  |
||||||||||||||
 |
Travelogue: Katahdin's Splendor
|
|
   |
Mt. Katahdin, 20 warblers,
14 moose, plus White-winged Crossbills, Evening Grosbeaks and Gray
Jays, all packed into a Baxter State Park weekend. Not bad. Birders
from Maine, Georgia, New Jersey, and Hawaii enjoyed the hospitality
of the
Big Moose Inn and the magnificence of Baxter State
Park for this wonderful (but challenging) birding tour. This July has been abnormally cool and damp, making the birds a little reluctant to show themselves. The joke bird of the weekend was a Tennessee Warbler, which guide Bob Duchesne had located by its singing the previous Tuesday. On that occasion, it never showed itself. On return visits Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, it continued to sing from just back in the dense foliage, coming out for only the briefest of glimpses. That set the pattern. Several Blackpolls, Bay-breasted Warblers, and another Tennessee Warbler were also heard singing in fine fashion, but never presented themselves for viewing. No matter. There were plenty of other great birds to enjoy, including the Philadelphia Vireo, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Northern Goshawk that were life birds for most. Least Flycatchers tending voracious nestlings made for a cute sighting. Despite Saturday visits to some of the moosiest ponds in Baxter State Park, the beasts remained hidden until after dinner. But a quick jaunt to a dead water of the Penobscot River turned up ten for the day, and four more were tallied on Sunday. Sunday's weather started dreary, and showers dampened a walk to Sandy Stream Pond, which is normally alive with birds. The big mountain makes its own weather, and when Katahdin was satisfied that we would not be deterred, a beautifully sunny day returned for the afternoon excursion up the west branch of the Penobscot River to the falls at Big Eddy. Along the way, the Cliff and Barn Swallows under Abol Bridge put on a show with their aerial acrobatics. The day ended with with another swallow performance. There is an inordinate number of Bank Swallows nesting is a sand pit behind the post office in Medway. As we were watching the swarm, a Merlin tried his luck, narrowly missing one swallow. He regrouped and tried again, but the swallow dodged. Then the swallow took a swipe at the Merlin, and within moments, scores of swallows chased the Merlin to the horizon. |