The morning was taken up with a drive of nearly 250 miles from our Baxter State Park base at East Millinocket to Parker River NWR – rendezvous point with Andy’s friends Lisa & Mike from Boston. It started to spit on our approach to Parker River and by the time we’d entered the park it was a steady drizzle. In the circumstances it’s remarkable that we saw any birds at all but whilst waiting for Mike & Lisa to arrive we did manage to see a couple of sparrows on the nearby salt marsh – turned out to be Saltmarsh Sparrow! Solitary & secretive, they nest along the narrow coastal strip of New England – first seen on the Outer Banks. We headed off with our hosts to explore the rest of the reserve but, in the worsening weather, eventually decided to abandon the idea and retreat to a local cafe for tea and cake. After a hour or so of fascinating conversation we said our farewells and, more in hope than expectation, decided to give the shore birds one last go. On arrival at the Salt Pannes there was only a handful of waders visible. A quick scan resulted in an involuntary expletive from me ‘……. not a dot day!’ – a Wilson’s Phalarope was busy ‘spinning’ on a nearby pool! It flew about, being harassed by the other waders, before joining its partner and eventually flying off in to the gloom. A remarkable end to a generally dismal day – made much better by the engaging company and the final Phalarope finale. Tomorrow we head for the airport, with one last morning birding session before we go – the end of our incredible Great American Birding Road Trip ll.

Today we returned to Baxter State Park to bird the southern section. When we created the GABRaT ll itinerary we deliberately chose Baxter SP because of it’s elevation and general proximity to Canada – these factors combined make it a special location for a couple of species which are hard to get in north-east America. Today was our opportunity – or so we thought – to hunt them down. When we arrived at the south gate we discovered that the road was closed well before the high montane habitat which we needed. So instead we spent the day walking the trails (doing the hard yards – literally) and searching the various camp grounds but without success. It was therefore well into the afternoon before we finally found a new bird for our GABRaT ll list and narrowly escaped a ‘dot day’! The bird that saved our bacon was Goldeneye – a reasonably familiar bird to us in Norfolk but a scarce bird on my American list. During the course of the day we did see more warblers – adding Blackpoll to the Maine State list. We also enjoyed some stunning scenery. Tomorrow we begin the long journey back to Boston and our flight home to the UK (fingers crossed) on Sunday.

Baxter State Park is a 200,000 acre block of mountainous forest which includes Mount Katahdin, 5269 ft – the highest peak in Maine. There is a 40 mile drive which connects the north and south gates to the park. We got up early and drove the 140 mile drive to the north gate ready to enjoy a leisurely drive through the park to exit at the south gate, close to our base in East Millinocket. All was going well until the Park Ranger who greeted us at the north entrance told us that the road was still closed! We were able to drive nine miles into the park before turning back, and tomorrow we plan to do the southern half, as far as the road is open. Apparently the whole route is unlikely to open for the summer for another couple of weeks. We did however see a nice selection of warblers – all of which we’d seen at some point on our travels north from Florida – and other species of interest. The best birds of the day came within the first half mile of entering the park and at the very end, just after we’d left. A very vocal Philadelphia Vireo saved us from the anticipated ‘dot day’ and a Black-headed Woodpecker, flying low over the road on our way home, was a totally unexpected bonus, though unfortunately not seen by all the occupants of the vehicle.

We’re in the far north-east corner of America, close to the border town of Calais – lots of countryside but not many birds. We’ve spent the day, on and off, in the National Wildlife Refuge of Moosehorn (Baring Division). The birding has been challenging, with the weather alternating between cool sunshine and sleety showers. The temperature has stuck at 50 deg F or less, with a brisk north westerly wind. A combination of walking and driving has given us some good views of warblers and flycatchers but little else. We’ve searched long and hard for grouse sp. with no luck – despite the visitor information sheet giving the status as ‘abundant’! It felt very much like today would be a ‘dot day’ – after all we’ve been expecting it now for the past week – but then a splendid male Canada Warbler came to our rescue. It’s difficult with these New World warblers to pick a favourite, but this one must be in my top three. It also brings our GABRaT ll list to 280 (plus the extra Florida ferals) and our warbler count to 30 species – not too shabby.

Today we’ve driven to the furthest point east in the United States – Quoddy Head lighthouse. As well as being an interesting historical site and a place of wild rugged beauty it also produced some excellent birding. We began the day at Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge where from The Point you can look across the Gulf of Maine to Petit Manan Island – breeding location for Atlantic Puffin. However even with a ‘scope we couldn’t see a single auk-like bird. We did see lots more sea duck though and, just as we were about to pack up, Bob found a Red-throated Loon – a GABRaT ll trip tick! We then headed for Quoddy Head as it started to rain. Two hours later we arrived at our destination and, remarkably, it stopped raining. We ate lunch whist scanning the birds using the Grand Manan Channel, between The States and Canada. More sea-duck, several Common Loon and top bird, albeit briefly, several Razorbill. This is apparently the most reliable place in America for this rare auk. A distant Loon caught our attention as another possible Red-throated – after careful scrutiny it turned out to be a Pacific! Three Loons in one day – remarkable. In the bushes on the Head we found several good warblers and later, on the run-in to our log cabin base at Nash’s Lake, near Calais, we finally caught up with Cedar Waxwing – a trip tick for Andy and Bob & Sue.

