Tag Archives: Lewiston

This Week’s Highlights 1/3– 1/9/2026.

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This drake Barrow’s Goldeneye was one of the foursome currently in the Androscoggin River between Auburn and Lewiston, most often in view from the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge. Jeannette paid them a visit on the 6th, where she found this one male just below the bridge.

Except for a delightful morning at Reid State Park, my birding outings were short and local, but I did enjoy catching up with local patches and their winter denizens, especially Barrow’s Goldeneyes. Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.

  • 2 drake and 2 hen Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/4.
  • 1 drake Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Sandy Point Beach, Cousin’s Island, Yarmouth, 1/6.
  • 1 SNOWY OWL (FOS), 9-11 Red Crossbills, 58 Red-necked Grebes, 1 Savannah Sparrow (subspecies undetermined), 26 Sanderling, etc, Reid State Park, Georgetown, 1/8.
  • 1 hen Barrow’s Goldeneye, Front Street Boat Launch, Bath, 1/8.
This is how I like my Snowy Owls…safe in the distance, backlit, poorly phone-binned, and otherwise unconcerned with my presence. Later, I spent 30 minutes observing it in the distance as it moved around, perhaps to get in position for hunting, or perhaps because it was getting too warm!

This Week in Irruptives.

American Goldfinches and Red-breasted Nuthatches remain very abundant. While a number of customers at the store have continued to report scattered small flocks of Evening Grosbeaks at feeding stations, I did not hear or see any yet again this week. In fact, my only irruptive in limited time birding was a single Pine Siskin at Florida Lake Park on the 7th, until I re-entered the Red Spruce zone at Reid State Park on the 8th. There, there were several Pine Siskins and at least 9-11 Red Crossbills – including two singing males suggestive of upcoming mid-winter breeding!

New Year Predictions Blog!

It’s once again time for my annual Predictions Blog, where I view into my crystal binoculars and attempt to forecast some of the “new” birds to grace the State of Maine – and then my own personal state list – in the coming year. I also take a look at some of the rarities that graced Maine in 2025.

This (Two) Week’s Highlights 12/20– 1/2/2026.

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This Rufous Hummingbird graced a Bath yard for almost two months. The story below.

Life in retail during the holiday season, followed by a trip to the Motherland of New Jersey for Christmas resulted in limited Maine birding for me over the past two weeks. However, a couple of good days in the field here in Maine produced several observations of note:

  • Recent ice and more snow resulted in a nice little surge of Dark-eyed Juncos and American Goldfinches into our Durham yard. A male Purple Finch on ½ was the first I have seen locally in at least a month, and a Northern Flicker dropped in on 12/30.
  • 1 continuing drake Green-winged Teal and 1+ Fish Crow, Auburn Riverwalk, 12/23.
  • 2 drake and one hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Bernard Lowne Peace Bridge, Auburn-Lewiston, 12/30 (with Kelley Sharp)
  • 3 Fish Crows and 1 1st-cycle Iceland Gull, Auburn Riverwalk, Auburn, 12/30 (with Kelley Sharp).
  • 1 pair American Wigeon, Rockland waterfront, 1/1 (with Jeannette).

Rufous Hummingbird in Bath, 10/31-12/26, 2025.

A Rufous Hummingbird arrived in a Bath yard on Halloween. And she stayed until the 26th of December! These birds are just incredible! Unfortunately, it was not in a yard that was conducive to visitation, so we had to keep the sighting under wraps. I really am sincerely sorry about that, but the homeowner’s rights and the bird’s welfare will always be put first and foremost with us. But it was well photographed, well studied, and well monitored. Here’s the story, identification particulars, and more.

BELATED: A Rufous Hummingbird in Bath (posted 12/29/25)

Massive Robin Roost in New Jersey!

We only had one morning for birding after visiting family, and we chose to spend it with an estimated 100,000 American Robins!

