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MAINEFOREST & COAST
May 23 - 27, 2021
Plus Vinalhaven extension
May 27 - 28, 2021
Contact [email protected] to reserve your place!
Itinerary> Trip Cost> Tour Registration & Terms>
Maine! The largest and arguably most beautiful state in New England conjures up images of scenic, rocky shorelines and verdant deciduous and spruce/fir forests. The diverse and abundant habitats of Maine include more forested area than any other state, 6000 lakes, 3000 coastal islands and 3500 miles of coastline (more than California!) plus peatland bogs, sprawling freshwater and brackish marshes, wetlands, meadows and more.
For birders, the forest habitats of Maine offer avian gems such as Spruce Grouse (Photo: John Schwarz, birdspix.com), Ruffed Grouse, Boreal Chickadee (Photo: John Schwarz, birdspix.com), Canada Jay, Black-backed Woodpecker, Saw-whet Owl, Eastern Whippoorwill, Black Tern, Rusty Blackbird, plus crossbills, vireos, flycatchers, swallows, and more than two dozen species of colorful wood warblers returning to their breeding grounds by late May. Protected areas along the coast include offer have the chance to see breeding Peregrine Falcons, returning warblers including Prairie, Cape May, Tennessee and Yellow-breasted Chat, Alder Flycatcher, songbirds like Veery, Scarlet Tanager, Field Sparrow, and perhaps a Bobolink or an Upland Sandpiper.
Maine has recorded 450 species of birds and has 200 breeding species and this tour samples the best of the forest and coast. Starting in Saco, we head up into the southern reaches of the boreal forest to western Maine’s best birding areas including Messalonskee Marsh, Cold Spring Ranch, and Bigelow Preserve in search of the specialties of those areas. From here we head to Camden to bird the varied coastal habitats. We end our trip at the famous Scarborough Marshes looking for rails, marsh sparrows and others.
As an extension, those interested can visit and overnight on Vinalhaven, the largest of Maine’s offshore islands in the center of Penobscot Bay. From Vinalhaven we have the chance to enjoy a variety of seabirds that feed in the waters around the island and breed on the celebrated Seal Island National Wildlife Refuge. Once used as a Navy bombing target, Seal Island now serves as an important nesting ground for a large seabird colony that holds everything from Atlantic Puffins (Photo: Steve Bird) to Arctic Terns to Great Cormorants. It is where the famous Red-billed Tropicbird has been showing up for more than 10 years.
This
tour is designed
to offer
the chance
to explore
the diversity
of habitats
in southern
and western
Maine.
Join
us for this
special
sampler of
the iconic
forests
and
coast
of
Maine!
ITINERARY
Sunday,
May 23: ARRIVAL
SACO, MAINE
Plan
on arriving in Saco, Maine
by this afternoon. We will
meet at 6 PM for our welcome
dinner and the start of
the tour. Night Saco.
Monday,
May 24:
After
an early
breakfast, we’ll
head northeast to Gardiner
to meet our local guide
(at 7:30 AM) and bird
the ½ mile
trail along Cobbossee
Stream Conservation Area & Harrison
Nature Trail. A property
of the Kennebec Land
Trust, this area is
a migrant hotspot in
May. Here, we hope for
our first looks at Cape
May, Bay-breasted, Blackburnian (Photo:
Steve Bird),
Canada, Wilson’s
and Blackpoll Warblers
among others.
From there, we’ll head to Messalonskee Marsh to search for breeding Black Terns (Photo: John Schwarz, birdspix.com), Sandhill Cranes (Photo: Gina Nichol), American Bittern, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Loon, Northern Harrier, Bald Eagle, and multiple species of swallows. Nearby, we’ll visit Maine’s largest Purple Martin colony that has been in existence at least since 1909 and hope for access to a large Bank Swallow colony on private property.
Sandhill
Cranes
From
here we will explore the
open habitats that border
the southern reaches of
Maine’s
boreal forest. We’ll
visit a bird friendly
ranch to watch displaying Wilson’s
Snipe (Photo:
Steve Bird) winnowing
above the wet meadows.
Wetland habitats here
could hold Hooded Merganser,
American Bittern, Solitary
Sandpiper, and Lesser
Yellowlegs and grassland
habitats can offer Bobolink,
Savannah Sparrow, American
Kestrel, Alder Flycatcher,
and Eastern Kingbird,
with Brown Thrashers
hiding in the thickets.
With luck we may find
Upland Sandpiper or
American Pipit. In the
evening we will check
in to our lovely historic
inn in Kingfield.
After a delicious dinner and review of our checklist, we may have the option to look for Eastern Whip-poor-will if there are any reports in the vicinity.