Described as the ‘crown jewel of the Atlantic coast’ Acadia National Park is nearly 50,000 acres and constitutes approximately half of Mount Desert Island, which lies off the north coast of Maine. The main attractions and birding areas are accessed off of a loop road, which is generally open May – November. A variety of habitats attract a good selection of birds which we spent the day exploring. Our first trip tick came as we crossed the causeway to the island. Several flocks of sea duck were gathered around the off-shore lobster farms, these included all three species of Scoter – Surf being our new bird, Long-tailed Duck, Common Loon & Red-necked Grebe. A mid-morning walk along the trails around the Abbe Museum and native plant gardens produced some excellent birds and another three trip ticks – Dark-eyed Junco, Winter Wren and Brown Creeper. The latter two, looking very similar to our own Wren and Tree-creeper, could have been on a walk around Felbrigg Lake. Highlight of the excursion was however stunning views of Barred Owl – a trip tick for Bob & Sue and Andy. During the afternoon we visited other locations, adding Laughing Gull – a scarce summer visitor to the Maine Coast – to our Maine State list. Harbor Seal, which came on a walk towards the end of the day, was a new mammal addition.

But the ‘show-stopper’ for us, and a number of walking parties along the trail, was this very obliging Barred Owl

Today was the day when we said farewell to Neil and Nicola, who joined us before the Biggest Week in American Birding in Ohio. It’s been great having you guys along. Thanks Nicola for finding some great birds and to Neil for being Phil’s chauffeur and personal valet – safe journey home. Meanwhile we, the remaining five in the party, started our day at the Audubon reserve of Scarborough Marsh, a site which was on our radar for the Global Birding Day but we ran out of time. Within a few minutes of pulling into the carpark overlooking the marsh we’d had several species missed the day before, including Glossy Ibis and several wader sp. Oh well, that’s birding for you. Still it did provide us with our only tick of the day – a Wilson’s Warbler – which have just reached Maine on their journey north. They are a lovely little all-yellow warbler with a black skull-cap, which breed as far north as the timber line in Canada and (sensibly) winter in Mexico. After Scarborough Marsh we drove north-west through rural Maine to our next base at Ellsworth – through an interesting landscape of hay meadows, mixed forests and wild Blueberry clearings. We finished the day at the Stanwood Wildlife Sanctuary where we saw more migrants and had a closeup and personal experience with the local mosquito population. Today we’re in the Acadia National Park.

The team were out from dawn to dusk for Global Birding Day, visiting a number of local coastal sites and the grasslands of the Kennebunk Plains. In all we recorded 90 species, including several America, GABRaT ll and State ticks. Our first site – the really lovely Audubon East Point reserve at Biddeford – was really productive and gave us a good variety of coastal birds as well as warblers in the bushes. It was two o’clock before we could take a break for lunch, then it was back out for the final session until sunset. Some great birds and an opportunity to be part of the global birding community, doing what we love but, this time in someone else’s ‘back yard’.

We’ve finally arrived back on the Atlantic coast – after last seeing it at the Outer Banks, North Carolina – stopping first at Old Orchard Beach, before moving north over the next week through Maine to the furthest north east point of USA, and the border with New Brunswick, Canada. Yesterday was a repeat of the previous two, with a fairly long travelling day broken up by regular birding stops. Our first stop, at 3500ft, was Woodford State Park which unfortunately was closed (to vehicles) so we walked along the entrance track. We ensured it wasn’t going to be a ‘dot day’ by quickly adding Purple Finch around the park buildings – followed by a nice selection of other forest species, including: Blackburnian Warbler, Red-throated Vireo and another trip tick – Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Coffee was taken at the delightful ‘alpine’ town of Wilmington before our final stop at the McLane Audubon Centre where we again saw some nice birds and added several State ticks. Speaking of which, the day started in New York State, then we travelled through Vermont, and New Hampshire before arriving in Maine – as a consequence our State list average has, not surprisingly, dropped considerably. Today is Global Birding Day – so we’ll be doing our bit to support the cause and, as it happens, getting our Maine State list off to a flying start.

Another long day yesterday as we travelled from Niagara Falls east to Albany, our overnight stop and departure point for Phil & Carolyn. Our only birding along the route was at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge – a fabulous wetland just off the I 90. The reserve, which is accessed via a wildlife drive with several stopping-off points, produced a good variety of species including three much needed trip ticks: Pintail, Black Tern and the elusive Marsh Wren. We spent three very productive hours there – and could have spent many more. As our hotel in Niagara Falls was only half a mile from the border it meant that practically all the birds seen on route were additions to our New York State list. Today we are off to the coast at Old Orchard Beach, south of Portland. It’s been great having Phil & Carolyn along with us – we wish them a safe and speedy return to the UK.