Birding at Thompson Island

Thompson Island Picnic Area is the best opportunity inside Acadia National Park to search for shorebirds, in addition to hosting both egret species, Great Egret and Snowy Egret, and uncommon gull species like Laughing Gull and Bonaparte’s Gull. This picnic area offers an excellent view of the Mt. Desert Narrows and its extensive mudflat that is exposed during low tide. The best time of the year to catch shorebirds and other activity is from August to October. However, during May the picnic area is also worth a check for any migrating songbirds and sometimes a lingering sandpiper.