BANGOR DAILY NEWS • March 2, 2023
Is Maine on the bucket list of other people across the country? Are there places in Maine that birders have always wanted to visit? Does Maine have anything to offer that can’t be found elsewhere? Yes. Maine is the only state with Atlantic puffins. Birding the Maine coast is probably more popular nationally than we realize. It’s significant enough to sustain three consecutive birding festivals in the spring. The birding along the southern Maine coast is exceptional in winter. So is Acadia National Park. Maybe we’ll just have to keep all these northern forest birds and winter finches to ourselves. Heck, I’m not even sure we can get southern Maine birders to visit northern Maine in winter. Then there is the slight problem of unpredictability. Every winter is different. Last winter, the northern Maine forest was awash in finches. This winter is eerily quiet. ~ Bob Duchesne