Wildlife watching is a favorite activity of Mainers and the millions of folks “from away” who visit Maine each year. Wildlife watching is just as the name implies. It can involve everything from simply putting out a bird feeder to watch birds to going on a whale watch in Bar Harbor or a moose watching safari next to Moosehead Lake.
Nationwide, more than 148 million Americans watch wildlife and spend more than $250 billion annually doing so. While Maine is well known for the so-called consumptive uses of hunting and fishing, far more people watch wildlife than participate in hunting and fishing combined. As of 2011, the most recent year for which data is available, wildlife watchers spent nearly $800 million pursuing this activity in Maine.
Maine has at least 58 species of wild land mammals living within its borders. This does not include the secretive and very rare mountain lion or wolf, both of which have been found in Maine in recent years. Some 470 species of birds have been documented in Maine, many of which are rare or accidental. Maine is home to some 36 species of reptiles and amphibians and is at the northern edge of the ranges of several reptiles, including spotted, blanding, and box turtles. Climate change may actually benefit some of Maine’s rarer turtles due to shorter winters and longer, warmer nesting seasons.
Southern Maine has the most temperate climate, and that is reflected in its diversity of wildlife. Reptiles and amphibians that cannot survive in northern Maine are found here. Central and Downeast Maine serve as the boundaries between the northern and southern Maine species. Northern Maine still retains some boreal forest and, with it, birds such as the gray jay and the spruce grouse.
All along Maine’s coast, one can find a diverse array of marine mammals, from the diminutive harbor seal to the humpback whale. Wildlife watching along the coast is very popular during the summer months and into the early fall. Whales, seals, and seabirds such as puffins are top attractions.
Maine is a paradise for birdwatchers, and it provides breeding and rearing habitat for numerous rare and declining species. The piping plover, a federally endangered shorebird, nests on sandy beaches. Thanks to diligent monitoring and protection of nesting females and young, its numbers have been steadily increasing in Maine. No fewer than 157 breeding pairs were documented in Maine in 2023.
The puffin, which extirpated in Maine for many years, was reintroduced years ago by private citizens and now numbers some 3,000 birds on several rocky islands. Recent years have seen declines in puffin chick production due to warmer waters and food shortages caused by global warming.
Northern Maine is the stronghold of the majestic moose. Although the far-ranging moose can still be found anywhere in Maine, in recent years, disease, parasites, and hunting have decreased Maine’s moose population and range. It is now very rare, but not impossible, to see a moose south of Baxter State Park. If you do want to see a moose, your best chances of doing so are by hooking up with a commercial moose watching business or by taking a drive through the 3.5 million acre North Maine Woods. Moose are most active in the evening, when temperatures have cooled down. They are very difficult to see at dusk and in the dark, so drive very carefully!
Other popular mammals for wildlife watching include the black bear, white-tailed deer, and Canada lynx. Maine is home to the largest black bear and lynx populations in the lower 48 states.
After many years of low bear populations due to overhunting, their numbers have rebounded due, in part, to bear baiting, in which millions of pounds of food are placed at thousands of bait sites for the purpose of making it easier to shoot them. Lynx were essentially trapped and shot out of existence in Maine. In recent years, thanks to federal protection, Maine now has the largest lynx population in the lower 48. White-tailed deer number in the hundreds of thousands and are virtually everywhere. They can often be seen in farm fields in the spring as they come out of the woods to feed on the new growth.
Cougars, aka mountain lions, and wolves are very controversial. The State of Maine denies breeding populations of either, despite the physical evidence that has been found in Maine in the form of hair, scat, and dead wolves. The animal called a “coyote” is actually a coyote/wolf hybrid, which can range upwards of 50 pounds. Both cougars and wolves are expanding their ranges south and east from Canada and the Great Lakes region. Your chances of seeing a mountain lion or a wolf in Maine are slim, but certainly within the realm of possibility.
Welcome to Maine! Enjoy our living wildlife. Please do not disturb or hurt them. Take plenty of pictures and leave only footprints. We are very fortunate to have such an abundance and diversity of wildlife. If you don’t know some of the best places to look for them, keep in touch with this website. We will be posting articles on mammals like lynx, moose, and black bear, birds such as bald eagles, osprey, and piping plovers, and fish such as Atlantic salmon and alewives, just to mention a few. If you’re coming to Maine and have questions about where to find wildlife or about what you saw, just contact us. We’ll try to answer them or get the answer for you.
Have a great time wildlife watching in Maine, and remember, wherever and whenever you are driving, watch out for wildlife!
