Life Birds in Acadia N. P. (WBW)

Black-throated Green Warbler 6-10-11

On our trip to Acadia national Park this weekend of course I brought my bins and camera. Our first night there we drove into the park and found this quiet little place called Schooner Lookout. We followed the short trail down through the forest to the rocky cliff overlooking a bay. As Gus went ahead of me with his camera, I stayed behind following the song of a bird that I suspected was a warbler. I am just getting to know these Northeast warblers and their songs so it wasn’t until I saw the bird that I knew who was singing it. I pulled out my smart phone and listened to the call on my iBird Pro for comparison. As I did, this little fellow came closer for me to see. I don’t like to agitate the birds, so I shut off my phone and listened to the real thing. What a sweetie pie! I have only seen this bird a couple of times before so this was a real treat for me. I was so proud of myself for figuring it out all by myself!

Black-throated Green Warbler

However, the fun was not done for me yet. As I wandered down the path to join my sweet husband on the rocks we sat and watched Common Eiders in the water and a Double-crested cormorant fly in and take a bath (more on the later). I also watched two Great Cormorants flying low over the water. While I did take pictures they are very fuzzy due to the distance and the motion, even though I panned to follow their flight. But, I could definitely see their chunky bodies and white throat patches instead of red. Great Cormorants were Life Bird number 1 for me on this trip.

Black Guillemot 6-10-11 *Lifer!

However, as I sat on the rocks with Gus looking out over the bay he suddenly said to me, “Look, there’s a bird!” and right there at the base of the cliff where we were sitting this little guy popped up! I got all excited crying out, “It’s an Alcid! It’s an Alcid! I have never seen one of them before! However, I did not know which kind of Alcid it was and had to look it it up! This is my first ever Alcid, which is a family group of Ocean going birds who only come to land to nest in rocky cliffs. The species is a Black Guillemot. What a thrilling way to start the weekend! Perfect for World Bird Wednesday don’t you think?

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