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Downeast Trips - 2009 |
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Knowledgeable
birders from around the country soon figure out that downeast Maine
is where they want to go in July and August. The puffin boats make
daily trips out to Machias Seal Island - the only puffin island
off the coast of Maine that allows visitors to land when weather
conditions are favorable. Meanwhile, it's also the place to look
for boreal species such as Spruce Grouse, Gray Jay, Black-backed
Woodpecker, and Boreal Chickadee. Many birders made the trek downeast
this year, and this travelogue is a composite of some of those experiences.
Note that Maine's Washington County is as large as Delaware and
a little bit of driving goes with the territory. Featured birders included John from New York City, Gary from Queens, John and Nancy from Georgia, Thad and Jan from Illinois, Sherry, Jim, and Darlene from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and bird guide Bob Duchesne. Birding in May and June is predictable and noisy. Maine's breeding birds are in full voice and easy to find by ear. They begin to quiet by mid-July. Some even begin to depart. Least Flycatchers are abundant until the third week of July. Then, suddenly, they're gone. But while songbirds become more difficult to track down, the first wave of shorebirds begins arriving and pelagic birding becomes more exciting. John and Nancy Crosby of Georgia only began birding seriously upon retirement two years ago. But you’d never know it. They are accomplished birders with a full understanding of the nature of the chase. Over four days downeast, we got some easy ones, got some hard ones, and missed a few others. But in a foggy excursion to Machias Seal Island, we lucked into a great variety of pelagic species close to the boat and many, many puffins. Thad feels cursed by grouse. He's chased them all over the country and keeps missing them. And he did again - the only excursion of the five that failed to turn up a grouse of either species. Now THAT'S a jinx! John from NYC saw both and took many close-up photos of a male Spruce Grouse that stepped out of the woods at our feet. A reliable male in Lubec was waiting on the path for two of the other groups, and posed for many pictures. On the other hand, John and Nancy tried hard for a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher over their four days in the field. They heard them at a distance but never coaxed one near. Just one day later, without even trying, Sherry, Jim and Darlene had one fly into a tree directly overhead. That's birding. No one knows who holds the record downeast, but Gary must come close. He scored all four boreal specialties before 11am. He landed the Spruce Grouse in Lubec at 7am, and had the Boreal Chickadee, Gray Jay, and Black-backed Woodpecker before lunch, leaving plenty of time to rush back to the South Lubec Sand Flats for some pleasant shorebirding and a great look at Nelson's Sparrows. A puffin trip to Machias Seal Island on Sunday, August 2nd, took place in a thin but persistent fog. But fog can prove a blessing. Unable to see land, pelagic species often wander surprisingly close to shore. Meanwhile, puffins stay clustered closer to their nesting islands. Thus, we had an extraordinary day. The hour-long boat ride out of Cutler noted multiple Greater and Sooty Shearwaters, and one Manx. Likewise, the group enjoyed scores of Wilson's Storm-petrels and snagged one Leach's. A few Red-necked Phalaropes veered close to the boat. Common Murres, Razorbills, and Atlantic Puffins were noteworthy on the trip out, setting the stage for abundance that was to follow on the island itself. Machias Seal Island is the only puffin island that permits tours to land, weather conditions permitting. Once on the island, guests enter blinds for an arm's-length observation of the tame birds. The puffins are abundant, and often the Razorbills and Common Murres are easy to photograph up close, as well. After nesting failures for the last few years, the Arctic Terns returned to the island in force this August and they, too, settled very close to the blinds. Arguably, a visit to Machias Seal Island is one of the top birding experiences in Maine. Similarly, a shorebirding walk on the nearby South Lubec Sand Flats ranks as one of the top opportunities in Maine. A few shorebirds can be found in any season, but the migration builds to a crescendo in mid-August. Our early August walks of the mudflat turned up good variety, though the big numbers were yet to come. Semipalmated, Least, and White-rumped Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones, Black-bellied Plovers, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Short-billed Dowitchers, and Whimbrels turned up on some of our walks. Savannah and Nelson's Sparrows are abundant in the the grasses behind the beach. Details on these sites can be found in the Maine Birding Trail brochure, with a fuller description available in the guidebook. |
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