Birders and bird loving photographers of all skill levels are invited to join me, Sally Siko as we explore the trails, woods, fields and shorelines of the United States in search of interesting birds. From North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Maine and beyond, there are plenty of great species to get out and enjoy throughout the year.
DETAILS FOR EACH TRIP LOCATION ARE LISTED IN THE LINK BELOW
Birders and bird loving photographers of all skill levels are invited to join me, Sally Siko as we explore the trails, woods, fields and shorelines of the United States in search of interesting birds. From North Carolina and beyond, there are plenty of great species to get out and enjoy throughout the year.
In addition to local trips here in the Triangle, new birding tour dates and locations in coastal Maine, coastal New Jersey, eastern North Carolina and eastern South Carolina have been added to my 2023 & 2024 calendar. Click on the dates marked in green in the box below for more information.
Book today as space is limited on these small group tours, Gift Cards are on sale too!
This past summer I had the opportunity to go birding up in Maine. The plan was to scout out the state in preparation of my upcoming birding tours in Maine. After 3 days on the trails, it turned out to be an incredible trip which yielded 53 different species of birds plus epic views and really good food.
Day 1 was spent scouting around the Acadia NP area. Michael and I started off the day with a beautiful hike along the coast at Great Head. The morning was very foggy but gosh it was gorgeous up there in the woods.
Everything was silent except for the sound of a distant fog horn, a very noisy Winter Wren and a pissed off (yet adorable!) Red Squirrel who chattered loudly as we walked past him. It took about 20 minutes or so of hiking a gentle uphill slope before the forest opened up to a wide open cliff view overlooking the Atlantic. We stood up on the rocks taking in the grand view before us, marveling at the icy green North Atlantic slapping at the cliff below. Several Herring and Black-backed Gulls were circling overhead, it was neat to watch them preen and squabble over food once they landed on the rocks.
There were a couple Black capped Chickadees flitting through the pines as well as a curious Black and white Warbler who followed me as I wandered around the bluff in search of good photos and great birds.
A few minutes later it started to sprinkle a little so we headed down the Acadia Park Loop rd to look for more cool stuff. We ended up at Moose Lake SP where we encountered a few different species of Warblers including Blackburnian, Pine, Common Yellowthroat and a Northern Parula. It was neat to see these tiny feathered gems so far north.
By now we’d walked a few miles and were building up an appetite so we decided to grab a couple lobster rolls for lunch at the Bar Harbor Lobster Pound. https://www.barharborlobsterpound.com The rolls were delicious!
Although they seemed a bit pricey ($72 for two rolls and a couple drinks!) it was still pretty fucking awesome to bite down into that buttery bread and sweet lobster. Washing it all down with an Old Soaker Root Beer really hit the spot so totally worth the price IMO.
By now it was mid day and actually a little warm outside so we took a quick drive to take in the sights and sounds of Bar Harbor. Gosh what a beautiful town! Tons of great restaurants, hotels and shopping plus it’s a hub for a few boat tour companies which dock on the area. *more on that later…
Once the sun was a bit lower in the sky, we drove up onto Cadillac Mountain in hopes of enjoying a good sunset and maybe a great view of the Northern Lights which had been forecasted to be extra bright that evening. Unfortunately, mother nature had a different plan in mind as the mountain peak quickly was enveloped by a bunch of clouds rolling through.
There was no way that we’d get to see the aurora borealis with these weather conditions but gosh it was absolutely gorgeous up there watching the sun sink into the hazy horizon below.
Cadillac Mountain turned out to be a pretty good birding spot as well with sightings of Wild Turkeys, a Herring Gull (yes there was an actual Herring Gull sitting on a rock wall in the parking lot at the top of the mountain lol!) Common Ravens, Blue Jays, American Crows, a Hermit Thrush, an American Robin, two Song Sparrows, several Dark-eyed Juncos, a couple White-throated Sparrows and a cheerful Common Yellowthroat. Truly a nice way to wrap up my first full day at Acadia!
Day 2 and we were hitting the road again, heading inland to check out the Moosehead Lake area. I’d found an interesting birding spot called the B&A Railroad North which I’d targeted as being a good spot to find Boreal Chickadees and White-winged Crossbills. (Lifers I’d yet to tic off my list). While we were driving along a gravel track through the woods, I got lucky and spotted several Ruffed Grouse as they crossed the road. It was thrilling to actually grab a couple photographs of these birds, as I’ve never managed to do so before.
Continuing on we ended up at an intersection of gravel paths so we walked a bit from here. It wasn’t long before I heard the calls of Boreal Chickadees emanating from the woods, so I started pishing in hopes of drawing a couple of out into the open. Happily, one did fly out and landed onto the outer edge of a pine bough which allowed me to grab a couple photos before it flew back into the deep woods. Success!
In addition to that Boreal Chickadee there were a bunch of other cool birds at that spot too such as a Hermit Thrush, an American Robin, Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, a Nashville Warbler and as always, several cheerfully singing Common Yellowthroats. Although I didn’t get to tic off a White-winged Crossbill here at the Railroad site I was pleased with what I saw!
From there we continued heading north to our destination of The Birches Lodge at Moosehead Lake. https://www.birches.com
We’d booked a Moose Cruise for later that day but since we arrived a little early, we decided to grab a quick lunch at the resort’s restaurant. Omg the food was delicious! ( roasted & chunky carved Turkey on that sandwich, yum!) As great as the food was, the service was even better.
