BANGOR DAILY NEWS • January 3, 2026
Greetings from southwestern Louisiana. It’s sunny and 65 degrees here. I heard that you had a white Christmas. I love birding in Maine this time of year. Winter is one of my four favorite seasons. But I also enjoy getting away once in a while. Sandi and I decided at the last minute that a tour of national wildlife refuges along the Gulf Coast might be a fun way to spend late December. It was. We visited seven refuges. Besides warmer weather, there is an important reason to bird the southeastern United States. During the spring birding season in Maine, migratory birds disperse, set up territories and largely avoid each other. Down south, they congregate, often in spectacular numbers. ~ Bob Duchesne