With the 4th of July conveniently falling on a Wednesday, Jeannette and I were treated to a rare 2-day weekend (since our store is closed on Tuesdays). Therefore, we made a run for the mountains! The weather was nearly perfect, in the upper 60’s and low 70’s during the day – although it was pretty darn chilly at night, with temps by morning falling to the mid to upper 40’s.

After lunch in Rangeley, we began a march up Saddleback Mountain via the Appalachian Trail. We parked on Rte 4, where the trail crosses the highway, and proceeded 5.7 miles to the summit of the mountain. The goal was to finally get Jeannette her lifer Bicknell’s Thrush – she’s only heard them – but also to survive! This was our first backpacking trip in 3 years, and the first time I’ve had a real pack on since my knee (runner’s knee) and foot (plantar faciitis) injuries. Now, with my plantar faciitis cured, and my knee a little better, we decided to give it a try. We weren’t about to embark on the 100-Mile Wilderness quite yet, but this hike – one I’ve wanted to do for a while – seemed like a good test – strenuous, but not too long. The first 3.8 miles of the hike were not too bad at all, really, but it was the last 2 miles – especially on the way down! – that left a mark!

As we began the trek, we set a very slow pace, both due to my knee and our birding. In fact, our pace is ALWAYS slow due to our birding! But, with this being our first time backpacking in a while, we were not going to be running up any summits anyway. We began in mixed woods, enjoying the likes of Black-throated Blue and Blackburnian Warblers and Swainson’s Thrushes. As we ascended, and the spruce began to dominate, Magnolia and Blackpoll Warblers took over, and we soon encountered our first “boreal” species – a female Black-backed Woodpecker, which was very well seen and studied at Mud Pond. We then ran into a pair of Boreal Chickadees, and heard a couple of Yellow-bellied Flycatchers as well.

As we approached tree-line, the stunted spruce – the krummholz – habitat, the realm of the Bicknell’s Thrush surrounded us. We heard one thrush calling, and it sounded like it was coming closer. At least until a Merlin zipped by, scattering the White-throated Sparrows and rendering the thrush silent once again.

Jeannette and Sasha scan the summit.

At the summit, Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows were everywhere in the alpine habitat, which is relatively extensive on the long, exposed top of Saddleback. After “summitting” the mountain, we dropped down slightly to set up camp (it is illegal to camp above treeline, not to mention unpleasantly windy and potentially dangerous, but also because we wanted to camp with the Bicknell’s Thrushes!)

Approching Saddleback's Summit.

After pitching the tent and cooking dinner, we began to search for our quarry as dusk approached. Blackpoll Warblers were all around us, a flock of 8 White-winged Crossbills passed over, and one Red Crossbill sang nearby. Swainson’s Thrushes became more vocal, and our casual birding was ending. The hunt was on.

Sunset from Saddleback.

Since Bicknell’s Thrushes are most active and visible at dawn and dusk, we have a narrow opportunity to see them. At 7:52 pm, however, well before sunset, we heard one call nearby. A few minutes later, it popped out onto a snag, in beautiful low, evening sunlight, and called a few more times. It then flew down, and across a clearing, once again falling silent and secretive. Mission accomplished! And what a great look for a life bird! Although I have seen them quite a few times, this was one of the best looks that I have ever enjoyed.

More birds were calling, and a few began to sing as the light faded. We heard and/or saw at least 9 different individuals in the immediate area. With the sky nearly dark, but Bicknell’s Thrushes still vocal, we sat down to watch Rangeley’s fireworks display in the distance. Although many miles away, through binoculars it felt like we were right there. The only difference was instead of hearing loud crashes and booms from the pyrotechnics (just a few booms could be heard), we enjoyed the show (and lack of crowds and post-show traffic!) while being serenaded by Bicknell’s Thrushes! Now that’s a way to celebrate a life bird!

Come morning, we were glad that we had such a great look at a thrush in the evening, as we apparently slept through the productive pre-dawn hours. We finally awoke – although we had to struggle to motivate out of our warm sleeping bags! – as the sun had already crested the summit of the mountain. Swainson’s Thrushes, juncos, and White-throated Sparrows were in full song, but the Bicknell’s had already fallen silent. However, a short walk around the slope produced two calling thrushes – one of which was seen quite well (but nothing like the evening before!). A few White-winged Crossbills and Pine Siskins were flying around overhead, and that one Red Crossbill continued to sing away.

Morning fog lifting over Rangeley Lake.

After packing up camp, we began the (very!) slow decent. Productive birding in these early morning hours slowed our progress to a crawl, but that was alright – especially since we encountered 3 more calling Bicknell’s Thrushes, 3 pairs of Boreal Chickadees (the third pair was seen only about 1 ½ miles from the parking area), two pairs of Gray Jays, and a few more White-winged Crossbills.

Rangeley (where the fireworks took place last night).

Eddy Pond from above.

In the end, we tallied 45 species on this trek, and my knees did survive – although they were more than a little swollen, and wow, the quads and shoulders are sore this morning! (And, Sasha has barely lifted her head this morning!). This was indeed a great hike – great birds, a life bird for Jeannette, and even a bonus fireworks show! Now that’s the way to spend a holiday weekend – and we even got to watch a 4th of July Parade on the way down; on Eddy Pond:

Here’s the complete species list:
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
Turkey Vulture
Merlin
Hairy Woodpecker
BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER
Northern Flicker
YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
GRAY JAY
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Barn Swallow (one at the summit surprised us)
Black-capped Chickadee
BOREAL CHICKADEE
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
BICKNELL’S THRUSH
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
Cedar Waxwing
Nashville Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
BLACKPOLL WARBLER
Black-and-white Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Canada Warbler
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Purple Finch
RED CROSSBILL
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch