BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 12, 2021
The World Series of Birding took place last Saturday. My wife Sandi and I were recruited to be the northern Maine specialists, joining four Audubon experts in southern Maine. The team did well, sighting 161 species and grabbing a fourth place finish — just one bird ahead of a Pennsylvania team, but six birds short of third place. More importantly, I learned a few things. If you want to hear rails, go to the “cornfields” on the University of Maine campus in early May. If you want to hear owls, try the roads around Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Milford. If you’re behind schedule, it doesn’t matter how much healthy food you packed. It’s faster to grab a slice of convenience store pizza. If the wind is howling in Lubec, you can duck behind the lighthouse at Quoddy Head State Park. I learned that climate change is real. Lastly, I learned that there’s no use listening for marsh birds after dusk. The peepers are louder than jet engines. ~ Bob Duchesne