Jeannette and I made a quick escape this week, taking a couple of days off to camp, hike, and bird around Moosehead Lake. Nicole, who has been working at the store for the summer has been doing a good job, so we used the excuse to give her a few more hours # and some more practice running the show # to take a short break.

We choose the Moosehead area since neither of us has spent much time in the region, and because we wanted to have a look around and enjoy the area in case the Plum Creek Boondoggle comes to fruition. And, the more I read and learn about this massive development scheme # the largest in the state's history, by far # the more I believe the term "boondoggle" may be the best word to describe it.

But, I could go on, and on, and on, about my opinion about the proposal. I'll spare everyone today. Instead, I will highly recommend taking a long look at the Maine Policy Review produced by the Open Space Institute. There's a ton of really good information, and it is superior to the "increasingly polarized debate" that I feel has clouded the real issues at stake here. It is not "jobs vs. trees" as some people on both sides of the issue have made it. It's much, much bigger, with permanent, and statewide ramifications.

OK, enough about that . . . now, about the area, and our visit. While we did spend some time birding on Plum Creek timberlands, and we did spend some time in specific places that have been in the news lately # like Lily Bay, our trip was in fact a vacation, not a bona fide fact-finding mission. However, I feel I have learned a lot more about the area, and that knowledge will further allow me to continue to develop my opinion about this debacle, err, plan (Hmm, did I give away my opinion again???)

We got an early start on Tuesday morning, and headed north. Finding Lily Bay State Park to be near capacity, we elected to find a campsite a little more remote, and decided to check out the Long Pond Campground nestled well off the beaten track in the lands of the KI-Jo Mary Multiple Use Forest (a very cool, and unique consortium of landowners that provide public access to working forest. Check out the website.

But, once again I digress. . . so we chose the campsite, made a few wrong turns on sketchy logging roads, and found this awesome remote campground consisting of only three sites, nestled in deep woods a stone's throw from Long Pond. There was one other party in the campground, so clearly this was going to be a less active location than Lily Bay!

Upon our arrival at the campsite, a small mixed foraging flock consisting of a family group each of Northern Parula and Nashville Warblers, 1 American Redstart, 1 Magnolia Warbler, 1 Black-and-white Warbler, and a few Black-capped Chickadees moved through # a good sign indeed! A rain shower moved in just as we finished setting up the tent, and then we went on our way to hike the Gulf Hagas. Billed as the "Grand Canyon of Maine," we had a very enjoyable hike, especially after the rain shower ended. Now, I'll admit, calling this the "Grand Canyon of Maine," is a little bold to say the least, but it was a gorgeous area, and a very enjoyable hike (7.6 miles, plus a bunch of little side trails to overlooks). Since it was the middle of the day, and it was late July, the mixed woods of the area were expectedly quiet, but we did encounter some of the typical residents of the habitat, such as Black-throated Blue Warblers and Swainson's Thrushes.

Unfortunately, when we returned to the campground, we found that one occupied campsite turned out to be occupied by the world's loudest and most obnoxious 3 year old. Now, I know three year olds can be loud, and sometimes scream, etc. However, this little devil literally screamed for 3 hours straight # and not crying, just yelling every word out of a typically-vocal three-year-old's mouth. It was both impressive, and I have to admit # especially listening to some of what he was saying # it was fairly disturbing.

On our second day, we headed towards Moosehead Lake. The Hedgehog Checkpoint # the entrance gate to the KI-Jo Mary land # has some very active feeders, including at least 6 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and a pair of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. But, our main destination this morning was a road on the west side of Moosehead that our friend recommended for birding (thanks, Bill!). Burnham Pond Road runs from Route 5/16 to Indian Pond and passes through some nice boreal-transition habitat. And, despite the lateness of the season, we had a fairly birdy morning, even though our only true "boreal specialty" that we encountered was a pair of Boreal Chickadees. A single White-winged Crossbill flew over as well.

Indian Pond from the end of Burnham Pond Road.

Our intentions had been to take the shuttle boat from Rockwood to Mt. Kineo for an afternoon hike, but instead, we decided to be lazy and spent most of the afternoon and evening eating and/or sitting around and the lake's edge enjoying the views and enjoying a beautiful, rain-free day (we really lucked out with the weather on this trip, considering the very active, and very wet, pattern that we continue to be in.). We did take a walk around Lily Bay State Park, however, before enjoying a lakeside dinner in Greenville.

Mt. Kineo from the Rockwood boat launch.

Our second night in the campsite more than made up for the first evening. We were on our own, and we only had the sounds of yodeling Common Loons and a late-night Great-horned Owl to listen to. Down at the lake, we enjoyed a calm and quiet dusk, watching the lake's loons (4 adults, plus one pair with 2 still-downy youngsters) and a very active River Otter. At least two Yellow-bellied Flycatchers were active in the campground as well.

Our quick trip came to an expected quick end as we scrambled to pack up the tent as rain fell (it began around midnight) on Thursday morning. A quick stroll from the campground produced another Moose, a very ratty, molting Palm Warbler, and a group of three White-winged Crossbills overhead.

Our trip back to home, and then right to the store, was slowed by heavy rains. As much as we wanted to still be on vacation, I think we would have been less than enthusiastic about spending an entire day hiking in the rain and/or huddled in a tent. But, it was a good trip, with a decent total of 67 species # again, despite the late date, and a very good learning experience.

P.S. I want to thank the folks who have responded so far to my blog survey. Unfortunately, I have only received 10 responses so far, so there's not a huge data set to work from. I could really use some more feedback in order to make some decisions, so if You haven't already done so, please take a few moments to fill out this brief survey. Thanks!