November 5, 2016; Androscoggin River, Lake Auburn, The Basin and Sabattus Pond.
It was a perfect day for our Lakes and rivers trip; a little bit cold, but no wind, with the sun playing hide-n-seek with the clouds.
The ducks were a bit few and far between in Auburn, but we did find our only Ring-neck Duck in the marsh along Lake Shore Drive; it was a female in with a group of Mallards. We also got our only Blue Heron at the Lake Auburn Inlet.
Things changed when we got to Sabattus Pond. Not only were there a lot of other birders, there was also a LOT of ducks! The Ruddy Ducks alone numbered in the high hundreds, and they were joined by a good number of Scaup and Bufflehead… all easily seen from the south beach.
The west shore offered up Pintails, Green-winged Teal, and a lot of Canada Geese, as well as a lone immature Bald Eagle.
After we left Sabattus Pond we made an unscheduled stop at the Old Bloody Hill Road parcel of Thorncrag to look for the Bluebirds that had been seen there last week. Unfortunately they had already moved on. But the stop was rewarded with a small flock of Turkeys.

Dan Marquis, leader; Tom Hayward, recorder

Birds seen or heard:
 
Canada Goose
American Black Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
White-winged Scoter
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Horned Grebe
Double -crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
House Finch
American Goldfinch
 

TOTALS: 33 species

One female Ring-neck Duck with a group of Mallards at Lake Auburn

One female Ring-neck Duck with a group of Mallards at Lake Auburn

Great Blue Heron at Lake Auburn

Great Blue Heron at Lake Auburn

bald eagle

Immature Bald Eagle along west shore of Sabattus Pond

Goldfinches eating Alder catkins

Goldfinches eating Alder catkins

wild turkeys

Wild Turkeys at Thorncrag’s Old Bloody Hill Road parcel