Historic Pittston Farm

We enjoyed 3 wonderful days of birding in the North Woods by joining a group of birders on a bird tour led by Bob Duchesne.  Bob is a state Representative in Maine whom we have come to know from the birding festival here at Moosehorn NWR.  Not only has the birding been great, but we saw some beautiful country as well.  We stayed in the Carriage House where we ended each day sitting out on the porch sipping on wine and eating the great snacks provided for us while adding to our bird checklist.  We all met at the park & ride in Bangor at 7:00am, packed up and hit the road.  We made several stops on the way up.  Bob was excellent in keeping the comfort level, in knowing great habitats, and break times at gorgeous spots.

        

This is our first view of Moosehead Lake as it came into view.  It is the largest fresh water lake east of the Mississippi contained in one state.  We birded around that whole lake.  We passed the area where the B52 bomber crashed in the early 60's.  We took in the view of Big Spencer Mountain where the Bicknell's Thrush can be found.

Each morning started at 5:30 am driving around looking for target birds.  We would return for breakfast around 7:00 am.  As soon as breakfast was over, we would pack our own sack lunch and hit the road again.  We were back on the porch around 5:00pm until we were ready for supper.  Take a look at our first meal!!

This is their seafood platter.  Wallace and I split our order and we still had toooo much food to eat.

Now on to the BIRDS.  How about a Gray Jay?  It took Bob awhile to dig this one out.  A family of three.
It happend on our last day!!

Or maybe a Boreal Chickadee.  This was the first real good look I have had at this one.  We also had a Common Goldeneye with 8 little ones...no picture.  The first day out while we were driving to the farm, we had accumulated 69 species, including my first and only "lifer" of the trip.  Drum Roll Please.

You guessed it...a Black-backed Woodpecker.  Look for the flaked off outer bark scales to find this bird.  Large patches of flaked bark on trees may indicate its presence.  I love how they use their tails as props while they cling to the tree.  We were able to approach this bird fairly closely.  The second day out, we added another 26 and the 3rd day out (our last day), we got another 10 for a grand total of 105 species.  We got 19 warblers, then 2 Evening Grosbeaks at the farm.  Tired and weary by the end of each day, we slept like babies.  This was our first paid birding guide tour we have ever participated in.

GOOD FOOD, GOOD COMPANY, & GOOD BIRDS!!!