Birders plan spring field trips
PRESQUE ISLE — As snow and ice melt and migrating birds return to area woods and waterways, Aroostook Birders bird-watching club will offer a series of spring field trips targeting birding “hotspots” in central Aroostook County. Many of these bird walks will be held in the Presque Isle area during the month of May. According to club President Bill Sheehan, birding is at its peak at this time of year.
“May is one of the most exciting times to watch birds in Aroostook County. New arrivals are coming in every day to yards and fields and waterways. Males are out there in prime colorful plumage, setting up territories and calling to attract a mate,” said Sheehan, noting that sunup is the best time to see and hear the show.
The first Presque Isle trip of the month is 7 a.m. — an early morning bird walk scheduled for Thursday, May 9, at Mantle Lake Park — to view returning ducks, and newly-migrated songbirds and warblers found in the fields, woods and stream-fed pond in the park.
On Saturday, May 18, at 7 a.m., birders will gather at Arnold Brook Lake recreational area off the Spragueville Road in Presque Isle to walk the shoreline and woods in search of waterfowl, eagles and a variety of other birds in the woods and water adjacent to the dam.
On Thursday, May 23, a third Presque Isle area field trip will be held at Easton’s Lake Josephine and Christina Reservoir, an area that houses an abundant variety of birds and is a featured birding spot in Maine Office of Tourism’s “Maine Birding Trail” guide.
Additional May birding field trips scheduled closer to Caribou include a May 1, 7 a.m. bird walk at Collins Pond in Caribou; a longer hike up ATV trails on Saturday, May 11, 7 a.m. to Perham’s Salmon Brook Bog; and a shorter ATV trail hike along the brushy wetlands of Woodland’s Caribou Stream Bog, 7 a.m., Wednesday, May 15.
All members of the public with an interest in birding are invited to attend, with club members on hand at field trips and walks to help with identifications. For further information about Aroostook Birders bird-watching club or spring field trips, visit aroostookbirders.com or call Sue Pinette at 764-1801.
