Travelogue: Katahdin's Splendor
Big Moose Inn: June 30 - July 4

More moose sightings than chickadees: hard to believe, but true. Participants on the first Katahdin's Splendor tour of 2008 shared many moose sightings, often quite close. Because Baxter State Park is extraordinarily beautiful and the Big Moose Inn is so relaxing, it's common for tour guests to arrive a day early or leave a day late. As a result, moose totals varied by guest. The high score was 16, a couple of them too close for telephoto lenses.

On the other hand, chickadees were just coming off the nest and were unusually secretive while tending young. The total sightings of Black-capped Chickadee - the Maine State Bird - was: one. This was one of those rare trips when the Boreal Chickadees outnumbered their cousins, though they also were just coming off the nest and required a little searching. Indeed, recent hatchlings added a great deal of fun to the tour, including a Ruffed Grouse with chicks, a Pine Warbler feeding fledglings, and a Common Merganser hen herding adorable babies. One Hooded Merganser tended seven chicks and a Ring-necked Duck had eight.

Baxter State Park is a Mecca for purists: no tape-playing allowed. Birders must enjoy the birds in their natural state, unharried by modern methods. Thus, some views were fleeting and not everyone saw the Bay-breasted Warbler or any of the multiple Blackpolls. At one point, a curious Gray Jay juvenile approached the group for a close look, but the parents remained distant. Other lifer looks were merely glimpses, such as the Northern Goshawk that flew directly over the group and into the woods, or the female Philadelphia Vireo that held still only long enough to ID. Some breeders were abundant, including the Least Flycatchers and many of the warblers. Good looks at Olive-sided and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were appreciated. The swallow show at Abol Bridge was highly entertaining as Cliff, Barn, and Tree Swallows swirled against the backdrop of Mt. Katahdin.

In the Maine woods, even two days can make a big difference. Thanks to the growing reputation of Baxter State Park and the Big Moose Inn, the first tour sold out so quickly that a second was added to accommodate the overflow. The decision was fortuitous. The second group scored many of the same birds and moose as the first did. Indeed, some of the largest bull moose cooperated with even closer views. Chickadees, now tasked with feeding fledglings, became more numerous and vocal. Bay-breasted Warblers also became more vocal. The first one encountered was actually heard over the roar of the falls seen above. Another posed for easy observation at the entry to the Kidney Pond Cabins.

The Olive-sided Flycatcher that has claimed Tracy Pond as his own for the last several years was heard calling "Quick, Three Beers" while the engine was still running and the windows were rolled up. He is now so reliable that we've named him "Tracy" in honor of the pond that he dominates. (This continues a recently established tradition of naming reliable birds. "Ollie" is an Olive-sided Flycatcher near Moosehead Lake; "Bruce" is a Spruce Grouse that is almost unmissable on the Boot Head Trail in Lubec.)

The group scored close views of Boreal Chickadees and encountered an unusually high number of Canada Warblers. The latter were vocal and feisty, having just fledged their chicks. They disputed any disturbance, even the most accidental and deferential. Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were still in the same place as they had been two days earlier, but ventured closer for easier viewing. At our picnic stop on the 4th of July, the Swainson's Thrushes put on a show. Several pair foraged around the parking lot in plain view.

Blue-headed Vireos were commonplace. That's good, because while we were debating whether a Blue-headed Vireo in the grasp of a Merlin was countable, the Merlin was debating whether it was edible. The Merlin quickly, instinctively, decided it was, and we watched the rain of feathers as the main course was devoured. That's the trade-off of Baxter State Park. Artificial means of attracting wildlife are unnecessary. Critters are wary but accustomed to people. Visitors who appreciate the boundaries between humans and critters are often rewarded with astounding views. During an early morning moose watch at Sandy Stream Pond, a mink prowled the waters at our feet. Later that day, a doe peered in our window, trying to determine if there was a threat to her calf. There wasn't. That's Baxter.