You’ve heard about the birding festival in Acadia National Park in this space before, but it’s worth mentioning just one more time. This year’s Acadia Birding Festival is destined for greatness.

Before talking about birds, let’s talk about people who talk about birds. The featured speakers for this event are Kenn Kaufman and David LaPuma. I’ve run into Kenn a couple of times in Ohio and David last fall at the hawkwatch at Cape May New Jersey. Whether Kenn is acting as author of the Kaufman Field Guide series or just a guy with a beard and binoculars on a random trail, he’s engaging, funny, and a wealth of information. Ditto for David, whose day job is directing the Cape May Bird Observatory.

The list of field trip leaders for the festival is a who’s-who of New England and North American Birders. Among the host of exceptionally qualified leaders is Greg Miller, who was the inspiration for the character played by Jack Black in the movie The Big Year. I’ve never gotten to bird with Jack Black, but Greg is a regular comedian in the field, and a fabulous leader.

Of course, you don’t go to a birding festival for the people, although in this case that could be justified. The birds on the Downeast Coast are fabulous in late May. With warblers throughout the park, hawks soaring over Cadillac Mountain, Atlantic Puffins out on the Atlantic Ocean, Boreal Chickadees and Black-backed Woodpeckers just a little further inland, the diversity is outstanding.

This festival also offers a wide range of vehicles from which to spot the birds. You can hike, ride in a van or car, canoe, kayak, or ride a larger boat.

Enjoying Maine at the Acadia Birding Festival from Abby McBride on Vimeo.

Need a Bicknell’s Thrush for your life list? It’s the thrush everyone forgets exists. Looking quite similar to a Gray-cheeked Thrush, the Bicknell’s is a New England specialty, being found only at higher elevations of northern Ney York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. A special van trip to the mountains of western Maine will focus on this elusive and oft-forgotten bird.

Would you like to actually touch some of these birds? One trip will take birders around the park’s Schoodic Peninsula followed by some bird banding at the Schoodic Institute Bird Ecology Program Banding Station.

Every morning, rangers will have scopes set up at the Precipice Trailhead parking lot for viewing of the Peregrine Falcons.

And the list goes on and on. You’d have to go to the Acadia Birding Festival every year for four or five straight years to see it all. Come to think of it, that’s not a bad idea!