BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 19, 2020
Maine is blessed with multitudes of shorebirds at this time of year. In spring, dozens of shorebird species race north to the Arctic to breed, mostly bypassing Maine. They’re in a hurry to get the best nesting spots and take advantage of the hellish explosion of insect life that accompanies snowmelt. But the season of abundance is short, and they all start heading south again in August. They’re not in a rush, and Maine’s coastline has more natural food washing onto the mudflats in August than it does in May. So huge populations of birds that nested clear across northern Canada get funneled through our coastline, some heading all the way to South America. That’s happening right now. ~ Bob Duchesne