306 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



Eider ducks, in vast beds, a few 

 harlequins, black guillemots, scoters in 

 small numbers, with the ubiquitous 

 old-squaw, find suitable winter resorts 

 about the outermost islands and ledges 

 where they come to feed by day, at 

 night seeking security on the open 

 ocean, where the wildest storms fail 

 to daunt them. 



In the waters of the harbors and inner 

 bays, wherever open water is to be found, 

 grebes of two species, loons, cormorants, 

 whistlers, buffleheads, and red-breasted 

 mergansers find feeding grounds suited 

 to their needs. Along the shore of the 

 inner waters, and sheltered pools of the 

 outer islands black ducks winter in vast 

 numbers. 



Some of the outermost ledges and 

 islands harbor large bands of purple 

 sandpipers throughout the cold months. 



Everywhere from the inner harbors 

 to the outermost ledges, the garrulous 

 old-squaw congregates in numbers, rang- 

 ing from a few pairs to several or many 

 hundreds. 



Herring gulls are to be found in open 

 water, while the great black-backed 

 gull is common about the outer waters 

 and shores. 



Though today the great gatherings 

 of eider ducks and other species of 

 waterfowl which are to be met with at 

 certain of the outermost ledges or shoals 

 fringing the very outposts of the bays, 

 seem large, they are but a vestige of the 

 hordes which formerly were forced by 

 numbers to feed throughout the outer 

 bays. 



Several species of whales follow the 

 schools of schizopods and gregarious 

 surface fishes well into the bays; these 

 are now greatly reduced in numbers. 

 Two or three species of porpoises or 

 dolphins are common, and formerly the 

 harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) abounded 

 all along the coast from the mouth 

 of the Saco River to Little Machias 

 Harbor, giving their name freely to the 

 nomenclature of the coast, in Sea Rocks, 

 Seal Ledges, Seal Islands, Seal Coves 

 and Seal Harbors. Today these ani- 

 mals are reduced to a few colonies. It 



has been indicated that the coast of 

 Maine also affords summer homes to a 

 considerable variety of sea birds, some 

 of them in numerous large colonies. 



3. The shores and islands 



The coast between Kittery Point 

 and Cape Elizabeth, about 40 mi. in 

 length, is chiefly low with sand dunes 

 and beaches. These beaches often form 

 barriers behind which creeks bordered 

 with large salt marshes are sheltered. 

 This part of the coast is but little broken 

 by rocky points or islands. Eastward 

 from Cape Elizabeth but two of these 

 sand dune-beach salt marsh areas of 

 noteworthy size are to be found. These 

 are the Popham Small Point beach, 

 trending southwestward from the mouth 

 of the Kennebec River, and the Mile 

 Little River beach trending in the same 

 general direction from the western 

 entrance to Sheepscot Bay. 



Resuming the coast line at Cape 

 Elizabeth, where the sandy beaches 

 disappear except as noted, the shores 

 become rocky and are indented by a 

 continuous series of bays, the latter 

 well studded with rock-bound islands. 

 Proceeding eastward the ruggedness 

 increases slightly, to become pronounced 

 as the entrance to Penebscot Bay is 

 approached from the west. Here the 

 cliffs of the historic Georges Islands and 

 Monhegan are of sufficient height and 

 wildness to afford nesting places for 

 northern ravens. Entering the bay from 

 the west, and proceeding about half way 

 to its head, the Cam den Hills or "Moun- 

 tains" rise from a narrow platform close 

 by the sea. The maximum height is 

 reached by Mount Megunticook in an 

 elevation of 1380 ft. ; 25 mi. to the south- 

 ward the isolated group of the Matinicus 

 Islands, lying slightly beyond the 

 confines of the Bay are to be seen as low 

 outposts of the land. About 25 mi. 

 across the Bay to the eastward, Bluehill 

 Mountain, another seaside elevation, 

 reaches a height of 940 ft.; about 35 

 mi. from Megunticook, to the eastward 

 is Mount Desert Island with its group 

 of hills or mountains which reach their 