It was awesome and I hope these videos do it a modicum of justice! This was in Oldwick, NJ, discovered by Evan Obercian (yup, a birding friend of mine since high school who also now lives in Maine!) around 2021 (although he heard of a former roost not far away before this one). This was the largest gathering he has seen, at least around Christmastime. We just enjoyed the show, but he recently made the estimate (based on counting sample minutes and extrapolating). There were also about 1,000 European Starlings – look for a couple of dense flocks exiting the leaning bamboo during the videos. A few hundred Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds were also present (mostly exited before sunrise in the first video), and Jeannette and I picked out a single Hermit Thrush. 3 Cooper’s Hawks and a Sharp-shinned Hawk were present, but they too seemed to be overwhelmed by the masses!

The videos can be seen here:

New Year Predictions Blog!

I know you are waiting with bated breath, but I’ll publish this soon. Of course, when I am delayed in getting it posted, something really rare shows up! So keep you eyes open!

This Week’s Highlights 11/29 – 12/5/2025.

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This Nashville Warbler (above) was one of two still on Peak’s Island as of the 1st, and this Orange-crowned Warbler (below) was one of four or five still on the island. Orange-crowned Warblers are pretty hardy, but if the Nashvilles are still hanging on, they would be questioning their life decision this morning! Speaking of, best wishes, wherever you are, to the Virginia’s Warbler that has not been seen since the 11/29. 

Well, winter set in rather quickly this week, didn’t it? And no doubt much to the chagrin of the many vagrants, “pioneers,” and “half-hardies” that we have been enjoying recently. Despite the widespread below-zero temperatures by week’s end, I still saw four species of warblers this week. But I won’t expect that next week. Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.

  • 1 continuing MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER, Grist Mill Park, Yarmouth, 11/29 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 2 continuing NASHVILLE WARBLERS, 3 Orange-crowned Warblers (at least 2 continuing), and 1 continuing COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, but no sign of the Virginia’s, Peak’s Island, Portland, 12/1 (with Jeannette. Photos above).
  • 1 1st cycle Iceland Gull, Maine State Pier, Portland, 12/1 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Hermit Thrush, Commercial Street, Portland (near cruise ship terminal), 12/1 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 ad. Red-shouldered Hawk, Ann St, Lisbon Falls, 12/4 (with Bill Thompson).
  • 2 WILSON’S SNIPE and 4 Lesser Scaup, Lake Auburn, 12/4 (with Bill Thompson).
  • 1 Fish Crow, Anniversary Park, Auburn, 12/4 (with Bill Thompson). 2-4 Fish Crows have been reliable here since April, including in the past few weeks.
  • 1 Northern Flicker, our feeders in Durham, 12/4.
  • Scattered Evening Grosbeaks and Red Crossbills continue in the area this week as well.
The Peregrine Falcon pair of Lewiston-Auburn is back to frequenting their favorite winter perches, such as this rooftop tower near the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge.
One of the pair had returned here after taking a run at a Bald Eagle.

This Week’s Highlights, 2/22 – 2/28/2025

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These three female Greater Scaup appeared with the Mallard flock off of the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge between Lewiston and Auburn last week, and continued through the 25th

I had an excellent week of late-winter birding this week, with a nice mix of overwintering birds and some new, spring-like arrivals. Towards week’s end, birdsong from our resident species increased dramatically, and winter concentrations of waterfowl are beginning to disperse. But – at the risk of sounding a little corny – I have to say, showing people their first ever Harlequin Duck is always a winter highlight for me! It was also nice to have a tour run, and not postponed or cancelled due to weather. My observations of note over the past seven days included the following:

