Loons and Eagles, Damariscotta Lake, Maine - July '26

Damariscotta Lake, our now-familiar local swimming spot a short distance from Kat and George's house, is an idyllic spot (especially to jump into after a run); as an added bonus, there are very accommodating Common Loons and young, sparring Bald Eagles to entertain you as you swim or dry off.

Damariscotta Ospreys, Maine - 30th July '26

Ospreys are pretty much everywhere along the coast of Maine (and New England generally) where there's suitable habitat, and they often don't really care about how public their chosen nest site is...

... as evidenced by this one, in the middle of a Damariscotta, a local smalltown. The nest - complete with about-to-fledge juvenile - is located on the floodlights over the little league baseball triangle, sandwiched bewteen a construction site, a main road and retail outlets.

Maine, July '26 - local birds

Male Eastern Bluebird - proud parent of offspring which fledged from a nextbox in the garden while we were there 

After a lovely time with the family in Vermont, we headed back to Western Mass for a couple of days and then onto our annual trip to Maine and a week with our dear friends Kat, George, Indigo and their flock of wayward rescue hounds. It was our fourth trip to see them in as many years, and it's a part of our New England summers we especially look forward to - proper holiday mode with wonderful humans.

Our itinerary consisted of lots of daytimes hanging out in and around their expansive yard, swimming in the lake, birding / hiking at local reserves, running, enjoying cool local towns, and hooking up with other good people (see forthcoming post), with evenings necking too many cocktails, eating fabulous food, and howling into the Karaoke mics. Kind of the perfect trip, all things considered.

Common Yellowthroat 

Of the birds? Plenty to enjoy. We visited Green Point a couple of times, a nearby preserve with a lovely mix of habitats (and therefore species - see eBird checklist here), a memorable day out offshore (see next post), and lots of collateral opportunities here and there.

Birding at Green Point

Yellow Warbler - soooo abundant this trip

Alder Flycatcher

A (sadly expired) Pileated Woodpecker we found on a road near the house during a morning run - taken back and examined carefully by Indigo

Monarch

House Wren - two pairs with young in the garden nest boxes

Broad-winged Hawk over the garden - one of four species of raptor that checked out the chickens (the others being Cooper's and Red-tailed Hawk, and Bald Eagle)

Plenty more from Maine to follow shortly!

Jamaica, Vermont - July '26

Northern Yellow Warbler

We had a fine time up in the beautiful wilds of Vermont, from where we've just returned (briefly) to the homestead near Warren, Mass. Obviously birding was not a priority, but that doesn't mean opportunities can't be engineered....

... and these included sessions with Ned along the West River Trail (see also last post), and also at the nearby Jamaica State Park, where we had a family hike up the hill before descending for a swim in the river. Lots to enjoy, from a nice variety of warblers to Hermit Thrushes, Veerys and Ovenbirds, Belted Kingfishers and Eastern Warbling and Blue-headed Vireos among many other expected species.

Hermit Thrush 

Mammals were also a highlight, from the small cute stuff to the somewhat larger natives - a close-up Beaver was a real treat as it grunted loudly at me before launching itself into the river, and a close encounter with a Black Bear while on a run near our accommodation was similarly special (at least, when it stopped staring at me and wandered off behind a house....).

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Male Yellowthroat

Young Goosanders on the river

Red-eyed Vireo

Red Squirrel

Northern Flicker

Ovenbird