The largest pond in Evergreen Cemetery is home to many wildlife and birds. The Evergreen Cemetery is an ideal place for bird watchers during spring migration. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Where can you see birds? I expect some readers will take issue with me for omitting their favored spots, but nonetheless, I have compiled my top dozen birding sites in southern and central Maine. I am sure that each of the sites will provide great birding.

My choices were influenced by a desire to spread out the sites across the southern half of Maine and to identify sites where unusual species for Maine can be found.

EVERGREEN CEMETERY

This is a must-visit site in Portland, particularly during spring migration in Maine. The expansive cemetery has well-spaced trees, providing habitat for forest birds but visibility for birders. Several small ponds offer habitat and water for many songbirds.

On a May morning, the cemetery is crawling with birds and birders. Most birders start around the ponds where newly arrived migrants are slaking their thirst. It’s a bit of a party and birders readily share their sightings of rarities as groups move from place to place to see that vagrant hooded warbler or yellow-throated warbler.

To get there, take Exit 6B off I-295 onto Forest Avenue. Continue for 1.4 miles to the eighth light, turning left onto Walton Street. Turn right onto Stevens Avenue when Walton Street ends and turn immediately left into the cemetery.

If you have a little extra time, nearby Capisic Pond is a delightful area. Orchard orioles nest here occasionally. The small pond is worth a check, as well as the trails through shrubby grassland habitat. Just follow Stevens Avenue south from Evergreen Cemetery for 1.3 miles to Capisic Street. In half a mile, turn right onto Macy Street into the parking lot.

SCARBOROUGH MARSH

An expansive wetland, this is my choice for the top birding site in Maine. The diversity is high in all seasons and the number of rare birds found here is amazing. From Route 1 south of Portland, turn east on Pine Point Road (Route 9). In 0.2 of a mile, Dunstan Landing Road veers off at an angle to the right. Follow that road to the end. A great view of a pond is available here. There is also a dike where you can walk to get a more expansive view of some of the marsh. From spring to fall, you can expect to see great blue heron, snowy egret, great egret, little blue heron, possibly tricolored heron, glossy ibis (keep an eye out for white-eyed ibis), pied-billed grebe, willets, belted kingfisher, and a mix of ducks.

Scarborough Marsh is one of the top places in Maine for bird watchers. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Return to Route 9 and proceed about a mile to the Eastern Road Trail, where there is a parking lot on the left. A levee traverses the marsh. A highlight here is nesting sharp-tailed sparrows and Nelson’s sparrows. This is the spot where these similar species reach their northern distribution and southern distribution, respectively. Both species are more often heard than seen, but with patience, you will see a male pop up on some vegetation and give you a satisfying look. Keep an eye out for northern harriers. The unvegetated areas in the marsh (pannes) provide great habitat for shorebirds during spring and fall migration.

Continue east on Pine Point Road, turn left at the T-intersection, and follow the road to the end to reach the Pine Point Fisherman’s Co-op. This area is great for gulls, sandpipers in season, and sea ducks. In the summer, common terns, roseate terns and least terns forage over the channel, occasionally perching on the many boats anchored there. American oystercatchers nest on nearby Stratton Island and occasionally forage at Pine Point for a real thrill.

BIDDEFORD POOL

Yes, this Biddeford gem vies with Scarborough Marsh for having hosted the most rare birds in the state. Nearly 300 species of birds have been found here. You never know what you might find. A spotting scope is useful for this area. Numerous vantage points exist around the pool, but parking is extremely limited. If you can find a parking place, walking is a good strategy.

I recommend starting at the outermost part of the pool region at East Point Sanctuary, a property owned by Maine Audubon. To reach it from I-95, take Exit 32. Set your GPS app to East Point Sanctuary. Ultimately, you want to reach Mile Stretch and then turn onto L.B. Orcutt Boulevard for 0.6 mile to the sanctuary.

This headland has limited shrubs and trees, so it can be an excellent place to observe songbirds during fall migrations. Seabird observation can be excellent here. Leaving the sanctuary, continue south on Ocean Avenue for seabird watching. In season, purple sandpipers and both species of cormorants are reliably here.

Work your way back to Mile Stretch, stopping anywhere when a vantage point of the beach or the pool is available. You will be surprised how quickly your species list grows in this habitat-rich area.

MARGINAL WAY, OGUNQUIT

A delightful cliff walk along Perkins Cove is wonderful at any time of year, but best in the winter (watch out for ice). It’s not hard to see a dozen species of ducks then (keep an eye out for king eider). This site is a reliable spot for the astonishingly beautiful harlequin duck. This area is also good for black guillemot and occasionally other less common alcids like thick-billed murre, razorbill and even dovekie. Great cormorants are certain to be seen.

