PORTLAND, Maine — As Derek Lovitch was being interviewed on the Portland waterfront, a Casco Bay Lines ferry passed by, forcing a brief pause in the conversation until the vessel's noise faded away. Lovitch immediately took advantage of the break and began scanning the harbor with the binoculars hanging around his neck.
“I thought I saw an Iceland gull,” he said. “I just had to check.”
This boundless curiosity has served Lovitch well as a bird guide, co-owner of Freeport Wild Bird Supply — a specialty shop that serves the needs of bird enthusiasts — and the editor of the updated second edition of “Birdwatching in Maine: The Complete Site Guide.”
The book, a hefty 476 pages, guides readers to more than 200 birding sites. Each of Maine’s sixteen counties gets a full chapter about when and where to go along with detailed information about what one might see, from Buff-breasted Sandpipers in Kittery to Black-legged Kittiwakes in Lubec to Olive-sided Flycatchers in Sinclair.
Lovitch and his wife were drawn to Maine more than 20 years ago, and the reason will not surprise you: “The birding was fantastic — and you can do it everywhere," Lovitch said.
You still can enjoy countless birding locations, but there have been changes that prompted Lovitch to update his guide, changes brought on in large part by development and a warming climate.
“It’s not easy out there, and we’re making it much harder for many species,” Lovitch wrote. “There are an estimated three billion fewer birds in North America than there were a mere fifty years ago.”
Some species of birds have all but disappeared from Maine as warmer temperatures and rising sea levels alter their habitats and sources of food.
“This is not alarmist, this is reality,” Lovitch wrote. “And it’s up to each and every one of us to make a difference.”
Note: Lovitch will host a book release party for “Birdwatching in Maine” on Thursday, Feb. 29, at Maine Beer Company in Freeport.