet. As Manager of Outreach and Community Partnerships at Waterville Creates, she builds programs that invite people of all ages to explore big ideas through hands-on artmaking and close observation of the natural world. A certified Maine Master Naturalist, Serena leads trail walks, nature journaling sessions, and participatory projects that blend scientific inquiry with creative expression. Her work centers curiosity, connection, and wonder—helping communities see art and science not as separate disciplines, but as shared ways of paying attention.
PLEASE CHECK OUT
MAINE NATURAL HISTORY OBSERVATORY
https://mainenaturalhistory.org
MNHO s mission is to improve the understanding of natural resources in Maine by compiling historic information and implementing inventory and monitoring efforts of Maine’s natural history. They specialize in collecting, interpreting, and maintaining datasets crucial for understanding changes in Maine’s plant and wildlife populations. They have numerous projects and publications.
Projects have included: Aquatic Plants of New England Field Guide Boreal Habitat Owl Surveys Coastal Plant Inventories Coastal SongbirdsCurating Collections Harlequin Ducks in Jericho Bay Invasive Plants Maine Bird Atlas Nature Notes: A Maine Naturalist Afield Nest Box Monitoring Nightjar Monitoring Petit Manan Owl Monitoring Station Purple Sandpiper Surveys Seaweeds of Maine
The Observer is an online natural history journal published four times a year by MNHO. It features Maine-based natural history observation, musings about the natural world, reflections from amateur or professional field studies. It aims to serve as a platform for naturalists of all experience levels to connect, share, and expand upon their collective knowledge about Maine biota.
MNHO also publishes Mini-Guides on birds, mammals, plants, seaweed …which can be downloaded for free on their website. Below are just a few that focus on birds:
by Logan Parker and Doug Hitchcox
Cedar Waxwing vs. Bohemian Waxwing
by Logan Parker
Common Raven vs. American Crow
by Logan Parker
Downy Woodpecker vs. Hairy Woodpecker
by Logan Parker
Great Cormorant vs. Double-crested Cormorant
by Logan Parker
by Doug Hitchcox and Nathan Dubrow
by Logan Parker
by Laura Sebastianelli and Logan Parker
Ruffed Grouse vs. Spruce Grouse
by Bob Duchesne
Tree Sparrow vs. Chipping Sparrow
by Logan Parker
by Lance Benner and Logan Parker