I enjoyed a very pleasant – and dry! – morning in and around Biddeford Pool on Friday. Birding was quite good, beginning with a Fish Crow calling over the Starbuck’s in Saco. At Hill’s Beach, a Red Knot and 7 Black-bellied Plovers were lingering, with a few more Black-bellied Plovers in the Pool as well. Three Surf and one White-winged Scoter, along with a single immature Great Cormorant, were lingering off Biddeford Pool Beach. Quite a few Northern Gannets were offshore from various locations, and I spotted my first three Wilson’s Storm-Petrels of the season (finally – but this is only due to my lack of seawatching effort in the past month) off of Ocean Avenue.

Meanwhile, it was good to see a number of terns feeding on baitfish nearshore. At least one or two Roseate Terns joined each of the three feeding flocks of Commons that I encountered at Hill’s Beach, the Pool, and the beach. I particularly enjoyed the feeding frenzy in the Pool - as observed from behind Hattie’s – as 13 Snowy Egrets were performing their spastic feeding routine, while two Roseate and about 20 Common Terns were diving after baitfish a mere 50 feet from me.

My last stop of the morning was Biddeford’s Rotary Park, where I encountered two singing Blue-winged Warblers. One male in particular provided an enjoyable prolonged study for me, as it went about its business of foraging and singing. This little park is certainly the most – if not the only – reliable location for this species in the state. Two Indigo Buntings were also proclaiming their territory here today.

And, I topped off the morning’s outing with two “Jersey Joe” sandwiches to go (one as I bribe for Jeannette for letting me play all morning, of course) from the Saco Island Deli – the BEST sandwich in Maine, in my opinion, although Jeannette – being a loyal Colby grad after all! – does give the nod (in a close race) to Big G’s in Waterville.

“But, wait,” you might be asking, “weren’t you supposed to be in the mountains today?” Uh, yeah. I was.

On Thursday, I met a client, who we will call “Bob” (to protect his identity, as you will soon know why) in Yarmouth, and we headed for the hills. “Bob” hired me to guide him on my “Bicknell’s Thrush Experience” trip. For me, this reclusive bird of mountaintop krummholz (stunted forest) needs to be “earned.” My “Bicknell’s Thrush Experience” trip, not only “earns” the bird, but provides an exceptionally enjoyable way to see the only species whose breeding range is confined to the Northeast.

A close relative of the Gray-cheeked Thrush, the Bicknell's Thrush is a mountaintop denizen is a most-wanted species for many birders, and there’s a few ways to see one. You could drive up the Mount Washington Auto Road and play a tape at a specific mile marker, and there’s a tram up another mountain in Vermont I believe, or you could get lucky and actually see one (but then, you have to identify it!) in migration. However, here in Maine, you’ve got to work for them. And, the “easiest” way to get them is to hike the ski slopes of Saddleback Mountain. It’s only 1 ¾ mile, but it is STRAIGHT up. (Or, you can take the Appalachian Trail about 5-6 miles from Route 4, which is a great hike, and a very birdy one as well).

It’s not for everyone, but the rewards are great. I offer an overnight trip – dinner and breakfast on the mountain included – that let’s us go to sleep with the sounds of Bicknell’s Thrush, and wake up with them as an alarm clock. Not only do you not have to go up or down the mountain in the dark – since the bird rarely sings outside of dawn and dusk – but you have two opportunities –dawn and dusk – to hear, and eventually see, the bird, which is especially important if weather (rain and/or wind) preclude productive birding at either of those two twilight times.

Such was the plan for Thursday and Friday, and it began well enough as we spent the first part of the day birding boreal habitats around Rangeley Lake. Highlights included a pair of Cape May Warblers at Hunter’s Cove Sanctuary. But, as with most of the week, rain fell on and off throughout the day, with the occasional passing thunderstorm. Most of the day, Saddleback looked like this:

However, the showers were not that widespread, most were light, and the heaviest ones were short-lived, so we held out hope. Occasionally, the sun would even peak out. We were about to give up hope for an accent this day, but a stop along Route 16 to look for Mourning Warblers also provided a view of the mountain, and sun shined off of the ski slopes. “It must be a sign,” we thought, so we headed over to the mountain.

It seemed that the storms and showers were developing, and passing, to the east and west of the mountain, so we put on our packs, and began our accent.

