Cobscook Bay, Washington County, ME

"Cobscook Bay is an unusual estuary with a narrow opening to the sea, a long and convoluted shoreline, and relatively few feeder streams and rivers. Nutrient-rich salt water flowing in from the Gulf of Maine stimulates plankton growth, which in turn feeds a vast array of invertebrates (such as shellfish and marine worms). Eagles, ospreys, seals, otters and even the occasional bear enjoy the Bay's abundant fish, including smelt, alewives, shad, sea-run brook trout, striped bass and the Atlantic salmon."The Bay's productive food web nourishes more than 200 bird species (see www.mainebirdingtrail.com for more details). Attracted by Cobscook Bay's sheltered coves, mudflats, and eelgrass beds, thousands of shorebirds stop over each fall to rest and forage as they migrate south from northern breeding grounds. The Bay's inner coves support a quarter of Maine's wintering black ducks and the state's highest concentration of bald eagles. A free birding list for the Cobscook Bay region is available at the Park entrance" ("Cobscook Bay State Park" at Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservatioin and Forestery [ https://apps.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/doc/parksearch/details.pl?park_id=15 : accessed 09 May 2025]).