Historical Main Street To Birds By The River

Once in a while I like to let my bike choose my birding trail. This time I started heading down Main Street in Portland and found myself checking out some historical sites along the way. I stopped for a break at our local civil war heroes monument.The brownstone is weathered and there are lichens growing on the hat but it's in decent shape considering it was erected in 1872. 

There are plenty of old homes and building on Main Street in Portland. I enjoy reading the names and dates. Ebenezer might have been a cool name back in the day but I don't think there are too many Ebenezers around now.

I made my first visit to the fire museum and talked to Sal about his fire truck. He found it abandoned and rusted out in a field and It took him 12 years to restore it. 

With a little imagination it almost feels like you're time traveling when you visit historical sites and talk to some of the old timers.

I took a left turn and headed down a dirt road past some farm fields. There were a few barns along the way so I took a peak inside and found some nesting Barn Swallows.

A juvenile Northern Mockingbird showed off its spots and sang an electric version of bird on the wire.

I found a peaceful stretch of Connecticut River shoreline at the end of my trail. There was a robin-sized bird perched on a dead branch at the top of a tree towards the end of the beach.

It turns out that it was not a robin but a beautiful male American kestrel. You don't see too many of them around in the summer and it is one of my favorite birds. It was the perfect way to finish my trip!