One thing I have to share now is how awesome the people of Maine are. Everyone was super nice and welcoming. It didn’t matter where we traveled throughout the state, the people were just awesome. Our waitress at The Birches was very friendly and made us feel right at home as we ate lunch in the north woods. As a bonus, I even got to meet the owners wife Tania Willard. She was so excited once I told her that I was a birding guide! We talked for a few minutes about all of the great birds in the area and it warmed my heart to encounter another business owner who loves the outdoors and birds as much as I do. Tania told me to be on the lookout for Belted Kingfishers and White-winged Crossbills (a lifer for me) during the Moose Cruise. As luck would have it, we spotted both species while out on the water! Yay!
The Moose Cruise was a lot of fun. At first everything was quiet, the water was smooth as glass and the world around us was an impossible shade of green. My gosh what a peaceful place!
Then as the boat made its way up the river the birds started making an appearance. It started with seeing a beautiful Common Loon sitting on its nest (wow!) and got even better from there lol!
There were Canada Geese, a Wood Duck, Mallards, Hooded Mergansers, Wild Turkeys, Double-crested Cormorants, Turkey Vultures, an Osprey 2 Belted Kingfishers, a Blue-headed Vireo, a couple Winter Wrens, 7 White-winged Crossbills (yay!) and a Pine Warbler to round out the boat trip. We even lucked out and spotted a mother moose and her calf crashing through the brush along the shoreline. Freak’n awesome!
Day 3 had arrived and with it, a powerful offshore storm. The winds were high and the surf was churning like a washing machine. This was a problem because I’d reserved a boat to take out onto the ocean in order to photograph the Puffins who nest on the small rocky islands which line the coast. Unfortunately the rough seas prevented any boats to depart so unfortunately, I was unable to get out there onto the water. It’s okay though! I’ve been in contact with a bunch of great Puffin boat captains and will be heading back to Maine in July 2024 to try again to share these birds with my guests.
Not wanting to waste a single moment feeling unhappy about missing out on a boat trip, we decided to explore more of the trails of Acadia National Park at Schoodic Point. This area is even better IMO for birding since it’s far less crowded here than along the Loop Road on the western side of the park.
There was a gentle light mist of rain falling as we hiked in the Blueberry Hill area and along the Anvil Trail. All was quiet save for the sound of the surf hitting the rocks and the occasional calls of the gulls flying overhead. The air smelled so good along the coast with the gentle scents of pine, saltwater and beach roses wafting on the cool breeze. When we ventured deeper into the woods, we were quickly enveloped in a world of emerald green ferns, spongy soft moss and ancient pine trees. Walking these trails felt like stepping back in time.
At first there wasn’t much activity going on (wildlife wise) but as we walked the shorelines and forests of Schoodic Point, the birds started to become a little more active despite the foul weather. Here we saw a raft of Common Eiders, Canada Geese, a Black-throated green Warbler, an Ovenbird, several Golden-crowned Kinglets, a Gray Catbird, a few Dark-eyed Juncos, a couple Song Sparrows and a pair of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Not too bad considering that the weather was a bit dodgy. We ended the morning by getting a bonus sighting of a juvenile porcupine making its way across the road.
I’ve never seen one before in my life, so it was very cool to finally lay eyes on a real live Porcupine! He was super cute and we were absolutely thrilled to see one of these remarkable creatures up close.
The day ended with a stellar dinner at the Union River Lobster Pot. https://www.lobsterpot.com Oh my goodness that was a great meal! 1 1/4 lobster served with clams, a big red potato and one of the sweetest ears of corn I’ve tasted. So much buttery goodness I can’t even describe how good it was without drooling a little lol!
I’ll tell ya, it was a difficult decision to make in order to point my car south to head home. Don’t get me wrong I do love North Carolina, but Maine is an incredible place. The people are lovely. There’s zero traffic. The food is superb. The views, unbelievably beautiful. And the birds, omg there are so many up here that we don’t get to see often (or ever!) in the south. I left dreaming (and yeah now seriously considering) about buying some land so that I can offer birding tours on a frequent basis in Maine. At least it will be great to spend the summer working in Maine where it’s cooler during the hottest months in NC. Lol we will see!
Photo by Michael Wildrick
Anyway, to sum it all up, Maine is freaking awesome and I cannot wait to get back there again soon. I’ve got space available for reservations in 2024 so if you’d like to join me, feel free to hit up the link below for details 🙂
Birders and bird loving photographers of all skill levels are invited to join me, Sally Siko as we explore the trails, woods, fields and shorelines of the United States in search of interesting birds. From North Carolina and beyond, there are plenty of great species to get out and enjoy throughout the year.
Private birding tours in North & South Carolina are also available for reservation to best suit your needs and schedule!
For more information please contact sallysiko@birdwatchingnc.com or call/text (919) 449-7331 to book a private trip.
In addition to local trips here in the Triangle, 80+ new birding tour dates and locations in eastern North Carolina and South Carolina have been added to my 2024 calendar. Click on the dates marked in green in the box below for more information.
Book today as space is limited on these small group tours, Gift Cards are on sale too 🙂
