Birding Moosehead.Indd

BIRDING MOOSEHEAD ©Robert S. Duchesne, July 2004 Moosehead Lake is Maine’s largest lake. In spite of its size and cool, clear water, much of the lake shore is undeveloped. Many of the nearby lakes and ponds are equally remote and pristine. The area is famous for its large moose population and Greenville is home to the Moosemania Festival every spring. The region boasts scenic mountains and rushing rivers. It is heavily glaciated and waterlogged, with rich, forest soils and barren, gravel eskers existing side by side. As a result, there is a great variety of wildlife habitats over a relatively small area. Beech and birch predominate. Spruce, balsam fir and pines take over in the cooler, damper areas. The latter areas are home to Maine’s boreal bird specialties: spruce grouse, black-backed woodpecker, Canada jay, and boreal chickadee. White-winged crossbills can often be found year- round. At least twenty species of warbler breed here. Bicknell’s thrush occurs on area peaks above 3,000 feet. Most of the surrounding land is part of Maine’s privately owned working forest and the area is crisscrossed by logging roads, many in poor condition. Unless you are sure of your route and landowner permission, it is best to explore the areas we list here as part of the Maine Birding Trail. Even the condition of the recommended roads can vary depending on how recently rain or maintenance has occurred. North of Moosehead Lake and east of Greenville, lands managed by the North Maine Woods Association offer deeper penetration into Maine’s working forest. Though there is a gate fee for entrance, there is also a lot of information and maps at the gate for those who seek a near wilderness experience. All dirt roads in this vast expanse of woodlands look very much alike. Do not plan to venture into the North Maine Woods without adequate maps and a full tank of gas. Cell phones seldom, if ever, work in this area. Moose are widespread throughout Maine but there are few places where they are seen more often than in the Moosehead area. Invariably they are a thrill to see but remember that they also can be a real hazard to traffic. In the spring they seek roadside shoulders for winter salt and relief from pests. Moose show little sense about traffic and often wander dangerously onto the road. Furthermore, their eyes are less apt to reflect light than those of deer and their dark coloration can make them nearly invisible at night. Though moose can be encountered at any time of day, they are most often found near dawn and dusk. Maine also has the largest population of black bears east of the Mississippi and encounters with eastern coyotes are an even more regular occurrence. Beavers can be seen in every small and slow-moving body of water and they generally become active and visible in the late afternoon. Otters are common in shallow, slow moving waters, particularly Shirley Bog. From about the third week of May until late June, black flies can be a nuisance during a day of birding. However, they are one reason the area is so rich in songbirds and it is the best season for locating a big variety. Furthermore, the insects are a manageable problem. Bird the dawn chorus before the insects accumulate. For the rest of the day, long sleeves, hoods and hats, and judicious use of repellents discourage most black flies and mosquitoes. The road from Newport to Dover-Foxcroft to Greenville is known locally as “The Moosehead Trail.” It begins at the Interstate 95 exit in Newport, continuing along Route 7 through Dexter to Dover-Foxcroft, and then west along Route 15 to Greenville. The Maine Birding Trail - Greenville Gateway begins in Dover-Foxcroft and continues through the towns of Guilford, Abbot and Monson, each with its own opportunities. Maine Audubon’s Borestone Mountain in Elliotsville is noteworthy. 1 Peaks-Kenny State Park. The park itself offers a pleasant swimming beach and the likelihood of viewing loons Go Wild! Chesuncook offshore. However, the access �� Lake road before the entrance booth traverses a long stretch of mixed hardwoods. In breeding ��Seboomook season, it can provide a wide �� Lake variety of warblers. Walk or drive the road slowly, listening �� to sort out the various songs. Turn around before the booth, or enter and spend a pleasant �� day. �� Directions: From the center of Dover-Foxcroft, turn north on �� Route 153. Proceed 4.5 miles to �� Sebec Lake and follow the signs left �� to the park. � Moosehead Abbot claims fame as the �� 2 Lake �� first community in Maine’s � alphabetical order. But a �� convenient little side trip yields a nice dividend here. In the �� center of town there is an �� intersection where Route 16 veers west toward Bingham. Instead, take the Back Road � �� east. Within .2 miles you will � come to an iron bridge that crosses the Piscataquis River. �� The white pines on the near �� side of the bridge and the �� underbrush on the far side �� offer a lot of riparian variety in a tiny area. Multiple species �� of warblers are found here. At �� a half-mile, stop and examine the farm fields. Bobolinks and �� eastern meadowlarks thrive �� here. There are gravel pits on your right, so bank swallows �� join the hundreds of tree and barn swallows that hawk over �� these fields. Listen for their peculiar buzzing vocalization. At the end of the field, where the road comes to a T intersection, turn right and drive another 2.7 miles. At this point a small stream has formed a shallow pond on the left just before it passes through the culverts under the road and into the Piscataquis River on the right. Scan the pond for ducks and the adjacent field edges for brown thrashers. They are an uncommon breeder in northern Maine. 3 The Appalachian Trail runs close to Monson and you’ll notice a few establishments offering services to hikers. Here, too, is another opportunity to venture slightly out of your way. Coming from the south, just before you enter town, turn sharply left onto the Blanchard Road. In half a mile you’ll encounter a beach and boat landing on Lake Hebron. Common loons will usually be obvious, but it will take good binoculars or a spotting scope to check for wood ducks and spotted sandpipers that sometimes favor the distant shoreline on the right. Continue another half mile (one full mile from Route 15) until you come to a beaver flowage on the right. Northern waterthrush are present in this wetland, though it helps when they are singing. They are notoriously reluctant to respond to “spishing.” A few of the more common warblers will also be about, and the mature trees just up the road harbor scarlet tanagers. Just over 2 more miles ahead, 3.2 miles from Route 15, there is an even larger beaver flowage that will be on your left, with a small pond barely visible through the stumps. Not only does this offer another crack at the northern waterthrush, but also it’s a good opportunity for hooded mergansers. Olive-sided flycatchers are sometimes found here. 4 Elliotsville Road: The road into the Borestone Mountain Maine Audubon Sanctuary deserves attention along the way. Just north of Monson center, turn right onto the Elliotsville Road. The first two miles will pass through light woods and small homesteads. Some homes have bird feeders that entice finches. At 5 miles, large fields conceal bobolinks and Savannah sparrows. Just beyond, you’ll enter a section of mature maples and hardwoods that are often full of warblers. From here to the Wilson Stream, black-throated green, black-throated blue, magnolia, northern parula, and black & white warblers are common. So are blue-headed and red-eyed vireos. After 7.5 miles, on the approach to the bridge at Wilson Stream, slow down for the view and for the barn swallows that nest under it. Turn left over the bridge and continue toward Borestone. In another mile, stop and spend a few minutes at the railroad tracks. The trees are full of red-eyed vireos and with a little more patience you’ll locate the scarlet tanagers that nest here. The openness of the rail junction combined with the surrounding woods and the slopes provides enough habitat diversity to guarantee other birds around, too. It’s not unusual for sharp-shinned hawks to cruise the rail line. This is a main track of the Canadian Pacific Railway, so beware of trains. 5 Borestone Mountain: Parking is at the base of the mountain. The lot fills early on nice days so you may have to join the others parked along the roadside. This mountain is a local favorite for family hikers. Two-thirds of the hike is along an easy dirt road, though a new �� hiking trail added in 2003 is now preferred. Even before leaving the parking lot you may �� glimpse the American redstarts that work the low trees and shrubs along the road. Because Borestone has been protected for over 100 years, the mature hardwoods that envelope the Borestone first third of the trail are particularly good for canopy birds such as red-eyed vireos, scarlet tanagers, blackburnian warblers and northern parula. The vegetation changes gradually as Mountain you ascend, leaving behind the maples and embracing birches and beeches. Here, blue- headed vireos, magnolia, black-throated blue, and black-throated green warblers quickly become commonplace and you have a good chance for ruby-crowned kinglets. Then, as the hardwoods mix with stands of evergreens (mostly red spruce), more hermit thrushes, golden- crowned kinglets, and winter wrens become noticeable.

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