Bird Watching Mecca – Acadia National Parkby Rick Chapo

When it comes to birding, Acadia National Park is a mecca for sightings. The Park has 338 bird species, which is a record for any national park in the United States. The list of species includes such rare birds as the bald eagle, 23 warbler variations and falcons by the bushel load. If you’re looking to fill out your life list, Acadia is the place to be.

The park has such a wide variety of bird species because of a unique environment. Part of the park consists of offshore islands that provide protected nooks and crannies that are ideal for nesting. To this end, numerous species use these island nooks as their southern breeding headquarters. Nesting species include eiders in addition to other sea birds, herons and raptors. Sandpipers and a wide variety of ducks can also be found on the islands.

In addition to the nesting areas, Acadia is famous for its rare, predatory species. The park is home to a wide variety of eagles, including the bald eagle, and falcons. Indeed, Acadia is the home of the very rare Peregrine Falcon, which was nearly pushed to extinction in 1964. Reintroduced to Acadia in the mid 1980s, the Peregrines have flourished and established nesting patters in the park.

If you’re looking to add to your life list, Acadia National Park is a destination you must visit. Here’s a list of bird species you just might see:

Red Throat Loon
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Great Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
American Bittern
Least Bittern
Glossy Ibis
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Pomarine Jaeger
Parasitic Jaeger
Dovekie
Common Murre
Thick-billed Murre
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Northern Goshawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Gyrfalcon
Common Nighthawk
Whip-poor-will
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Bohemian Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing
Solitary Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo

This list is a very small sample of the species you will find at Acadia. Located in Maine, the park is highly recommended as a destination for amateur and fanatical bird watchers.

Rick Chapo is with NomadJournals.com - makers of writing journals for bird watching. Visit NomadJournalTrips.com to read more bird watching articles.

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