  • The single Fox Sparrows continues here at the store, and our one at our Durham feeders reappeared in the snow on the 27th after being absent for a few days.
  • At least 2 Turkey Vultures continue in the Cumberland-Freeport corridor of I-295. Part of the local overwintering flock (up to 15 total roosting in Brunswick at the peak), the first northbound migrants of spring are now arriving. This appears to now be a year-round species along Maine’s southern coast, as birds have overwintered locally for the last three years.
  • 1 drake GADWALL, Falmouth Town Landing, Falmouth, 2/22 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • 4 Brant (FOY), Dyer Point, Cape Elizabeth, 2/23 (with Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! Tour group).
  • 1 Merlin and 1 Horned Lark, Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, 2/23 (with Birds on Tap – Roadtrip! Tour group).
  • Full trip report here.
  • 1 Northern Shrike (FOY/3rd of winter), Bridge St, Newfield, 2/24 with Jeannette).
  • 1 RUSTY BLACKBIRD and 1 Winter Wren, Florida Lake Park, Freeport, 2/24 (with Jeannette).
  • 2 continuing drake Green-winged Teal and 3 continuing female Greater Scaup, Anniversary Park – Bernard Lown Peace Bridge area, Auburn-Lewiston, 2/25 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 continuing hen AMERICAN WIGEON and 3 Barrow’s Goldeneyes (1 pair plus 1 immature male), Winslow Park, Freeport, 2/26.

Bradbury Mountain Spring Hawkwatch

We’re only two weeks away from the start of our 19th season! Free and open to the public, we welcome Zane Baker back for his record 7th season as Official Counter. 9-5 every day, weather permitting. More information and a link to counts can be found here.

Upcoming Tours:

  1. Woodcocks Gone Wild: Saturday, March 29th.  Registration and more information is here.

This Week’s Highlights, 2/15 – 2/21/2025

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The waterfowl concentration in the open stretch of river between downtown Lewiston and Auburn continues to grow. On Thursday, Dan Nickerson and I had over 1700 ducks of 9 species, most of which were here, off of the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge.

Most of my birding time this week was spent driving to and from Montreal to not see a Boreal Owl on Monday and Tuesday, but away from that sojourn, my observations of note over the past seven days still included the following:

  • The single Fox Sparrows continue here at the store and at our feeders at home in Durham.
  • Speaking of feeder birds, last weekend, I posted a blog comparing feeder bird counts at our home in Durham to roughly the same ten-day period over the past two years. You can find that here:
Winter Feeder Bird Comparison, 2025 Edition.
  • At least 2 Turkey Vultures continue in the Cumberland-Freeport corridor of I-295.
  • 3+ Horned Larks, Hemand Farm, Minot, 2/17 (with Jeannette).
  • The stretch of Androscoggin River in downtown Auburn and Lewiston continues to be exceptionally productive. Another uptick in waterfowl this week was evident, with at least 1500 Mallards now just downriver of the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge. There, on 2/20, Dan Nickerson and I teased out a drake GREEN-WINGED TEAL and 3 female Greater Scaup. A hen Bufflehead continues as well. Then, upriver at the Auburn Riverwalk, a second GREEN-WINGED TEAL (likely the continuing bird present since at least 1/30 and a drake WOOD DUCK, present in the area since at least 1/13 and at this location since 1/30.
  • 1 Hermit Thrush, North River Road, Auburn, 2/20 (with Dan Nickerson).

Upcoming Tours:

1. Birds on Tap – Roadtrip “Harlequins and Hops!” scheduled for 2/2 was postponed until this Sunday, February 23rd. A few spaces are still open for the new date, and the weather looks great!

This Week’s Highlights, 1/28-1/31/2025

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This handsome drake Green-winged Teal was with a relatively small flock of Mallards
along the Auburn Riverwalk on the 30th.

We returned from our winter vacation late Monday night, and most of the week was spent catching up. But of course, I needed to catch up on some local birds as well. Not surprisingly, waterfowl continue to concentrate with the growth of ice cover on rivers and sheltered upper corners of the bay. Here are a few observations of note over the past 4 days.

