It seems spring has sprung while we were away! Red-winged Blackbirds were singing when I stepped out of the house this morning (my first of the year), and a few more joined some Common Grackles at the store’s feeding station. Snow is melting, and temperatures are in the 50’s!

Newly arriving migrants and warm temperatures were a nice consolation prize to having to return from our all-too-brief three-day visit Downeast. We had a great trip, with amazing scenery, and suprisingly pleasant weather!

Bird-wise, highlights included quite a few White-winged Crossbills, and some Red Crossbills, and a few close encounters with Boreal Chickadees. Our rarest bird of the trip was a leucistic Herring Gull that we saw a couple of times. Another highlight was the amount of Bald Eagles we saw – 26 in total! In fact, we never went more than 2 hours during daylight between Sunday morning and dusk on Tuesday without seeing at least one eagle!

We saw a some of the target birds of the trips, although with the exception of Bald Eagles, we saw much less of just about everything else that we expected or hoped to see. In fact, the birding really wasn’t very good! 52 species in 3 days along the coast isn’t something to brag about. Although we did see a few Boreal specialties, we also missed some of the birds we hoped for. No Gray Jay or Black-backed Woodpecker, only one lousy look at a Spruce Grouse, NO white-winged gulls, and no alcids (other than the common nearshore Black Guillemots).

But, our species total was not helped by long, leisurely breakfasts and a relaxed pace. This was in fact a “vacation,” however brief it was, so a high trip list was not our goal. Besides, if we were looking for a high trip-list, Washington County in early March would not be our destination of choice! However, seeing a corner of the state that I have been wanting to visit for a long time (I have not been east of Cutler prior to this trip), enjoying the breathtaking scenery, and relaxing with a welcome break were goals of this outing – birds were just the icing on the cake, really. Boreal and boreal-transition habitats are fascinating to see, and reminded us of our time in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

We stayed in Ellsworth Saturday night, and had planned on an early start. However, a cold, steady rain resulted in a lengthy sit-down breakfast instead. When we did begin the next leg of the trip, the rain fell the whole time, minimizing the road-birding potential. Fog hampered views as well. One drake Hooded Merganser and a drake Common Merganser were in the East Machias River, one of our few stops along the way. However, as we approached Lube, the rain began to taper off. Wanting to get out of the car for a bit, we took a walk at Commissary Point, despite the drizzle still falling. Not much in the woods at all – 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches among a flock of about 10 Black-capped Chickadees, and the calls from a couple Golden-crowned Kinglets were all that was to be detected. However, along the shoreline, 2 or 3 Bald Eagles were present, a sign of things to come for the next few days.

After checking in at the Peacock House, a lovely B&B in downtown Lubec, we wandered around town. Although not technically open in the winter (very little is!), proprietors Sue and Dennis happened to be around, so they welcomed us in. (I partly blame Sue’s fantastic breakfasts for our lazy mornings, and therefore our lower trip total! If it wasn’t so good, and our hosts so kind, we would have been in and out in a jiffy – with more time in the field. But, this is early March, not mid-May, so we were not complaining!)

The rain stopped, and the sun began to peak through. Around town, bird activity was decent – including lots of American Goldfinches. A Cooper’s Hawk passed overhead - making a run for Canada (must of needed prescription drugs!) - quite possibly a migrant. A Bald Eagle had recently returned to its nest in the harbor, a sure sign of spring.

An evening walk down the Lubec sandbar – famous for its shorebird gatherings in the late summer and fall – produced a goodly number of gulls, mostly Herring, and American Black Ducks in the thawing marsh. We also found our “best” bird of the trip here – a leucistic Herring Gull. My first thought was an immature Glaucous Gull, but the yellow bill, relative size, and head shape signaled that this was in fact an adult Herring Gull – just one that was short in the pigment department. I’m not sure what the smudge on its forehead was – it could simply have been a stain from something gross the gull was last feasting on, but otherwise, the overall off-white color (save for some gray feathers on the mantle and scapulars) and sandy-colored primaries were typical of a leucistic bird. The bill, however, was certainly not lacking pigment, and the banana-yellow beak with bright red gonys stuck out like a beacon! (I wish was able to photograph this bird in better light)

On Monday, we were the first people in the U.S. to see the sunrise (we were being real tourists this trip!), as we enjoyed a spectacular clear and calm morning at Quoddy State Park, on East Quoddy Head – the Easternmost point in the U.S. Boy, we picked a stellar morning for this!

Dawn is also primetime for seawatching, and of course, this was the real reason for being up and out so early. However, it was almost TOO nice out – no onshore wind to blow birds closer to shore. We scanned for an hour, with 91 northbound Long-tailed Ducks and a good count of 20 Black Guillemots leading the way.

White-winged Crossbills – one of the unofficial targets of the trip – were around, with as many as 28 being tallied (depending on whether or not one flock passed over more than once). A few feeding birds along the road provided great views, and a couple of Red Crossbills passed overhead as well. In the woods, 2 Boreal Chickadees took exception to my pishing – they came out of the dark, dense spruces with a vengeance! We also encountered one Spruce Grouse, but unfortunately, it was poorly seen. I walked right passed it, and it flushed out of a tree before Jeannette saw it either. She saw a shadow, I saw a butt. That was it.

After brunch, we crossed the border to the land of Universal Health Care, to enjoy the sights of Campobello Island. Birding was fairly slow, however, but 5 Bald Eagles from East Quoddy Light was a treat. We also ran into “Lucy,” the Leucistic Herring Gull from the day before, bathing in Friar’s Bay.

But, before we knew it, it was Tuesday morning, and it was time to head back. We set out to slowly mosey west (and south), beginning with a hike along the Bold Coast. We spotted two Northern Shrikes in a short stretch of Rte 191, and then pulled into the Cutler Coast Unit of Maine Public Reserve Land. A 5-mile hike here (despite the ice and snow), was rewarding – not just to work off another great breakfast, but also to enjoy the still awesome scenery and some excellent Boreal habitat. I expected a few more finches here (given our numbers at the tiny Quoddy State Park), but our totals were only 2 or 3 Red Crossbills, and 3 (one singing), White-winged Crossbills. Four Purple Finches, 4 Ruffed Grouse, a small group of Dark-eyed Juncos, and 9 Harlequin Ducks along the shore were noted. Oh, and a few Bald Eagles.

We then drove through Cutler, East Machias, and Machias, as we wandered westward. To break up the trip a bit, our last stop was the mainland section of Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge. A short 1.5 mile loop prepared our legs for the drive home, and added a few more birds to the list, including our 50th species of the trip in 4 Purple Sandpipers offshore – and yes, another Bald Eagle. 1 singing Red Crossbill was heard in the distance, but we enjoyed the visit mostly for the interesting – and fairly rare – coastal habitat, dominated by Jack Pine, Northern White Cedar, and spruces.

While we have certainly had three days of better birding, it would be tough to ask for a better 3 days of weather (or, at least, 2 ½) and spectacular scenery. And yes, we are already planning our next trip Downeast during a “birdier” season!