From Route 1, you will need to wend your way to Israel Head Road and then to Perkins Cove. Marginal Way can be picked up behind the restaurant at the parking lot.

WELLS RESERVE AT LAUDHOLM 

In Wells, there is a diversity of habitats from grasslands to coastal scrub forest to open sandy beaches. From the Wells Reserve at Laudholm parking lot, follow the trail to the beach. The grassland will have many bobolinks, as well as Savannah sparrows and song sparrows.

Wells Reserve at Laudholm is a popular place for birders. Here, birders can spot many bobolinks, as well as Savannah sparrows and song sparrows. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

In the summer, state-endangered piping plovers and least terns will nest on the beach above the high-tide mark. In the non-breeding season, the beach is good for dunlin and sanderlings. Gull diversity is high here; careful observations may yield a black-headed gull or lesser black-backed gull.

From I-95, take Exit 19. Turn onto Route 9/109 into Wells. At the T-intersection, turn left onto Route 1 North. After 1.5 miles, turn right onto Laudholm Farm Road, and then in 0.4 miles, turn left onto Skinner Mill Road. Trail maps are available at the kiosk.

KENNEBUNK PLAINS

The largest remaining tract of native grassland in Maine is located in Kennebunk. The area is traversed by several sandy roads. Birders should stay on the roads. During the breeding season, you should be able to find upland sandpiper, horned lark, Savannah sparrow, field sparrow, grasshopper sparrow and vesper sparrow. Not your ordinary list of sparrows, for sure. Even the clay-colored sparrow will nest here occasionally, including in 2024. Eastern bluebirds, brown thrashers, prairie warblers, pine warblers, chestnut-sided warblers and indigo buntings are present.

This area is preserved and maintained by The Nature Conservancy. To reach it from I-95, take Exit 25 and follow Route 35 to Alfred Road. After 0.8 miles, turn left onto Mill Street, and in 0.6 miles, turn onto Route 99 (Webber Hill Road). The parking lot will be on the right in 2.1 miles.

Proceed about a mile west on Route 99 and turn left onto Maguire Road. The area on the left is all part of the Kennebunk Plains but has limited trails. Birding from the road is usually productive. Yellow-breasted chat can be found here.

BROWNFIELD BOG

This extensive wetland area in Brownfield is at its best during spring migration and the nesting season. A dirt road provides access. A portion of the road may be gated, but walking along the road is possible. I recommend rubber boots. This area is a good place to find willow flycatcher along with most other deciduous forest songbirds. The highlight is the nesting population of yellow-throated vireos. Brownfield Bog is the most reliable place in the state for this species. Be sure to use your Merlin app or other source of recordings to familiarize yourself with the “three-a” song. It can be passed off as a red-eyed vireo or blue-headed vireo song. Both vireos occur here as well. This is a good site for blue-gray gnatcatchers and both species of cuckoos. This area can be very buggy, so wear long pants and long sleeves and bring plenty of insect repellent.

You will work your way to Route 160 to Lords Hill Road. After just 0.1 mile on Lords Hill Road, turn left onto Bog Road.

REID STATE PARK

This Georgetown destination has it all: extensive coniferous forest, salt marshes, rocky intertidal promontories, and a sandy beach. The park has much to offer at any time of year. The gatehouse is closed in the winter, but you can still hoof your way in to enjoy the plethora of sea ducks, or the occasional snowy owl and rough-legged hawk. The coniferous forests are good in the summer for golden-crowned kinglet, pine warbler and hermit thrush.

As you drive in, check out the coniferous forest. Soon, the habitat will open, and ocean views will take your breath away. Park at Griffith Head, the northern rocky headland. Seabird watching from Griffith Head can be great. The salt marsh adjacent to the parking lot is worth a look for nesting marsh birds, as well as shorebirds.

Reid State Park in Georgetown is an ideal spot for birders. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

I recommend walking the mile down the sand beach to the southern headland, Todd’s Point. In the summer, you will see common terns and least terns and perhaps others. Some seabirds may be on the water. There is a road from Todd’s Point, so you can return to Griffith Head by an inland route to maximize your habitat diversity.

To reach the park, follow Route 1 to Woolwich and get onto Route 127 South. Proceed for 10.2 miles to Seguinland Road. The park entrance is two miles ahead.

SABATTUS LAKE

While not necessarily a year-round bonanza, small Sabattus Lake is a seasonally important birding site for Maine. It doesn’t stand out as a particularly rich birding area for most of the year. The lake has nesting mallards, American black ducks and pied-billed grebes. Most of the houses ringing the lake have forested lots, so red-eyed vireos, American robins, northern orioles and other human-friendly songbirds are present. However, in October through November, this lake is a diving duck magnet. It’s the most reliable spot in the state to see ruddy ducks. At times, their numbers approach a thousand!

