Monday, July 25

We got an early start for Bar Harbor so that I could stroll in town before Acadia opened to the public. Unfortunately, none of the whale watches allowed dogs, so one shot at seeing pelagic specialties was scuttled early. This was more than compensated by the hot cup of coffee and freshly baked blueberry muffin I scored near the ship terminal. Bar Harbor was all I expected and quintessentially New England mixed with adequate kitsch.

The first stop in Acadia was at the Nature Center. We walked along the boardwalk through a wet forest, which was excellent for Common Yellowthroat and Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Next, we drove toward the coast, stopping at Otter Point. I spotted a Black Guillemot and scrambled down the rocks to get a better look. This was  a partial life-lister since I had only seen a dead bird that had washed ashore in Iceland. Just as interesting were the tidal pools that formed amongst the boulders. Sea urchins and starfish made home with seaweeds in various shades of green and red and orange.

Delta and I continued along a footpath, coming across a juvenile Guillemot below the cliffs. It seemed like I could find a way down, but I did not want to chance, particular if Delta was going to try and follow me. Instead, I shot from a comfortable perch. Delta, however, continued to explore, ending up perched on top of a boulder that fell off sharply on all sides. Unable to continue forward, she also had no space to turn around to come back towards me. She needed rescuing and I reluctantly stopped shooting to climb down and carry her back up.

All was fine until I reached into my pocket to look at the time on my phone. As I pulled my phone out, my credit card also came with, flew up on the winds of the Atlantic and landed on some rocks below. Now, I was in the worst position possible. If it had fallen in the Atlantic, then it was lost. But, instead, it landed at the base of a rock climbing route. Now, I had no choice but to find a way down to rescue my card. In fits and starts, I eventually found a climb down that I thought I could replicate on the way up. In the end, the only cost was a pretty wicked sunburn.

We left the main section of the park and stopped for lunch in Northeast Harbor—a lobster roll. Continuing along the coast of Mount Desert Island, we stopped to bird some trails with scrub pine that eventually opened onto the shore. A small opening in the woods was the perfect spot to get within a few feet of a precocious Dark-eyed Junco. A male Common Yellowthroat also came out to play. A second stop along the coast yielded American Black Duck.

We made a quick stop back at Bar Harbor to see it with the tourist crowds. Although there were lots of interesting cafes, nothing for dinner really struck me. Delta won many admirers among the kids being dragged along by their parents.