We are finally reporting on our trip last summer to Maine for bird watching and to meet friends for the North Atlantic Blues Festival.

While Maine is a state we visited many years ago, we were not bird watchers yet so this was a good opportunity to add to our Ebird list. Quoddy Head State Park was our first stop with really good birds. Some of our favorites are Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, and Magnolia Warbler. 22 birds at our first stop is an excellent way to start. Next was Lubec the northernmost location in Maine. Here we added Swainson’s and Hermit Thrush and a Black-throated Green Warbler. The bridge to Canada was closed due to Covid but we could see the Mulholland Point Light across the water in Canada. Very happy to add the target Common Eider to our Canada life list.

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Our next room was at Elsa’s Inn near Gouldsboro which has a beautiful view of the boats in Prospect Harbor. Based on a tip from the host of our B&B we headed for Schoodic Pennisula to visit the Ravens Head Overlook. The short trail leads to stunning cliffs that look out toward Mt Desert Island. in Acadia National Park. During the drive along the coast, we saw 18 Common Eiders and both Herring and Great black-backed Gulls.

Maine Seabirding

Wednesday morning our tour scheduled with Hardy Boat Cruises was canceled due to weather. The weather improved though so we quickly rescheduled with Robertson Sea Tours to Petit Manan NWR. This is normally a working lobster boat with a very nice father and son Captain and crew. So many great birds including Common Murre, Razorbill, Black Guillemot, Atlantic Puffin, Roseate Tern, Artic Tern, and Leach’s Storm Petrel. The Roseate Tern was our first life bird since April 2019, while the Black Guillemot and Atlantic Puffin were new to our US life list. The captain of our boat stopped and had his son pull up one of their lobster traps and gave us an education on lobstering. We saw Gray and Harbor Seals and three lighthouses on the tour.

Maine Moose Watching

Another reason for the trip was to see moose and Penobscot County is said to have more moose than permanent residents. Based on reports we drove 20 miles on Golden Road in Millinocket. On the way, we stopped to hike a trail to one of the many ponds and were rewarded with great views of Mt. Katahdin the highest peak in Maine. While we did not see a moose, probably due to the time of day, we did see a Ruffed Grouse with a recently fledged young. Swamp Sparrow, Black-and-White Warbler, and American Redstart were nice finds.

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We scheduled a Northeast Whitewater Moose Tour for Thursday morning. The guide quizzed us with moose trivia and facts on our way to Second West Branch Pond. Once there we all got into canoes to search around the pond. No luck on the moose but we did see a nesting Common Loon, American Black Ducks, Bald Eagle, Broad-winged Hawk, Hairy Woodpecker, and Common Raven. While in the area we stayed at Chalet Moosehead. There are lovely gardens with Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Swainson’s Thrush, Red-eyed Vireo, and Song Sparrow.

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Blues Festival

The final leg of the trip was to meet our friends Laf and Laura from Florida for the North Atlantic Blues Festival. A sweet farmhouse in Waldoboro was our base camp for the festival. The host welcomed us with homemade salsa and introduced us to the resident sheep and horses. Nice farm birds were Blue-headed Vireo, Tufted Titmouse, American Goldfinch, Ovenbird, and Pine Warbler.

The North Atlantic Blues Festival is held in Rockland Harbor and is considered one of the most prestigious on the East Coast. The festival stage is set up right on the waterfront with amazing views as a backdrop. Two of our favorite bands are Tullie Brae and Jason Ricci. Between bands, a walk on the Rockland Breakwater netted Common Eider with chicks, Great Black-backed Gull, and Common Tern. Nearby Owls Head park is another great place to look for birds and has a beautiful lighthouse like so many places in the state. New Maine birds include Barn Swallow, Gray Catbird, and Northern Parula.

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This was an awesome trip with so many birds, great blues music and friends, and of course lobster rolls. We can’t wait to get back to Maine and explore some new birding areas and of course, find that elusive Moose.

Trip Birds: 72 Year Birds: 15 Life Birds: 1 US Life Birds:3

Next Up: Arkansas and Oklahoma