  • 1 GRAY CATBIRD (continuing since 1/2) and 1 Fox Sparrow (continuing since early December) continue at our feeders in Durham.
  • 1 Fox Sparrow (since 12/21) continues sporadically at the feeders here at the store, but has become more regular in the latter half of this week.
  • 1 drake WOOD DUCK, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Lewiston/Auburn, 1/30 (likely same bird as Jeannette and I found at the North River Road Boat Launch on 1/13).
  • 1 continuing drake RING-NECKED DUCK, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Lewiston/Auburn, 1/30. First observed at the Lincoln Street Riverfront Park on 1/14.
  • 1 hen WOOD DUCK, Anniversary Park, Auburn, 1/30.
  • 1 drake Green-winged Teal, Auburn Riverwalk, 1/30/2025
  • The Winslow Park Barrow’s Goldeneye flock increased to 8 by 1/31 with 4 females, 3 males, and 1 immature male.
  • 1 female COMMON EIDER spp BOREALIS, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/31.
  • Still some Turkey Vultures in the area, despite the severe cold spells.

Upcoming Tours

1. Our Birds on Tap – Roadtrip “Harlequins and Hops!” scheduled for this Sunday, 2/2 has been postponed due to the dangerous cold weather until Sunday, February 23rd.

2. Winter Waterbirds Workshop with Down East Adventures: Sunday, February 9.

3. Gull Identification Workshop: Freeport, Saturday, February 15, 2025 (1:00-4:00pm) and Part II in Portland: Sunday, February 16, 2025 (8:00am-12:00pm).

This Week’s Highlights, 1/6 – 1/12/2024

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Barrow’s Goldeneyes returned to the Androscoggin River this week, with a pair below the Bernard Lown Peace Bridge between Auburn and Lewiston on the 12th. Early morning shadows were challenging for photos, so I was happy with this great comparison shot of an intermingled pair each of Barrow’s and Common Goldeneyes.

While I didn’t get as far afield as last week, I enjoyed a very productive week of birding, especially for early January!  Here are my observations of note over the past seven days.

  • Our feeders in Durham have been incredible, led by a growing flock of Dark-eyed Juncos that peaked at 41 on 1/8 and 40+ continuing American Goldfinches. There was a big movement of sparrows after the weekend snow storm, with flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows common and widespread in the area, along with an increase in American Tree Sparrows.
  • 2 drake and 1 hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/6 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group).
  • Still fascinated by the warbler flock in Ogunquit Beach after my visit there last week, Jeannette and I went back down on 1/8. Unfortunately, we only had a short look at the brighter CAPE MAY WARBLER and 1 “WESTERN” PALM WARBLER. One Yellow-rumped Warbler spent almost the entire time we were there in and around the sewage tank, eating the little flies along its edge. The Cape May and Palm just briefly waved through the nearby trees. I would have thought that anything still alive would have been in the tank the whole time on that cold morning, as was the single Yellow-rump.  Interesting.
Recent Highlights, 12/30/2023 – 1/5/2024

While searching, we had 100+ Sanderlings on the beach, two continuing Northern Harriers and 8 Snow Buntings in the marsh, and in the Ocean Avenue neighborhood leading to the footbridge, we had 1-2 fly-over Red Crossbills and 1 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD while checking feeders in hopes of relocating the warblers.

  • Cape Elizabeth with Dan Nickerson on 1/11: 1 2nd Cycle LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and a few Razorbills at Dyer Point; 1 DOVEKIE at Two Lights State Park; 1 Swamp Sparrow on Private Property, and 1600-2000 Black Scoters between Dyer Point and Kettle Cove.
  • 1 pair BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Auburn/Lewiston, 1/12.
  • 1 immature Great Cormorant, North River Road Boat Launch, Auburn, 1/12.
  • +/- 130 Mixed scaup, Lake Auburn, 1/12. Actively feeding, but Lesser continue to greatly outnumber Greater in the flock, as expected on freshwater in winter.
  • At least one Turkey Vulture continues in the I-295 corridor between Cumberland and Freeport this week.