I became quite concerned when “Bob” was winded after ascending the bunny hill in the ski area. As we slowly made progress up the hill, and the climb became a little steeper, “Bob” fell behind. Now, this is never a problem, we have hours to get up the mountain, so I would just wait at the next flat spot and scan the trees for birds in the meantime – like Blackpoll Warblers, which we saw very well today.

Unfortunately, “Bob” was not faring very well today. I was becoming worried about his safety – knees and heart in particular, and we were just getting started. Less than a third of the way up, “Bob” puts down his pack for a rest. After a couple of minutes, we were both assessing the situation. “Bob,” I said, “It’s only a bird.” After a few minutes of contemplation, “Bob” swallowed his pride and announced, “I can’t make it.”

The look of disappointment was only covered by the look of a serious bruised ego. But, as I told him, I give him a heckuva lot of credit for knowing when to say when. The worst thing possible would be to push too hard, with possible serious – and deadly – repercussions. It is “just a bird,” and it isn’t worth dying for. “I hate the Bicknell’s Thrush,” Bob announced.

On the way down, “Bob’s” spirits were lifting, and he did say, “This is a real wake-up call,” about his health. True, very true. Who knows, maybe this was such an eye-opener that it will encourage lifestyle changes that could literally save his life. Plus, “Bob” was clearly taking this as a personal challenge, and swore – after long bouts of swearing of a different kind – that, “I will see this bird, and you’ll be here to witness it,” Bob announced. I plan to be, and I fully expect to see Bob beat me up the mountain next summer.

Of course, just to rub it in, after we were back down the hill, the summit revealed itself.

“Those *&&*%%#$#@&(&*() Bicknell’s Thrushes are up there in the sunshine laughing at me right now,” declared “Bob” as we unloaded our packs and headed back to the flatlands.

Now, don’t worry, this is by far my most intensive birding trip. But it is - once you make it up the hill - well worth it! It is, however, getting there that add to the “Bicknell’s Thrush Experience.”

However, on Saturday, I led our “Terns of Casco Bay aboard the Lucky Catch” boat trip out of Portland. It’s about the exact opposite of climbing a mountain. This is an easy, laid-back outing – kind of like our Saturday morning birdwalks, but via a boat – that takes us around the islands of Casco Bay and out to the tern colony of Outer Green Island.

But, once again, the weather was not cooperating. Today, fog was the problem. But, after chatting with Captain Tom Martin, we decided to give it a try. Instead of heading straight out to the island, as we usually do, we gave the fog a chance to lift by cruising around the harbor. We found the male Peregrine Falcon under the Casco Bay Bridge, got some up close and personal views of nesting Ospreys, and then Tom decided to “give it a try.”

I could tell that Tom wasn’t going to go down without a fight, so we decided to poke into the open water to see if the fog was any worse out there. As we passed White Head, I knew Tom was going for it. A few Northern Gannets, Common Loons, Black Guillemots, two Laughing Gulls, and a single Wilson’s Storm-Petrel were seen on the way out, along with a group of 3-4 Harbor Porpoise.

And, luckily, we did in fact see the island before we hit it – but not by too much!
Common Terns were commuting to and from, but the fog was pretty thick. But, we had a special surprise planned for today. Jen, the lead biologist on the island for the summer, rowed out to greet us and hopped aboard for a little chat, telling us about the island, its birdlife, and a biologist’s life upon it.

Meanwhile, the fog was indeed rapidly lifting by now, and had completely cleared by the time we had to leave – of course! Bank Swallows were zipping around, numerous Common Terns were making a racket, but unfortunately our Roseate Tern observations were limited to one individual seen briefly, and one calling bird heard in the fog. We learned that only four birds are around the island this summer, and they do not appear to be nesting. Last year there were 9 pairs nesting. This is most unfortunate, of course the least of which is that we didn’t get to see one of our target birds.

The ride back into Portland Harbor was simply gorgeous, with the sun now shining, Common Eider chicks in the coves, Double-crested Cormorants were sunning themselves, and gulls were being gulls. A few Harbor Seals were well seen, and layers were quickly being removed as the day – after a very cool and damp start – turned out quite nicely!

Our next scheduled boat trip is our ½ Day Pelagic aboard the Odyssey on Saturday, July 12th. See www.yarmouthbirds.com/travels.asp for more information.

But, now, I am off to Utah for the American Birding Association Annual Convention, where I will once again be representing St. Paul Island Tours. See ya in a week!