Cadillac Mountain

Cadillac Mountain receives the first ray of sunshine in the U.S. each morning. Drive up, if only for the view. Expect it to be cool and breezy.

The birding is ordinary, except in September when it is one of the two best places in the park for hawk watching. (The other is Beech Mountain.) During hawk migration, naturalists staff a daily hawk-watch and encourage participation. On a good day – typically a day when northwest breezes follow a cold front – American kestrels and sharp-shinned hawks pass closely, joined by a few Cooper’s hawks, broad-winged hawks, ospreys, turkey vultures, peregrine falcons, merlins, and bald eagles.

Interestingly, eastern towhees nest on the mountaintop, though they are uncommon north of the midcoast. Dark-eyed juncos, golden-crowned kinglets and yellow-rumped warblers can also be expected around the summit.