BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 12, 2023
Maine Is Weird. Maine sticks up into Canada. If you live in Fort Kent, you live farther north than most Canadians. This northern exposure means that Maine is home to many birds that aren’t found in most other eastern states. The southern hardwood forest of Appalachia transitions into the coniferous boreal forest of northern Canada here. Maine is the most forested state in America. Maine is wicked wet. Maine has the only national park in the Northeast, Acadia. It gets wilder. Maine has a long and unusual tradition of public access to private land. Sure, birds fly south for the winter. But for many subarctic birds, Maine is sufficiently far south. Finches from Canada fill our forests in some winters. That’s weird. ~ Bob Duchesne