April 16, 2026 – The spring migration is picking up fast here, and I’m seeing a steady wave of early arrivals. Chipmunks are back out now, with the first one showing up on March 18 at 9:25 a.m. Red-winged Blackbirds were among the first birds to return, first appearing on March 11 at 9:40 a.m., and I’m now seeing 25 to 30 of them. Brown-headed Cowbirds arrived on March 30, and American Goldfinches started turning yellow around March 10, with 45 or more being seen some days.

Purple finches have also moved in, with the first one spotted on March 18 at 9:30 a.m. I’m now seeing five or six of them. I’m also still seeing the Great Horned Owl I mentioned in March, along with Robins, Pine Siskins, Song Sparrows, Phoebes, and a pair of Eastern Bluebirds. A trio of ducks showed up at dusk, and one especially memorable sighting was an otter walking down the road to enter the stream below the bridge.

Things are changing on the ground, too. The yards are starting to green up, though everything is still pretty soggy and muddy from all the melting snow.

The trails and fields are in good shape, but some shaded stretches of trail are still holding snow, with one area reported to be as much as two feet deep. I heard from someone who walked the trail earlier in the week that the open fields were fine, but the shaded sections still took some work. I made it up to the Cemetery and only went through some snow. 

The beaver dam has broken up pretty well since the ice went out, and spring is definitely starting to show itself. A lot is happening out there right now, and it’s a good time to keep watching.

📸 Goldfinches at Perham Stream Birding Trail. Photo by Carson Hinkley.

Carson Hinkley is a seventh-generation resident of the historic East Madrid settlement in Maine’s High Peaks, where he stewards the Perham Stream Birding Trail from the farmhouse where he grew up and still lives today.

A lifelong observer of the natural world, he shares detailed notes on the birds, mammals, and seasonal changes he witnesses through “Wildlife Watch with Carson,” a regular feature highlighting the rich biodiversity and daily rhythms of the Perham Stream landscape.