For our tour description, itinerary, past triplists, dates, fees, and more, please VISIT OUR TOUR PAGE.

See this triplist in printable PDF format with media only on page 1.

Black-throated Blue Warbler is a quintessential Northeast breeding specialty and this gorgeous male was so close we could almost reach out and touch him. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.

Thank you very much for choosing Field Guides to experience the birdlife and so much more that Maine has to offer. I think is a very special place and hopefully you feel the same way after adventure together. Blackburnian Warbler was voted the favorite species at the end of our tour, while American Woodcock and Bicknell's Thrush received honors as well. The final tally is 183 bird taxa, which is a new record (by two) for this itinerary.

We began in the southern, coastal area, where we found a number of songbird species at the northern edge of their breeding range. After checking various beaches, marshes and rocky shores, we tallied an impressive list of shorebirds as well. Sites particularly rich with birdlife that we visited included: Dyer Point, Goose Rocks, Biddeford Pool, Scarborough Marsh, Kennebunk Plains, Capisic Pond Park and Evergreen Cemetery. Some of the more noteworthy species we encountered were: Brant, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Piping Plover, Upland Sandpiper, Red Knot, Least Tern, Roseate Tern, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Pileated Woodpecker, Blue-winged Warbler, Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink, and Orchard Oriole.

Our time in Bar Harbor was focused on Acadia National Park and a boat trip. It would have taken at least a week to see the majority of the park so we had to be selective. Sites within Acadia National Park where we enjoyed birding included: Sieur de Monts Spring, Valley Cove and Seawall. Our pelagic aboard the Friendship V visited Petit Manan Island, plus the outer waters areas known as East Bumps, The Ballpark and Mount Desert Rock. We did well in our short visit to Acadia, adding Barred Owl, Black Guillemot, Razorbill, Atlantic Puffin, Peregrine Falcon, Purple Sandpiper, and Arctic Tern, among others.

The third region of Maine we focused on was the western mountains, based out of Rangeley. A memorable birding stop en route was Messalonskee Lake where we picked up Black Tern, Sandhill Crane, Pied-billed Grebe, and Purple Martin. The northern forests surrounding the Rangeley Lakes are chock-full of warblers, thrushes, vireos, corvids, flycatchers, and finches. New species came fast and furious. We delighted in watching Black-throated Blue Warblers, Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, Gray Jays, Northern Waterthrushes, Olive-sided Flycatchers, Cedar Waxwings, Boreal Chickadee, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, drumming Ruffed Grouse and the absolutely brilliant Blackburnian Warbler.

A side trip into New Hampshire was necessary to gain access to some krummholz: the gnarled, twisted, stunted forests of predominately red spruce and balsam fir that cling to the slopes of the mountains in the northeast. This habitat is the only place where Bicknell's Thrush breed. Our trip up the Mount Washington Auto Road was an unmitigated success. Adding a displaying American Woodcock was the cherry on top.

On our way back to Portland, we saw more Chalk-fronted Corporals than I knew existed, a Yellow-throated Vireo singing incessantly and an unexpected tree fall at Brownfield Bog. Making a beeline for the coast paid off that last afternoon together as we enjoyed superior looks at Roseate Terns at Pine Point before walking out Eastern Trail across Scarborough Marsh for Saltmarsh Sparrow, Tricolored Heron and a vagrant White-faced Ibis.

One more walk out the Eastern Trail our last morning was definitely worthwhile. We found a cooperative Nelson's Sparrow (which had eluded us the afternoon before), a strange hybrid heron of some sort, a Greater Yellowlegs, and an elusive Virginia Rail.

Thanks again for joining Cory and me. I hope this triplist sparks lots of fond memories. Have a fantastic summer and see you the field.

Take care,

Eric

KEYS FOR THIS LIST
One of the following keys may be shown in brackets for individual species as appropriate: * = heard only, I = introduced, E = endemic, N = nesting, a = austral migrant, b = boreal migrant

Purple Sandpiper is another regional specialty we saw extremely well. These hardy coast-huggers made us do a little rock scrabbling to put them in good light. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

Our first evening along the coast was a touch gloomy and yet eerily beautiful at the same time. Guide Cory Gregory did a splendid job of capturing the atmosphere in this image from Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth.

Semipalmated Sandpipers are by far the most numerous migrant shorebird in Maine but we teased out a Dunlin, plus some Sanderlings and White-rumped Sandpipers in this flock as well. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.

The semipalmata or "Eastern" subspecies of Willet is a very conspicuous breeder in the coastal marshes of Maine. Their aerial displays our final morning rose to a cacophony. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

We enjoyed an awesome encounter with a family of Barred Owls at Acadia National Park. Guide Cory Gregory shared this photo of the adult.

