by Laurie Pocher
The Maine Young Birders Club spent three glorious hours hiking around the summit of Mount A on a bright, chilly, fall morning. We covered parts of the Big A, Sweetfern, Ring, and Blueberry Bluff Trails, looking for thrushes and warblers in the woods, and raptors on the summit. It wasn’t the birdiest day ever, but we saw some unexpected birds.
Several Eastern Bluebirds greeted us in the parking lot, squabbling over a Bluebird house, while a few Yellow-Rumped Warblers and a single Eastern Phoebe hunted for insects nearby. A group of Hermit Thrushes hopped along the trail ahead of us for a while, and a Common Yellowthroat played hide and seek in the scrub. We heard and saw a few White-Throated Sparrows and Song Sparrows, a couple of Blue-Headed Vireos, a Brown Creeper, an American Robin, Golden-Crowned Kinglets, a Black-Throated Green Warbler, and a Hairy Woodpecker.
Our first surprise of the morning was an Osprey flying overhead — a bird that should have headed south by now. A short time later we heard a Common Raven and a Pileated Woodpecker, as well as the very distinctive call of a couple of Fish Crows flying overhead with a large flock of American Crows.
Back at the summit, we paused for a group photo, and were surprised when a small raptor flew by with prey in its talons that it proceeded to eat on the wing. While we debated what it could be, another raptor soared past — this one was undoubtedly a Northern Harrier with a distinctive white rump patch and owlish face. We later confirmed from photos that the first was an American Kestrel.
Other species included Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, and Dark-Eyed Junco. In total, we saw 27 species at Mount A. You can see the full checklist here: https://ebird.org/checklist/S152171184
Stay tuned for the trip announcement for our November outing coming soon!
