Birds of Maine with Kids: A Nature Explorer Guide (+ Free Map)

Maine is where American puffins came back. By 1900 hunting had wiped them out of the state entirely, and in the 1970s researchers began carrying chicks from Newfoundland to Eastern Egg Rock and raising them in artificial burrows — the first time anyone had restored a seabird colony to an island it had been lost from. Today boats run out to watch them. Inland, the north woods around Baxter hold moose and boreal songbirds, Acadia's mountains and shore catch migrating hawks and warblers, and the salt marsh at Scarborough fills with herons and shorebirds. And in every dooryard in the state, the black-capped chickadee — Maine's state bird — stays put all winter.

This guide maps the best spots to find birds in Maine with kids. Give your young explorer a mission before you go with Nature Explorer Club's Birds of Maine Activity Book to track every discovery your family makes.

Best Spots for Birding in Maine

We mapped the best birding locations in Maine so you can plan your adventure before you go.

1. Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor — Mountains, forest, and rocky shore in one park, with hawk watching from Cadillac Mountain.
2. Machias Seal Island, near Machias — A remote island with the largest puffin colony in the region and blinds that put you feet from the birds.
3. Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center, Scarborough — Maine's largest salt marsh, with canoe rentals and an Audubon center built for families.
4. Biddeford Pool, Biddeford — A tidal basin that concentrates shorebirds at low tide, easily watched from shore.
5. Eastern Egg Rock, near Friendship — The island where puffins were restored to Maine, reached by boat tours in summer.
6. Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Baring — Down East woodland and wetland, known for woodcock and boreal species.
7. Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, Bristol — A classic Maine headland, good for seabirds and passing migrants.
8. Baxter State Park, Millinocket — The north woods around Katahdin — boreal forest birds, loons, and moose.
9. Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, Wells — Salt marsh, estuary, and upland trails with an excellent visitor center.
10. Reid State Park, Georgetown — Sand beach, dunes, and rocky point — nesting piping plovers and least terns in summer.

Make the Adventure Real The Birds of Maine Activity Book turns your trip into a hands-on mission for ages 7–12 — with a species tracker, fun facts, drawing pages, games, and puzzles. Shop the Book Get the Full ME Set

Family Tips for Birding in Maine

• Take a puffin boat trip in July. Puffins are only ashore during the breeding season, roughly late May through mid-August. July is the reliable window, and the boats out of Boothbay and New Harbor are built for families.
• Climb Cadillac Mountain in September for hawks. Autumn raptor migration streams past the summit, and you can drive most of the way up — no hike required with tired children.
• Teach the chickadee first. It says its own name, comes readily to feeders, and adds more dee notes when it is more alarmed — one of the few bird calls a child can genuinely decode.
• Bring binoculars and the Merlin Bird ID app. Binoculars bring distant seabirds into focus, and the free Merlin app identifies birds from photos and songs on the spot.

Frequently Asked Questions: Birds of Maine with Kids

What is the state bird of Maine?

The black-capped chickadee, adopted in 1927. It is tiny, bold, and one of the few small birds that stays through a Maine winter. It survives by caching thousands of seeds in separate hiding places and remembering them — its brain grows new cells each autumn to handle the job.

Where can you see puffins in Maine?

Eastern Egg Rock near Friendship and Machias Seal Island are the two best-known colonies, both reached by boat tours in summer. Puffins are only ashore to breed, so trips run roughly from late May through mid-August.

When is the best time for birding in Maine?

Summer for puffins and nesting seabirds, and for boreal species in the north woods. September brings hawk migration to Acadia, and spring warblers arrive in late May. Chickadees, jays, and woodpeckers stay all year.

How were puffins brought back to Maine?

Hunting had eliminated them from the state by around 1900. Beginning in 1973, researchers moved young puffins from Newfoundland to Eastern Egg Rock, raised them in hand-built burrows, and used decoys and recorded calls to convince returning birds the island was already occupied. It worked, and the technique has since been used for seabirds worldwide.

What makes Maine birding special?

The range from boreal forest to open ocean. Within one state families can find moose-country songbirds, alpine species on Katahdin, salt marsh waders, and one of only a handful of puffin colonies in the United States.

Turn Your Maine Adventure Into a Real Birding Experience

Give your kids a mission before you go. Our Birds of Maine Activity Book is a nature journal for ages 7 to 12 — with a bird tracker, fun facts about each species, bird category guides, drawing pages, games, and puzzles.

Or get all four Maine nature books together — the Maine Nature Explorer Series bundles the Birds, Butterflies, Leaves, and Wildflowers of Maine activity books.

Also exploring Maine's nature? Read our family guides to Butterflies of Maine with Kids, Wildflowers of Maine with Kids, and Leaves of Maine with Kids.