It’s been a month since I was up there, but two birders from Pennsylvania tempted me to go into the North Maine Woods along the Telos Road yesterday. We had Spruce Grouse, Gray Jay, and Boreal Chickadee by 9am, but the woodpeckers were elusive. At my favorite Nesowadnehunk site, we dipped.
So we went to my backup American Three-toed Woodpecker spot on the Harvester Road. I got a wonderful male Black-backed Woodpecker for several minutes…then suffered the sound of a calling Three-toed Woodpecker disappearing to the west, sight unseen.
Thus, it was off to my emergency backup American Three-toed Woodpecker site along the Umbazookus Road heading due west from Chamberlain. There is a mile-long, mile-deep stand of black spruce that is too thick to explore, but I sometimes get three-toeds from the road. I got a pair in that spot in early May. Turns out, they raised a family. We got a mother/child pair working the trees near the road near the western end of the stand.
So, we swept the five boreal targets, threw in a few red crossbills flying over, and relished 45 common nighthawks over Abol Bridge on the way home. Not bad.
Bob Duchesne
Woodpecker Whisperer
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