Tuesday,
May 25:
We’ll
have an early breakfast
(6 AM) but the sun will
be up at 5 AM so anyone
wanting to check the apple
trees and small patch of
forest on the grounds of
the Inn is welcome to get
a head start. Reserve your
energy as we have a full
day of exploring the forest
proper. Depending on what
scouting and recent reports
reveal, we’ll
bird key forest sites
looking
for Spruce Grouse,
Ruffed Grouse, Canada
Jay (Photo:
Steve Bird),
Boreal Chickadee,
Black-backed
Woodpecker,
Swainson’s
Thrush, Rusty Blackbird,
and other boreal specialties.
By late may, these forests
hold warblers galore
all
in their colorful spring
finery. We’ll
be on the lookout for
Canada, Wilson’s,
Magnolia, Cape May,
Nashville,
Chestnut-sided, Blackburnian,
Black-throated Blue,
Black-throated Green,
and Bay-breasted Warbler
as well as Yellow-bellied,
Olive-sided, Alder
and
other flycatchers.
Vireos
should be active and
we’ll
take note of any
Crossbills
or Evening Grosbeaks
in the area. If we’re
lucky and use good
field
craft, perhaps we’ll
find a roosting
Northern
Saw-whet or Barred
Owl.
This is sure to
be
an exciting day
as
we search out the
forest specialties
against the backdrop
of returning neotropical
migrants.
Later in the day we’ll return to our lovely inn for a delicious dinner and review of the day’s sightings.
Photos:
Saw-whet Owl (Gina Nichol),
Cape May Warbler (Paul Wolter),
Black-backed Woodpecker (Steve
Bird), Boreal habitat (Ron
Joseph)
Wednesday,
May 26:
Once
again the grounds of the
Inn can offer early birding
and we’ll
hit any spots that look
promising before driving
south to the picturesque
mid-coast Maine town of
Camden. The Camden area
has Land Trust properties,
Nature Centers, and State
Parks that offer great
coastal birding and we’ll
explore these areas to
look for returning warblers
including Prairie, Cape
May, Tennessee and Yellow-breasted
Chat and we’ll
search for Alder Flycatcher,
Veery, Scarlet Tanager,
and Field Sparrow and
perhaps a Bobolink (Photo:
Steve Bird) or
Upland Sandpiper.
In addition to songbirds and already breeding warblers, we may have the chance to see breeding Peregrine Falcons or maybe a Northern Goshawk. And, we’ll hope for the chance to see the amazing display flight of the American Woodcock. Our lodging tonight is another lovely inn close to town where we’ll enjoy a lovely dinner.
Thursday,
May 27:
This
morning we’ll
enjoy an early breakfast
and then bird Camden Hills
State Park at the top
of Mount Battie. The lookout
offers amazing views of
Penobscot Bay and its
hundreds of islands including
Audubon’s
Hog Island, Matinicus
Island,
Mount Desert Island with
Cadillac Mountain and
Vinalhaven. It is one
of the most picturesque
landscapes on the Atlantic
seaboard, the inspiration
for then 19-year old,
Edna St. Vincent Millay,
to write
the famous poem “Renascence”.
We’ll
bird the lookout and
Mount Batten Trail
in search of Philadelphia
Vireo (Photo:
Steve Bird),
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
Tennessee Warbler,
Cape May Warbler,
Blackburnian
Warbler, Chestnut-sided
Warbler, Blackpoll
Warbler, Scarlet
Tanager, White-winged
Crossbill, Red Crossbill,
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
and others.
Later in the morning, we’ll head south along the coast to the famous Scarborough Marsh, one of the premier birding destinations in Maine. In late May, the Eastern Road Trail and shoreline areas around the marsh can hold Seaside Sparrow, Nelson's Sparrow (Photo: Gina Nichol), Saltmarsh Sparrow, Marsh Wren, Glossy Ibis or even White-faced Ibis, Virginia Rail, Least Tern, Roseate Tern, lingering winter dabbling and sea ducks, herons and egrets galore, migrating shorebirds and any number of rarities.
There are many birding sites in this area and we’ll bird all afternoon before ending our tour in Saco at 6 PM. End of tour.
Vinalhaven
extension: May 27 -
28, 2021
For
those wishing to extend their
stay, we have added a very special
extension to Vinalhaven Island
in the Penobscot Bay. Space is
limited and first-come, first-served.
Thursday,
May 27:
Today
after breakfast and early
birding we will head to
Rockland to board the Maine
State Ferry from Rockland
to Vinalhaven Island, seven
miles from the mainland
in the heart of Penobscot
Bay. The cruise through
the bay passes several
islands
and ledges, as we make
our way into Hurricane Sound
and then Carver’s
Harbor. The 80 minute
ferry ride
is sure to offer picturesque
views
and as we cruise we will
search
the island waters for
Northern
Gannet, Common
Eider (Photo:
Gina Nichol),
Black Scoter,
Surf Scoter, Bonaparte’s
Gull, Black Guillemot,
Razorbill,
Jaegers and other oceangoing
species.
