Stockton Springs to Sears Island ME – Bunch o'birds

Basics: Launch Stockton Springs: Easily parking for twenty SUVs with trailers, another thirty cars. Portapottie, inside flush toilet with a nice view of the harbor, picnic tables, grills, playground. Launch about 8:45AM, finish about noon. 8 miles. High 12:08. More about the harbor.
The boat launch at Stockton Springs is charming and delightful. The town has put a lot of work into the facilities; upgrading the dock, adding moorings, putting in benches, tables and a playground, adding the wonderful bathroom. It’s usually a very quiet launch site. The launch leads to a protected area, the town to the north, Cape Jellison along the east and Sears Island to the west. It’s not ideal for all weather, but it is usually less challenging than other locations.
We often launch here to catch low tide, the bottom here is sandy offering a home to sand dollars and other creatures. If we land at the erratic on Sears Island which in line with the green can we can often find sand dollar husks, but only at the lowest tides.

Today low tide came too early, we launched mid tide. And with a wind from the north we knew we’d make quick time along Cape Jellison.
We cruised out by the pilings, custom made to display cormorants,

and along the wonderful beach down to the tiny island at the end, often a nesting site for osprey and or eagles. In addition to Gulls and Cormorants, birds we spotted on our way south were terns, loons and a few guillemots in the muted gray feathering of the young. Then it was across to Sears Island. Sears Island is the largest unpopulated island off the Maine coast. I love it as a paddling and hiking destination, but the state wants to preserve its right to put a dock facility in. Enjoy the freedom of Sears Island while you can.
You can hike around Sears Island when the tide is low, as it comes in there are a couple of spots, one here by the iron outcropping, another not far from the causeway to the west which fill up and become impassible.

We paddled north along Sears Island, taking time to check out the nests on the loading dock. Next it was over to the GAC facility, and the cormorants there.

In the background you can see the causeway to Sears Island, always a popular locations for birders, hikers, and dog walkers.
On the way across the cove we passed through a gathering of laughing gulls, mature and immature. Lively birds, their antics in flight would entertain us all along the north shore.


We heard eiders in the distance and could see a small raft of eiders heading to the center. Closer to shore a common merganser and her brood of over a dozen swam along. Then there was this bird; a yellow legs? A upland sandpiper? (We can't claim to be experts, or even good, at bird identification.)

In the northeast corner a couple lobster boats were drawn up on shore. They seemed to have been recently painted, but mostly were fading into landscape.
We went under the West Cape Rd Bridge into a back bay.

(taken from in the back bay, looking back to open water)
It’s always a little bit foolish to do things like that; the current which takes you under the bridge may prevent you from coming out, or the water may rise too high to allow safe exit.

But near high, we didn’t have much trouble and we found a pretty little area with lots of crows, but no shore birds.
Then it was back to the launch, in time to see groups arriving to enjoy the lunch facilities.

Route

Bucksport Harbor

A lot of variety in a small area. We launched from the boat ramp on Verona Island. No facilities there. Bucksport has public facilities in its harbor area. It is possible to land and use them, or drive over. Private facilities are available in several stores and restaurants along Route 3. There is not a lot of parking at the boat ramp, but we’ve never seen much of it used. It is sometimes closed for town events.
We launched at low tide, 9:09AM. I was hoping to see the bottom, but rain a few days ago left the water silty. In fact it was not a terribly promising day, the sky was gray. The temperature was reasonable though and, if it was a bit humid, at least there was a comforting breeze.
As we launched a large crowd of buzzards took off from the trees. We’d seen them in other years. Unlike the three temporarily upstream feasting on a deer, these ones seemed to have a colony on Verona Island. They circled by the hotel a few times, then headed on over the town, to who knows where.
Hoping they were not an omen, we crossed over to the canoe and kayak dock on the Bucksport side. At low tide the dock is resting on the bottom. At all tides the dock rides high above the water. It’s probably fine for canoes, but kayaks might find it challenging to exit there.
Then we paddled through the harbor taking time to admire the beautiful boats. We’ve also landed at the far side of Bucksport Harbor, in the area behind the public dock. It would be pretty muddy at low tide, but it’s OK at other tides.
In fact, I think this was our first time visiting the area at low tide. There are several pier structures in the harbor used by osprey, on other trips we felt we paddled right along side them, this time though they were high above.
There was a good crop of osprey though, as well as cormorants at all stages of maturity.

Beyond Bucksport Harbor is Verso paper, a bright spot in the Maine economic scene because they added 200 workers for the summer. Two of the workers were outside for breaks, but the rest were inside busily working.
We went just shortly beyond Verso, to see the start of some beautiful cliffs.

Usually we go further to abandoned piers, but the currents in the harbor can be tricky, especially just north, where the ledge juts out into the river. I know at some high tides we’ve ridden through on a current which is stronger than we’d like to try paddling against. Just after low tide the current was slow, but building.
On the Prospect side of the harbor sits Fort Knox, a huge granite fort built to protect the Penobscot and, in particular, Maine’s lumber from English raids. Twice before the fort was built the British had claimed land up to Bangor. But never since. It was not that the Fort was effective, for it was never fully manned or used for anything but training.

Just before the fort this playful mink ran along the shore. She ran up and hid under a rock, but peeked out the different sides.

Fort Knox has a variety of festivals held at it, re-enactors from the civil war, pirate days, haunted tours, SCA events, paranormal and Scottish Tattoos to name a few. Friends of Fort Knox keeps the schedule.
But during the week, it is more likely that the bridge observatory is the draw. At least we saw no one moving about the Fort and several cars headed to the observatory.

It’s fun to be on the water looking up at the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. As a child we’d climb hills and look down on the toy cars. This was rather the reverse with small motorcycles and RV’s crossing overhead. The Winnebago headed to the bridge observatory was halfway down, and was like the Tonka model my children played with for years.
We crossed back to Verona at the bridge, as two deer pranced along the far shore. Then it was back to the landing.
6 miles.