Birds

Common Loon feeding its young at Echo Lake in Acadia National Park.

Will Greene, Friends of Acadia, NPS

With a record of 338 bird species encountered, Acadia National Park is considered one of the premier bird-watching areas in the country. Because of the wide variety of habitats and its location along the eastern seaboard, Acadia is a favorite breeding ground and stop-over site for an incredible diversity of birds, from owls to shorebirds and from raptors to warblers.

 

A snowy owl scans the mountain landscape for its next meal.

Will Greene / Friends of Acadia

Birding Across All Seasons

Acadia’s birding opportunities vary throughout the seasons. Take a walk through the woods in the spring and hear warblers and other passerines singing in search of mates, or walk out the Ship Harbor Trail in summer to see guillemots, sandpipers, eiders, and other shorebirds riding the ocean waves. Paddle on Jordan Pond and Eagle Lake in the warmer months to see loons, eagles, and mergansers. While you typically can’t hike the Precipice Trail in the summer, you can visit the parking lot and participate in Peregrine Watch; a program where visitors can use scopes to check out the peregrines and their young nesting high on the cliff. Visit Cadillac North Ridge Trail in the fall to watch for and help record migrating hawks as they head south for the winter. If you’re brave enough, come back in the winter to cross-country ski up the Cadillac Summit Road. You might even catch a glimpse of a snowy owl scanning the landscape for its next meal. Whatever the season, birding is a joy in Acadia National Park.

 

Common terns are often seen further offshore. Here, a group of them hover and dive above a school of fish.

Will Greene / Friends of Acadia

What kinds of birds does Acadia have?

Acadia's bird diversity spans a host of different taxonomic groups. Here are some of our most common groups.

• Songbirds and Woodpeckers | Small forest birds like warblers, vireos, chickadees, and thrushes
• Birds of Prey | Eagles, osprey, vultures, hawks, owls, and falcons
• Shorebirds | Sandpipers, plovers, gulls, terns, guillemots, cormorants, eiders, herons, and more
• Waterfowl | Loons and freshwater duck species like mallards and mergansers

 

 

Bird Stories

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  The fastest animal on the planet

  Peregrine Falcon Recovery

  Find out why several popular hiking trails are closed to limit disturbance to peregrine falcons during an annual nesting period.

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  Information and Updates

  Cadillac Mountain Hawk Watch

  Information and updates on the Cadillac Mountain Hawk Watch and the raptors that are seen during the count.

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  Peaceful Pond Residents

  Loons

  Learn about the remarkable lives of the loons that dot the lakes and ponds of Acadia.

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  It's for the birds

  Birdwatching

  Loons, peregrines, snowy owls, bald eagles, cormorants, and more

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  Data About Acadia's Birds

  Bird Research

  Historic data sets and stories of bird research in Acadia National Park

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  Bird Migration and Acadia

  Acadia’s location and habitat conservation makes it a critical place for migrating birds.