During our "Whales and Puffins Cruise" we visited Petit Manan Island where Razorbills and Atlantic Puffins were all around the boat. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

Black-capped Chickadee is Maine's state bird and we enjoyed these charismatic songbirds throughout the tour. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

A small flock of Cedar Waxwings entertained us two mornings in a row as they busily gobbled down apple blossoms. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

Immersing ourselves in the expansive nature of the western mountains of Maine was good for the soul. This idyllic scene is from the boat launch on the north shore of Upper Richardson Lake. Photo by guide Cory Gregory.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of Harbor Seals we observed loafing on Mount Desert Rock. A lesser number of their larger cousin, the Gray Seal, were present as well. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

This Red-eyed Vireo foraged close enough to us that we could appreciate the blood red eye. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

Saltmarsh Sparrow was definitely on the most wanted list so we were thrilled to see and hear them so well at Scarborough Marsh toward the end of the tour. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

Our experience up on Mount Washington was not to be forgotten. Participant Ann Scarfe shared this memento of the krummholz or "crooked wood," home of the Bicknell's Thrush.

Gray Jays are always entertaining. We were lucky to come upon several family groups. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

While not exactly a highlight, our fallen tree incident certainly was interesting. Cory found Matt Dillon, his chainsaw and his sidekick Spike, just outside Brownfield Bog WMA thankfully. Remarkably, we were back on the road in less than an hour. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

Black Guillemots are the most overlooked alcid. The don't get all the attention that puffins do but with those clean white underwings and cherry red feet, they are more eye-catching in some ways. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

We had our share of lobster rolls along the way but none larger than the one Russ was served in Bar Harbor. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

Hearing their calls on inland lakes was special but our closest looks at Common Loons were on the ocean. Immature birds like this one spend years at sea until they are old enough to breed. Photo by guide Eric Hynes.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

A Common Garter Snake at Sieur de Monts Spring in Acadia National Park was the only snake of the tour.

Barb McLintock and Ann Scarfe authored this delightful summary of our adventure:

Into the city of Portland Maine

On a fine spring day in May

Came fourteen birders from here and from there

With guides Eric and Cory to show them the way.

Near Portland Cory went a hunting

To find us all an American Bunting. Thatʼs not a bird, Eric said,

But rather a drape of blue, white and red.

Steve came east from Colorado

To search the forest through

He was very much delighted

With his first Black-throated Blue.

That statue at New England U

Gave rise to many a joke and pun

But when Laura said it had kidney stones

It led to such laughter with that sense of fun.

There are birders and then there are spouses of birders

And daughters of birders too

When Betsy and mother go off on adventures

Thereʼs no telling what they will do.

Collette loved the birds along the way

That Halloween warbler made her day.

And she made a unique find far from home

In the park was a traveling Femo gnome.

Marie came north from Georgia

New birds to make her sputter

But those lilacs and those lilies too

They set her heart a flutter.

Barry liked his birds so much

A new camera he did buy

Expert coaching from both our guides

Meant nothing passed him by.

Eagle-eyed Teri saw them all

Shrubs and trees and flowers tall

Those Latin names she modestly called

And on I-naturalist was enthralled.

Kennebunk plain was full of sparrows

So many that our brows did furrow

But Connie did not merely whisper

When she found our one lone Vesper.

When Messalonskee Lake we passed

We stopped to look out in the grass,

But the lumber yard we needed to gain

For Gary to find us our Sandhill Crane.

Kris likes to wander down the road

Some new birds for to spy

But on the spot he surely was

To name those crossbills on the fly.

Tom had great eyes for water birds

The Green Heron he did spot

And then at beautiful Seawall Beach

That red-throated loon he caught.

The dragonflies at Brownfield Bog

Found Annʼs shirt a fine abode.

So numerously did they come

That we ended up calling her Ann the ode.

Barb loves to walk the great outdoors

Birds and flowers and mushrooms fine,

Many new views for her this trip,

The best? Maybe her lifer porcupines!

Itʼs not the rarest bird on the list

But weʼd missed it on all the past days.

So a cheer went up when a Great Blue Heron

Fell under Russʼs sharp gaze.

To get up to the Alpine air,

We needed to borrow two drivers fair

Wink and Sue rose to the heights

So we could hear those thrushes sing in the night.

There was a tree where it shouldnʼt be

So Cory found Matt and his dog Spike

And also his chain saw which worked so well

We all were spared a very long hike.

As for guides Eric and Cory, what can we say?

They searched for birds by day and by night

And taught us so much about all nature too

Our hearts were always filled with delight.

But now our trip is nearly oʼer

And homeward we must go

Many fine birds we all have seen

And many new friends come to know.

Many a laugh and joke we have shared

And as we part with a sigh

We know weʼll all keep birding on.

This is au revoir but not goodbye.

Totals for the tour: 183 bird taxa and 14 mammal taxa