by Marion Sprague
Thanks to a generous donation from Acadia Birding Festival, the Maine Young Birders took to the seas on Saturday, September 23rd to visit Monhegan Island, a small, rocky island in Muscungous Bay about 10 miles offshore. We had 10 young birders, along with parents and family members join us on this adventure. Despite some early morning fog, the seas were calm and visibility was fantastic—we could see the Camden Hills over 40 miles away! The trip started with a Great Blue Heron sitting on one of the boats near the Hardy Boat dock. Along the hour boat ride to the island, we picked up a few Northern Gannets, a Common Loon, Laughing Gulls, Black Scoters, Black Guillemots, Great Black-backed Gulls, and Herring Gulls.
The biggest highlights of the boat ride were not avian, but harbor porpoises, seals, and an ocean sunfish. Not to be outdone, just as we were approached the island a shout rang out: “Minke Whale!” Luke, one of our young birders, had spotted a lone Minke Whale surfacing between the Duck Islands!
After we re-grouped at the dock we started up the hill toward town. We got our first warbler of the day just at the top of the hill where we saw two Yellow Warblers flitting around the apple trees. We also saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird, the first of several on the island, taking advantage of the late-blooming jewelweed.
From there we headed toward the Ice Pond, where we picked up a flock of Cedar Waxwings foraging in a Mountain Ash, a Cape May Warbler, and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Walking to the Ice Pond, we noticed several agitated Black-capped Chickadees but did not see any predators. We did not have to wait long to find out why they were so keyed up! As we were enjoying the colorful waxwings a Sharp-shinned Hawk swooped in, grabbed a waxwing, and flew off! While we agreed it was sad to see the waxwing meet its fate, it was thrilling to witness the speed and agility of the hawk in action! From here we walked the trail to the backside of the Ice Pond where there was a continuing Green Heron. We all got great looks as it foraged along the shoreline.
We headed back toward town, picking up a Baltimore Oriole behind the school. We made a quick stop at the Community Garden picking up another Ruby-throated Hummingbird and a few Song Sparrows before heading to grab lunch at the Barnacle. We hiked up to the lighthouse to enjoy a relaxing lunch and take in the spectacular views. After lunch, we headed back toward town picking up our first of the resident Ring-necked Pheasants that live on the island.
We made our way to Lobster Cove, adding a large mixed flock of Black and White-winged Scoters to our list, and many Common Eiders on the water in the cove. Day trips on the island pass very quickly and before we knew it, it was time to make our way back the dock to meet our boat. We made a few pitstops along the way, picking up a Prairie Warbler for our trip list!
We had a great outing with a total of 44 species. Check out our trip list here.
As a nonprofit, we rely on dues and donations to fund our club and make these outings possible. You can make a donation here. We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Acadia Birding Festival for making this trip possible! We hope to do it again!
As always, you can click here for more information about how to join the Maine Young Birders Club.
Stay tuned for the trip announcement about our next outing.
