A 3-day Baxter State Park birding tour finished up this afternoon with a good total that included Black-backed Woodpecker, multiple Gray Jays, singing Fox and Lincoln’s Sparrows, Evening Grosbeaks, and both crossbills. Blackpoll and Bay-breasted Warblers were commonplace. We turned up a Mourning Warbler this morning.
Sometimes during my tour, the Boreal Chickadees are still quietly nesting. But this year’s good weather fledged the chicks early and we had them everywhere. Boreals outnumbered Black-capped on the trip by something like 8-1.
Here’s something I had read about but not witnessed until today: a Philadelphia Vireo singing while on the nest. After we all surrounded a tree at Roaring Brook Campground, forlornly gazing into the foliage in search of the singing bird for 15 minutes, I finally spotted the nest. No wonder we couldn’t find him – he was nestled into it! Shortly after, the partners traded places and he went off to a nearby branch to sing.
This year’s tour also set a record for moose sightings: 19.
On the way home, it became obvious that crows have fledged. Most of us marvel at how crows are savvy enough to get out of the road when traffic is approaching. It’s a learned skill that is not learned in time by some youngsters. The body count along I-95 from Millinocket to Bangor was at least five.
Bob Duchesne
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