A Great New Place to Bird

If you’re like us, you like to combine your birding with discovering a new, spectacular place. A few weekends ago, we achieved that goal when we led a birding outing for members of the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) to the Perham Stream Birding Trail, located in Madrid, Maine.

Madrid, in case you’re a little rusty on your Maine geography, is about a 40-minute drive north of Farmington. For you skiers out there, as the crow flies, Perham Stream Birding Trail is about 5 miles from Saddleback Mountain and 10 miles from Sugarloaf Mountain. The Appalachian Trail passes by just about four and half miles north.

All of that math adds up to stunning views of a mountain landscape as you look for birds. First, though, you’ve got to get there! Thanks to modern technology, it’s pretty easy to find on the mostly dirt East Madrid Road, although be aware that, at least when we visited, there was no sign indicating the name of the road where it meets Route 142 about 2.5 miles north of the intersection with well-known Route 4.

On arrival, you’ll be struck by the feeling of being in a place that has a distinctly northern feel to it even though it’s only an hour and fifteen minutes north of Augusta. Nonetheless, we knew we were somewhere special. There was a freshness to the air; the colors seemed so rich.

After introductions, we received a bit of historical context from Carson, who lives across the road from the ample parking area and whose family has strong ties to this fantastic 80-acre preserve. The preserve is now under the protection of the High Peaks Alliance, a group dedicated to conservation and providing public access to open spaces in that beautiful part of the state.

Before hitting the trail, be sure to peruse the birds at the many feeders in Carson’s yard. When we arrived, twittering Tree and Barn Swallows swirled around in the air above us while a gorgeous male Rose-breasted Grosbeak wowed us from the nearest bird feeder in a lilac beside Carson’s driveway. A couple of White-crowned Sparrows, with their jaunty head stripes, showed off nicely on the ground under the feeder.

As we began the walk up the slight hill, we heard a Nashville Warbler from the hillside, loudly singing its “see-bit, see-bit, see-bit tee-tee-tee-tee-tee.” Later, we heard many more, most staying just out of sight, until, near the end of the trail, we finally had one show off its yellow undersides, gray helmet, and white eye ring to our entire group of 16 bird enthusiasts.

We were delighted to hear the long, melodious song of a Winter Wren wafting out of a wet tangle of spruce and fir woods. Golden-crowned Kinglets, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and lots of White-throated Sparrows serenaded us with their familiar “Old-sam-peabody, peabody, Peabody” songs.

A small pocket of migrating warblers popped up near the site of the old post office and schoolhouse, allowing us to combine add in another of our passions—history! Black-and-white Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and a sharp-looking male Black-throated Blue warbler bopped around along the forest edge.

But our favorite bird of the day came just as we got back near the trailhead. An Evening Grosbeak, a bird we don’t get to see that often anymore due to major populations declines, gave its distinctive call and there it was, almost glowing yellow from the middle of a spruce. A little later we saw several more feeding at Carson’s feeders. What a treat!

It was an extremely satisfying morning of birding. If you visit Perham Stream Birding Trail, we’re sure you will experience the same!

—Allison & Jeff Wells

 

Banner photo: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, by Jeff Wells