BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 11, 2022
The doldrums are over. July’s boring birding has given way to renewed vigor in August. Local songbirds are stirring. Most are done family-raising. During my visit to Essex Woods, I joined a crowd of birders who were seeking a family of celebrities. Least bitterns are so unusual in Maine, they are on the state’s endangered species list. Some are replacing their feathers in preparation for the long flight and a tropical winter. The shorebird migration persists throughout September. Local salt-water breeders, such as great cormorants and black-legged kittiwakes, are leaving their nesting islands and moving closer to shore. Tens of thousands of gulls are gathering off Eastport. It’s getting lively out there. You’ve been warned. ~ Bob Duchesne