My on-going lesson in relativity was renewed yesterday when I joined Bill Thompson, the editor of BirdWatcher’sDigest and creator of the “Bill of the Birds” podcast, and local guides for a field trip at Indian Point Nature Conservancy Reserve on Mt Desert Island, ME. It was an afternoon trip so you expect the birding to be somewhat slower, but, really, birding in Maine is hard work…especially compared to my recent “height of migration” visit to Magee Marsh and the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio.

At Magee, on a good day, the warblers drip from the trees, and many, like the Blackburnians, Chestnut-sided, and Black-throated Greens, are feeding at or just above eye-level, often within 10 or 20 feet of the boardwalk. And, of course, there are a lot of each warbler.

Birding Maine on a May/June afternoon is far different. We had Black-throated Green (heard not seen), a single Blackburnian high in the tree tops, and a Magnolia, not quite so high, but still up there! And we had to work for all three. We walked miles, with long gaps between birds, and Bill had to call the warblers we did see in with his iPhone app, after hearing them off in the woods. And the leaves are approaching full out, so we got glimpses of the birds as they worked in and out. It was fun, but it certainly was not Magee Marsh! This second shot is the best I managed of the Blackburnian in Maine.

On the other hand it is my first shot of a Blackburnian in Maine. 🙂 And I am reminded that all things, and that includes birding, are relative. What we experienced yesterday, with 4 or 5 species of warblers, was a good afternoon of Maine birding. In a way, it is more representative of a good day of birding than an afternoon at Magee when a wave of warblers comes through. It is the good day most birders in the US experience, on most of their good days birding. And it was, and is, good.

Both shots with the Canon SX50HS. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity, and sharpness.