The attractiveness of the lake seems to be a combination of a shallow depth with a hugely successful population of invasive snails that the ruddy ducks relish. The snails provide food for other ducks that feed on shellfish, so greater scaup and lesser scaup are common in the fall, as well as all three species of scoters and common goldeneyes. Mix those species in with hooded mergansers, common mergansers and a variety of migrating puddle ducks like northern pintail, American wigeons, gadwall and northern shoveler, and you have a visual feast. American coots are usually common.

From I-95, take Exit 86. Turn onto Route 9 East for 1.3 miles and turn right onto Routes 126 East/9 East. Proceed half a mile to a boat landing on the left. Martin’s Point Park offers another access. Just drive to the southwestern part of the lake and look for signs.

VILES ARBORETUM

Across the Kennebec River from the capitol in Augusta is a jewel with an extensive trail system through several habitats. Open areas have tree swallows, eastern bluebirds and house wrens in abundance, along with Savannah sparrows and bobolinks. The forests have a rich diversity of forest breeders. A marsh is traversed by a boardwalk from which American bitterns, soras and Virginia rails are often heard and sometimes seen. Willow flycatchers occur here as well.

The Viles Arboretum in Augusta is home to many tree swallows, eastern bluebirds and house wrens. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Take Exit 109 off I-95, following Western Avenue east, through the rotary and across the Kennebec River, then take the first exit off the next rotary. At the top of the hill, continue straight for 1.1 miles on Route 9 to the arboretum exit on the left.

MESSALONSKEE LAKE

With its waters bordering Belgrade, Sidney and Oakland, Messalonskee Lake provides localized habitats for nesting black terns and sandhill cranes. The place you need to go is a boat launch on the southwestern part of the lake. Take Exit 112 off 1-95 and follow Route 27 for just over 7 miles to the boat landing with a sizable parking lot. There is no better place in the state to look for black terns and sandhill cranes. The terns sometimes come close to shore but are mostly out over deeper water. Sometimes, they perch on the navigation buoys that you can see from the boat launch. The cranes forage in the extensive marshes to the south. Other waterbirds here include pied-billed grebe, American bittern, great blue heron, belted kingfisher, marsh wren, swamp sparrow, common grackle and red-winged blackbird. This area is great for a canoe or kayak expedition.

Bird watchers Don Mairs, left, and Bob Lewis, both of Belgrade, carry spotting scopes while birding at Messalonskee Lake in Belgrade on May 16, 2023. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel

Continue north for 0.2 mile to Hammond Lumber and turn left onto Depot Street. Park at the large, white electrical box on the ground. From here, you can scan the extensive marsh on the opposite side of the road. This area is particularly good for sandhill cranes.

Continue on Depot Street for 0.5 miles, where there is a chained entrance to Hallowell Pit. Bank swallows nest here, visible from the road. Drive along Depot Street about a mile more, where there is a large colony of purple martins. This site is the most reliable area I know for this species in the state.

WATERVILLE TRAILS

There are three productive sites (North Street Trail, Quarry Road and Perkins Arboretum) very close to one another in Waterville. Take Exit 130 off I-95. Proceed east to Eustis Parkway, turn right at the stop sign onto North Street, and look for a small parking lot for the North Street Trail on the left across from Thayer Hospital. The paved, wheelchair accessible trail extends for a half mile along Messalonskee Stream. In the summer, yellow warblers, American redstarts, warbling vireos, gray catbirds, Baltimore orioles and rose-breasted grosbeaks are common. Mallards and American black ducks are always present and are joined by numerous other waterbirds in the spring and fall.

Across the street from the trail parking lot is Quarry Road. Drive down this road to the end where a large tract of mixed habitat is traversed by miles of trails. All the common breeding birds of deciduous and coniferous forest as well as pastures nest here.

Return to North Street and turn right. At the rotary, take the second exit and drive past the Colby College buildings. At the bottom of the hill, there is a stone sign with Colby College etched on it. Park here and enter the Perkins Arboretum. Numerous trails pass through this second-growth forest (it was a farm until 1948). The area is particularly good for least flycatcher, blue-headed vireo, veery, northern parula, pine warbler, black-throated green warbler, and scarlet tanagers. A pair of broad-winged hawks and a pair of barred owls nest here and are often seen. I once had both species in one binocular field! Walk one of the trails to the north end to the railroad track. On the opposite side of the track, a wet area provides habitat for northern waterthrush and swamp sparrow.

Herb Wilson taught ornithology and other biology courses at Colby College. He welcomes reader comments and questions at whwilson@colby.edu