Red Squirrel – Ethical Birder

The Nature Conservancy has a preserve on Great Wass Island, just south of Jonesport on the Maine coast. The property has a nice variety of habitats, including spruce forest, cedar bog, and rocky coast.

Wild Blueberries grow in the open areas at the top of the hills.

The cedar bogs are home to carnivorous plants, like this pitcher plant.

Runoff from the bogs is the color of tea.

The shore offers some good tidepooling at low tide.

This is the “trail” along the shoreline. The occasional dab of blue paint lets you know you are not completely lost.

Lots of little islands lie just offshore.

Red Squirrels are common in the woods.

And that is the last of the photos from my Maine trip. Now back to Oregon.

I spent just over a week along the coast of Maine, visiting sites between Ellsworth and Cutler. It is always fun to get reacquainted with eastern bird species and to hike in the boreal forest.

I saw 14 species of warblers on this trip. The vast majority of birds I saw were male, presumably because the females were on nests. Their small size, active habits, and dense habitat take them beyond the realm of point-and-shoot photography, but I managed to capture useuable images of two species. Black-throated Green Warblers were by far the most common species.

Ovenbird

This Spruce Grouse was at Petit Manan NWR. She had several downy chicks with her. The chicks are actually capable of flight, and flew into dense cover when startled. The adult remained on foot, keeping an eye on me and making contact calls to keep her brood together.

Blue-headed Vireo

White-throated Sparrow

Common Loon

Hermit Thrush, calling with a bill full of food for nestlings.

Red Squirrels were common and noisy in wooded areas.

This White-tailed Deer fawn was well-hidden in the woods. I only located her because she got up to take a stretch just as I was looking in that direction.