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 Wandering Birder  | Acadia National Park -Maine Comments
Acadia National Park - Maine
June 2004
Yellow Ladyslipper blooming in wild flower garden.
Maine in June
I spent the first week of June in Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor Maine. This is a great time to visit because the warblers and nesting birds are still singing and all the hordes of tourists are still at home. Campgrounds are empty and offseason rates apply.

I rode my bicycle on the Carriage Roads in the park and heard warblers: Black and White, Chestnut-sided, Yellow-rumped, It was hard to see any of the birds because the trees were fully leafed out.

I stayed at the Narrows Too campground and had Veery singing in the campground.

Peregrine Falcon Nest
The Peregrine Falcon had not nested in Acadia National Park since 1956 before the current hacking program was begun in 1987. Adult birds returned to the park in 1987 to 1991 but did not produce young until 1991. Since then Peregrines have fledged young at this site every year and 66 chicks have fledged through 2003. In 2004, the nesting pair have 3 chicks. The nest is about half way up the lower face of the cliff and easily viewed with a scope. The first day I was there the three chicks were huddled on an open ledge. After first seeing the nest I returned every day to check on the progress of the chicks.
The Precipice Trail
This is a popular hiking trail in the park and I remember climbing it with my children many years ago. The hacking program did not put birds on the cliff where this trail is located, but the birds decided to nest there anyway. The park service closes the trail while the birds are in the area.

Little hard to miss the closed gate and sign explaining that the area is closed because of the falcon nest.

Nevertheless on Saturday while a group was watching the falcons with scopes we became aware that two climbers were on the trail. The parent birds became very agitated and were swooping over their heads. I used my cell phone to call the park ranger who came in about twenty minutes. Another birder and I were determined not to let these jerks get away scot free. We were ready with our cameras just in case the climbers got down before the ranger arrived.
Busted

The Ranger arrived on time and caught this man and his partner. The fine for entering a closed trail on federal property is quite stiff. He was not a happy camper. I hope both were cited. I was pleased to be able to report this incident and to support the effort to protect the birds. I believe that we have to report such incidents.  The police and rangers can't be everywhere all the time.

The next day one of the chicks fledged and flew to a spot higher on the cliff face. The parents rewarded it with a dead Herring Gull. They continued to feed the two chicks still on the nest ledge. The fledged chick flew awkwardly from time to time. You could easily distinguish it from the parents because of the light band at the tip of tail and because it flew with more wing beats than the adults who do a lot of gliding.		 Hiker arrested for climbing trail closed to protect the Peregrine Falcon nest.

Bar Harbor Whale Watch
On Friday I took the whale watch to check it out. . The whale watch is on a large and very crowded catamaran. The trip is expensive $45 for adults ( $42 for seniors). There is a policy of returning half the fare if they don't see a whale or a pod of dolphin. The trip the day before failed and they made good on the promise. Today the boat is fully booked so they are going to do everything they can not to have to return the fare so they are warning passengers the trip might not return on time. .

This boat makes a rather long trip on the water of some 25 miles to a shallow area known as Whale Park. Most of the trip is parallel to the coast so you don't go 25 miles offshore. This provides ample opportunity for spotting birds if there are any. This day there are only 2 Gannets and one Common Murre. On the way out we make a pass and close approach to Petite Manan Island where you can see Puffins, Razorbills, Arctic Terns, Eider Ducks, Black Guillemots. Two Finback Whales were seen at Whale Park so we actually got back to the dock on time. Because it was so crowded I had to sit most of the time in one seat on the top deck. The naturalist was quite good except when he tried to blame the fishing problems on the seals. I didn't let him get away with that

Low Bridges

The most popular Park Loop Road has 3 low bridges. My rig was OK on even this the lowest at 12' 0 ". I have to learn to be aware of all that camper above my head.
View from the top of Cadillac Mountain.