UPCOMING TOURS.

  • Winter Waterbirds Workshop with Down East Adventures. Sunday, January 14th.  Info here.
  • No Birdwalk, Saturday, 20th.
  • No Birdwalk, Saturday, 27th.
  • Gull Identification Workshop. Saturday, February 3rd and Sunday, February 4th.  Info here.

This Week’s Highlights, 1/22-28, 2022

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While we didn’t see the Steller’s Sea-Eagle in two full days of searching this week, we did enjoy some great birds and photo ops during our search. I spotted this Barred Owl alongside a road on Southport Island as it emerged from a roosting cavity in the late afternoon on the 25th and Jeannette got some photos out the car window.

It was another great week of winter birding for me! Unfortunately, we had friends visiting for three days and the Steller’s Sea-Eagle was not seen on any of them. In fact, it has not been seen since Monday morning, 1/24 in the Boothbay area. I joined them for two days of searching, and we did have several birds of note as we scoured the area thoroughly. Meanwhile, with the deep freeze continuing, river ice is building up and so it was a great week to see Barrow’s Goldeneyes – one of my favorite winter birds in Maine.

  • 6 (!) BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Winslow Park, Freeport, 1/22 (with Saturday Morning Birdwalk group). This is my highest count in at least 4-5 years here.
  • 1 continuing adult female BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Auburn, 1/23.
  • 2 first-winter Iceland Gulls, Auburn Riverwalk, 1/23.
  • 1 adult Peregrine Falcon, Upper Street, Turner, 1/23 – I rarely see them away from downtown L-A in Androscoggin County, especially in winter. I would have assumed this was one of those Lewiston birds but I had just left the pair looking content in downtown. Not that I drive faster than a Peregrine, mind you.
  • 1 Turkey Vulture, Drake’s Island, Wells, 1/24 (with Jeannette).
  • 1 Horned Lark, Parson’s Beach, Kennebunk, 1/24 (with Jeannette).
  • 18+ Razorbills, Spruce Point Inn, Boothbay, 1/25 (with Tom Reed, Emily Wilmoth, and Jeannette).
  • 1 pair BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, Doughty Cove, Harpswell, 1/27 (with Tom Reed, Emily Wilmoth, and Jeannette).
  • 1 SNOWY OWL, Land’s End, Bailey Island, Harpswell, 1/27 (with Tom Reed). This was a really incredible and memorable sighting. In the desperate searching for the Steller’s Sea-Eagle, I was following a very distant eagle (it was a Bald) out over the bay to our east when I called out “I think I have an owl!” Materializing out of the distance and heat shimmer, it took a while for us to identify it as a Snowy Owl. We followed it for several minutes as it finally came closer and passed by, landing on the backside of Jaquish Island. This was only my second-ever Snowy Owl observed in apparent “visible migration,” or at the very least, making a long diurnal water crossing. 
  • 1 drake BARROW’S GOLDENEYE and 1-2 Yellow-rumped Warblers, Bailey Island, 1/27 (with Tom Reed and Emily Wilmoth).
  • 21 Sanderlings, Reid State Park, 1/27 (with Tom Reed and Emily Wilmoth).

NOTES: Due to the posting of a blizzard warning for tomorrow, we are canceling the Saturday Morning Birdwalk and we expect to be closed for the day. Stay tuned to our store’s Facebook page for any updates.

Another good photo op while not seeing a sea-eagle was this cooperative Black Guillemot having lunch off the Maine State Aquarium on 1/25. Can anyone identify the fish?

This Week’s Highlights, 1/15-21, 2022

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Barrow’s Goldeneyes are one of my favorite visitors to Maine in winter. The hens provide a nice challenge to pick out, too. This was one of two distinctive Barrow’s visible from the
Bernard Lown Peace Bridge in Auburn/Lewiston on the 13th.