On
arrival in Vinalhaven, we
will disembark the ferry
and drop our bags at the
Tidewater Inn. After lunch,
we will board the “Skua”,
a comfortable 36' lobster
boat for a cruise out to
Seal Island National Wildlife
Refuge. Our 4 hour cruise
will take us to Seal Island
to see the 65-acre sanctuary
is managed in cooperation
with National Audubon Society
to protect colonial nesting
seabirds. Supporting one
of the largest tern colonies
in the Gulf of Maine, Seal
Island has thousands of
pairs of Arctic and Common
Terns. Atlantic Puffins
have been reintroduced on
the island and our voyage
around the island should
see us plenty of these unique “sea
parrots” as
well as and Common Eider,
Double-crested and Great
Cormorants, Leach’s
Storm-petrel, Black Guillemot,
and Razorbill. The noisy,
seemingly chaotic spectacle
of this large and diverse
colony is sure to captivate
us. We’ll
scan the waters around the
island for shearwaters,
Common Murres, Northern
Gannets, and other seabirds.
With luck, 
the Red-billed
Tropicbird that’s
been a regular summer resident
on Seal Island will be in
town as well.
Photos:
Atlantic Puffin, Arctic
Tern by Gina Nichol, Common
Murre
by
Steve Bird.
Later in the afternoon, we’ll head back to shore to the Tidewater Inn. We’ll enjoy a nice dinner and review of our unforgettable day.
PLEASE NOTE: As with any boat trip, we could be impacted by weather. We’ll heed the advice of the captain if conditions are too rough or unsafe and bird from land.
Friday,
May 28:
This
morning we can bird around town
and be ready to board the 10:30
am ferry from Vinalhaven to Rockland.
We’ll
arrive at Rockland at 11:45 am
and then head to Scarborough Marshes
one of the premier birding destinations
in Maine for the afternoon. We’ll
bird the Eastern Road Trail and
shoreline areas around the marsh
looking for Seaside Sparrow, Nelson's
Sparrow, Saltmarsh Sparrow, Marsh
Wren, Glossy Ibis or even White-faced
Ibis, Virginia
Rail (Photo:
Steve Bird), Least
Tern, Roseate Tern, lingering
winter dabbling and sea ducks,
herons and egrets galore, migrating
shorebirds and any number of rarities.
There are many birding sites in
this area and we’ll
bird all afternoon before ending
our tour in Saco at 6 PM. End
of Tour.
Itinerary> Trip Cost> Tour Registration & Terms>
 MAINE
SAMPLER:FOREST & COAST May 23 - 27, 2021 Plus Vinalhaven extension, May 27 - 28, 2021 Registration Form> TOUR PRICE, MAIN TOUR: US$1495.00 per person based on double occupancy and a minimum of 6 clients. Note the main tour begins and ends in Saco, Maine. Single supplement: US$395.00 per person. Subject to availability.
Deposit: $500.00
per person. Tour
deposits
can be paid
by credit
card via
PayPal. Not included: International or domestic flight, passport fees, departure tax, insurance, drinks, laundry, tips, and items of a personal nature. Note: The main tour tour price is based on a minimum of 6 passengers. If there are less than 6, a small group supplement may be charged.
Once the tour is confirmed to go ahead, we will send you information about booking your flights and arranging travel to Saco, Maine. Please do not book flights or make travel arrangements until you receive this information from us and are notified that the trip has sufficient numbers to run. Final payment is due January 23, 2021. **Please note: Tour prices are based on quoted costs from our providers, estimated fuel costs, and the rate of exchange the time of itinerary publication. The erratic nature to global financial markets makes it difficult to predict changes in costs over the long term. Since tours are priced well in advance of the actual operation of the tour, tour costs, fuel costs and exchange rates can change, sometimes drastically. Depending on the extent of such changes, it may be necessary to implement a surcharge on this tour. If a surcharge is necessary, every effort will be made to minimize the amount. Cancellations
and Refunds:
Insurance: Sunrise
Birding LLC strongly
recommends
that you purchase
a travel protection
plan to help
protect you and
your travel investment
against the unexpected.
Travel protection
plans can include
coverage for
Trip
Cancellation,
Trip Interruption,
Emergency Medical
and Emergency
Evacuation/Repatriation,
Trip Delay, Baggage
Delay and more.
Cancel for Any
Reason plans
are advised for
the most complete
coverage.
The product descriptions provided here are only brief summaries. The full coverage terms and details, including limitations and exclusions, are contained in the insurance policy. Travelex CA Agency License #0D10209. All products listed are underwritten by, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company. 11.17 E7N
Questions? Contact Gina Nichol at [email protected].com Phone: 203.453.6724 |
