Roque Bluffs NE, Machias SE

[Glenn Hodgkins]

Wow, amazing efforts by Logan, Bob and Sandi, Kate, and many others as we come to the finish line!

Deb and I completed Roque Bluffs NE yesterday and put in an hour on Machias SE. The muddy camp roads and a tidal road (at high tide) meant substantially more walking than we had planned. Great being on the coast after atlasing inland and up north all winter. Nothing unusual about the seabirds we saw but a good variety. The most exciting part was the Red Crossbills, which was our first bird of the day and at multiple locations. It's a heavy spruce crop in the Machias area and there's crossbills and siskins galore. Some of the Red Crossbills were singing. Big numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatches too. 

If anyone is looking for a Downeast trip by the 15th to complete one of the few incomplete blocks on the coast, Machias SE needs 1.5 hours for completion and it includes beautiful Jasper Beach in Machiasport where we were hearing crossbills at the same time we were watching Horned Grebes.

Glenn

[Kate Weatherby]

As much fun as it might be to head to Machias, if anyone is planning a downeast adventure I would encourage them to head to Hadley Lake_SE (1h:11m) and/or Long Lake_SW (2h:59m).  Both of those Blocks are in Topo Quads which only have one Complete Block so far, whereas the Machias Topo Quad already has four Complete Blocks, and they look like they are accessible by car.  Another pair of Blocks in that part of the state you might consider are Epping_NE (1h:05m) and Montegail Pond_SE (3h:00m), also each in Topo Quads with only one Complete Block; the Epping Block looks like it might have limited road access and Montegail Pond might require skis/snowshoes.  Of course, if you do head downeast and knock out any of these Blocks, you would obviously have earned the well deserved reward of heading to Jasper Beach for a while to take in the sights and sounds.  have fun!

Kate

[Glenn Hodgkins]

Yes, that sounds like a good plan Kate, it could make a real dent in some under-atlased areas Downeast.

Glenn