I have just returned from a few days at the magnificent Baxter State Park. It was my first visit to the crown jewel of Maine’s park system. Since I am leading a trip there for the Youth Track at next week’s American Birding Association Convention in Bangor, I figured I better get up there to have a look around! Although I have been armed with info from friends as well as the info from a Birder’s Guide to Maine, I wanted to get up there for a couple of days, and really learn the park (the lowland areas anyway), and plan a trip for next week. We only have one day for boreal species, and so our destination will be Baxter (boreal birds, good overall bird diversity, moose, amazing scenery, etc.) But, needing to leave by 1:30pm, means our work will be cut out for us!

I arrived on Sunday afternoon, and birded my way up the Tote Road, past the Marston Trail Head, and right up to where the road was closed – and under up to three feet of water! This was not good – the best lowland boreal habitat in the park was on the other side of that flood! And, just as a tease, right at the edge of the flooding a pair of Rusty Blackbirds – one of the target species – were carrying food to a nest. Some of the highlights of the afternoon included a very large bull Moose in Stump Pond, a couple of pairs of Ring-necked Ducks, and a few Yellow-bellied Flycatchers. But, it was very, very quiet – although that was hardly unexpected late in the afternoon in June.

What was more unexpected however, was how quite it was (relatively speaking) early Monday morning. Cool and wet conditions, with a moderate breeze, kept activity to a minimum, as I birded the area around Sandy Stream Pond, the Roaring Brook Campground, and more trails along the Tote Road. I was seeing or hearing some of our target birds, such as Blackpoll Warblers and Swainson’s Thrushes, but I did not see that much. Certainly a highlight however, was a hen Spruce Grouse at the edge of the trail up South Turner Mountain (good thing, too, as at the top all I saw was wind and near zero-visibility fog). This was my only uphill hike of the trip, as this was the only hike I may attempt with the group. The goal would be the chance at Bicknell’s Thrush near the summit, but slowly birding along the way would turn this into a 3-hour excursion, eating up precious time. But, if the group wants the Thrush, this will be the hike we’ll do. Another of the day’s highlights was a Black Bear crossing the road south of the park.

When I met Jerry for dinner that night, I apparently didn’t sound too enthused about my findings so far, and the prospects for the success of the trip. That changed on Tuesday morning, however. First, we found out that the Tote Road has been opened – allowing access to the best habitat. Secondly, as we birded Sandy Stream Pond, etc., we had good success with seeing more of the target birds than I had in the previous two days. Good looks at Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, Bay-breasted Warblers, and finally a visual of one of the Philadelphia Vireos in the parking lot. And the family of downy, young Common Goldeneyes were just too cute – scientifically speaking of course. After Jerry headed out, I worked up the Tote Road, revisiting the sites that I had been seeing very little at – but whose habitat looked right for various target species. Much better success today: Olive-sided Flycatchers, a singing Mourning Warbler, and more Yellow-bellied Flycatchers to name a few.

I ran into Jerry W. and Bruce (actually, they chased me down!) as I was about to begin to explore the stretch of the Tote Road (the 4 miles north of Nesowadnehunk Field) that has the prime boreal habitat. This was fortuitous, as it allowed us to leave one car at one end of the stretch, and walk 1.6 miles back to the other car, giving us a chance to thoroughly survey a solid stretch (they then dropped me off another mile down the road, giving me chance for my last bit of scouting before returning home). And it was productive: 2 Evening Grosbeaks flew over, one Boreal Chickadee, a calling Mourning Warbler, 4 singing Fox Sparrows, multiple Olive-sided Flycatchers, and flaked bark on some dead spruces that may have been the handiwork of a Black-backed Woodpecker.

I finished up with 72 species over the three days, including 18 species of warblers. Both totals could have been a bit higher, but considering I saw all but three species on Monday, I think with favorable conditions, we should have a great day.

So, assuming the road doesn’t reflood again (and this year, who knows?), I know feel quite prepared to bring the group. I have options for most of the target species, and walks that will sample the three distinct forest types: deciduous, mixed, and boreal coniferous – and I mentally planned the route on the long, boring, drive home – scanning the roadside for raptors and of course, Moose.

Here’s the birdlist for the three days. Tomorrow, I’ll post some photos.

Ring-necked Duck
Common Goldeneye
Common Merganser
SPRUCE GROUSE (Trail to South Turner Mountain)
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
Turkey Vulture
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift (far away from any chimneys!)
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great-crested Flycatcher
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
BOREAL CHICKADEE, 1, Tote Road north of Nesowadnehunk Field.
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Veery
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-headed Vireo
PHILADELPHIA VIREO (2+, Roaring Brook Campground parking lot)
Red-eyed Vireo
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Pine Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
MOURNING WARBLER (2 along Tote Road)
Common Yellowthroat
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Chipping Sparrow
FOX SPARROW (5 singing: 1 at Elbow Pond, 4 along Tote Road north of Neso. Field)
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
RUSTY BLACKBIRD (one pair carrying food along Tote Road near Marston Trailhead, a few others here and there around the park)
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch
EVENING GROSBEAK (1 flying over Tote Rd north of Neso. Field)