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Spotted Sandpiper, Bass Harbor Marsh, Bar Harbor, Maine |
For my birthday, my brilliant wife had arranged a 4-hour tour of the Acadia area with Michael Good of
Down East Nature Tours. We were to meet up at 5:30 a.m. A hermit thrush was singing while I waited. A good omen.
The birding was good for late August. Lots of yellow-rumped warblers (TOO EARLY!) migrating through, as well as local breeders such as northern parula and black-throated greens. Zillions of twittering golden-crowned kinglets.
The highlight of the morning was discovered behind MDI High School. A female peregrine falcon.
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Peregrine Falcon, Bar Harbor, Maine |
It was bothering a crow when we arrived. And then we saw the blue jays. Dozens of them (we ended up counting at least 40).
Initially they kept their distance. Wisely.
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Peregrine Falcon, Bar Harbor, Maine |
But eventually the blue jays got bolder and bolder. A very short video gives you a taste below.
Several kinds of ducks were in the area (keeping an appropriately low profile), including female hoodies.
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Hooded Mergansers, Bar Harbor, Maine |
We spent much of our time later in the morning at Acadia's lovely Ship Harbor.
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View from Ship Harbor Nature Trail, Acadia National Park, Maine |
Black guillemots are very common birds along the down east Maine coast, and rather uncommon winter birds in Massachusetts (in much drabber plumage), so I welcomed every opportunity to see them. Here's an immature and a probable parent bird in Ship Harbor.
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Black Guillemot, Ship Harbor, Acadia National Park, Maine |
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Black Guillemot, Ship Harbor, Acadia National Park, Maine |
On the flip side, there was some excitement over this eastern kingbird, apparently an uncommon bird in these parts.
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Eastern Kingbird, Ship Harbor, Acadia National Park, Maine |
I was grateful to have a knowledgeable guide for this tour. Acadia is such a large, diverse place that I wouldn't have known how to start. And I certainly wouldn't have started at the local high school. And I absolutely wouldn't have gotten a close-up view of a red-bellied snake!
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Red-bellied Snake, Ship Harbor, Acadia National Park, Maine |
Thanks, Michael. (And thanks especially to my brilliant wife).
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