Especially in November – and often again with the first cold snap in December – I talk about “rarity fever,” when there is that additional motivation and encouragement to go birding thanks to the expectation of the unexpected. And usually we in Maine talk about the “winter doldrums” in an non-irruption year. And this year, there are virtually zero irruptives in the southern half of Maine – other than Snowy Owls. But with the Steller’s Sea-Eagle (as you may have heard!), a Bullock’s Oriole at a feeder in Damariscotta Mills, a Townsend’s Warbler in Cape Elizabeth (I missed it twice this week with a limited amount of effort), and a Barnacle Goose in Rockland, there is no doubt I – and many other birders – are experiencing a little mid-winter Rarity Fever!  And that has helped motivate me to get out birding as often as I can. The to-do list can wait until February, right?

With the fairly sudden arrival to a bitter “real winter” cold, once again “pioneering” waterfowl made up most of my highlights this week, as I spent most of my birding time searching for the next big deal. My observations of note over the past seven days include the following:

  • 1 Northern Flicker, Village Crossings/Cape Elizabeth Greenbelt Trail, 1/16 (with John Lorenc).
  • 7 Brant, Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, 10/18 (with Jeannette).
  • At least 2 hen BARROW’S GOLDENEYES.  A third hen is suggestive of an odd Barrow’s or a Common x Barrow’s hybrid (see photo captions), Bernard Lown Peace Bridge, Auburn/Lewiston, 1/20.
  • Fun to hear two Carolina Wrens counter-singing across the Androscoggin River – one in Lewiston and one in Auburn – from Little Andy Park, Auburn, 1/20.
  • 1 drake Northern Pintail and 3 1st-winter Iceland Gulls, Auburn Riverwalk, 1/20.
  • 1 female Northern Pintail, Westbrook Riverwalk, 1/21.
In addition to a bright-orange-billed classic Barrow’s, and the perfectly good smudgy-billed individual above (and here, on the left), there was a third bird that I am pondering. It’s either a third female Barrow’s (a great tally, especially for Androscoggin County) or perhaps a hybrid between Barrow’s x Common – the males of which do occur in Maine and are fairly straightforward to identify.

An Incredible 2017 “Fall Ducks and Draughts!”

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One of the most popular Birds on Tap – Roadtrips! is our annual “Fall Ducks and Draughts.” One of the original two BoT – Roadtrips! back in 2015, this popular outing visits Sabattus Pond near the peak of fall waterfowl migration with our partners, The Maine Brew Bus.

It rarely disappoints, but today it far surpassed expectations! We began at the south beach, where an American Coot was a surprise. However, more surprising was the flock of shorebirds littered around the south end. While many of the 30 or so Dunlin took off and kept going, about 10 White-rumped Sandpipers returned and landed right in front of the group, no more than about 30 feet away! We were able to carefully study the progression from juvenile to 1st winter plumage, with most individuals, such as these two, mostly still in colorful juvenile plumage (with one bigger, grayer Dunlin in the background).
WRSA_DUNL

With our focus back on waterfowl, we began to sort through the masses, starting with 6 spiffy Northern Pintails joining the Mallards nearby, while one lone female Green-winged Teal quickly paddled away. 18 Ring-necked Ducks loafed just a little further offshore, providing a good intro to the genus Aythya. Sabattus Pond is famous for its legions of Ruddy Ducks, and this cute little “stiff tail” was out in full force. We had a couple of hundred nearby, but a distant raft of many hundreds remained just a little too far to enjoy. We also began our comparison of Greater and Lesser Scaup, and took a moment to learn about the Chinese Mystery Snail that makes up a large percentage of the food source of all of the diving ducks we were here to enjoy.

I had set the over/under for waterfowl species at 13.5, and our list quickly began to grow: Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers a’plenty, but surprisingly only one Common Merganser and a mere three Canada Geese. American Black Ducks and a single hen American Wigeon made for a tally of 13 species of waterfowl; just falling short of covering the spread…in part because we never did make it to our third stop!

Over at Martin’s Point Park on the southwest side of the pond, we worked the dabbling ducks and enjoyed stunning Hooded Mergansers. Then, I finally had a nice, close group of the two scaup species in perfect light to give us a lesson in how to identify this challenging species-pair.

We began to walk closer, I began the lecture, and then I heard a call note from the trees that stopped me dead in my tracks. It was not a Yellow-rumped Warbler – the only expected warbler species at this season – and it’s sharp tone was very suggestive. I knew it wasn’t supposed to be here, whatever it was, and my suspicions of its identity were soon proven correct when a gorgeous Yellow-throated Warbler popped out!
YTWA1YTWA2

Sticking close to the trunk of some large Eastern White Pines, it foraged within a small mixed-species foraging flock of Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatches, and Golden-crowned Kinglets before eventually disappearing towards the neighborhood.

This is a real rarity in Maine, and because of the white in the front of the supercilium, we know it is of the interior subspecies albilora, and therefore not likely the result of the recent storm system. While there was unprecedented three together on Monhegan earlier in the month, this is quite the rarity, especially so far inland, and especially in Androscoggin County (I couldn’t help but wonder if there has ever been a record of this species anywhere in the county).

Unfortunately, in the meantime, some fisherman came to the shoreline, and the closest scaup departed. We did have a slightly farther raft to work through, but I ended up having to employ my rudimentary artistic skills to explain how to differentiate the two species!
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It was truly hard to leave the pond today, and I of course couldn’t help but wonder what was around the next corner, but it was time to switch gears, turn our attention to Dawn – our driver and beer guide today – and make our way over to Baxter Brewing Company, you know, to celebrate our vagrant warbler discovery!

At Baxter, housed in one of the beautifully restored mills down by the Androscoggin River, we enjoyed five samples of their most popular beers. We learned about their philosophy and history – including the noteworthy fact that they were the first 100% canning brewery in Maine – and sampled some of their best selling beers, such as Pamola pale, Tarnation lager, Per Diem stout, and the venerable Stowaway IPA. We also sampled Ceremony Green Tea IPA which surprised a lot of people and showed off the creativiTEA (sorry, I couldn’t help myself) of the brewery.
Baxter1

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We stepped outside of the brewery and were once again greeted by the local Peregrine Falcon atop the steeple of the Franco-American Heritage Center. After a few minutes of enjoying it through the scope, we hit the road, and discussed the beers we had just sampled. People’s favorites were rather evenly divided, aligning with their preferred style of beer, showing that Baxter really does offer something for everyone.

We followed the Androscoggin River towards the coast, and soon arrived at Maine Beer Company. MBC needs no introduction – at least if you are into IPAs or hoppy pales – but with so many folks on the trip today from “away” and/or making their first visit to this popular destination, we started things off with none other than their Peeper – their first brew that got it all started.
MBC

Spenser came out to introduce the beers and tell us all about how MBC is dedicated to “do(ing) what’s right.” And that philosophy transcends the beer.
MBC-graintruck

They graciously offered everyone a choice of their next samples (I of course followed Lunch with Another One) and then Spenser really rolled out the red carpet for us, taking the group on a rare behind-the-scenes tour of their brewhouse…including a sneak peek at the massive new expansion that is underway. Clearly, Spenser’s excitement was evident and the group came out of this special tour absolutely bursting with MBC enthusiasm, and lots of promises to be back soon.

Thirteen species of waterfowl, many up close and personal. A most-unexpected rarity that no one in the group had seen in Maine before – and for some, a “life bird.” Urban Peregrine Falcon. Baxter Brewing Co and Maine Beer Company. Yeah, this is what Birds on Tap – Roadtrips are all about!

There are still some spaces left for the 10th and final Roadtrip of 2017, “Farms and Fermentation” coming up on Sunday, December 10th. And stay tuned – we’ll soon be announcing all TWELVE BoT Roadtrips for 2018!