BY SHANNON BRYAN

The churning coastline and moss-blanketed forests lure many of us to Acadia. Those woods and waters also make for welcome homes to a diverse array of wildlife.

Acadia’s songbirds and seabirds, foxes and otters, seals and snails are integral to this landscape. And a chance spotting—be it a porcupine munching in a treetop or an osprey standing guard at its nest—is an experience that sticks in our memories. Plus it’s just delightful to watch a cormorant dry its wings in the wind.

A red fox in Acadia National Park. (Photo credit Friends of Acadia.)

Paying close attention to the goings on of Acadia’s critters are a host of scientists and researchers who help to advance our understanding and also help inform resource managers, both here in Acadia and farther afield.

Here are a few animals you might spot in the park and the interesting science that’s happening around them:

In early spring, Acadia’s resource managers have their eyes toward the sky looking for the return of a particular raptor.

Peregrine falcons warrant the attention—these birds of prey are impressive and can reach upwards of 200 miles per hour when entering a hunting dive, making them one of the fastest animals on the planet.

But their presence in Acadia is an amazing win for conservation.

A peregrine falcon flying as seen from the Jordan Cliffs in Acadia National Park. (Photo by Emma Forthofer/Friends of Acadia)

In the 1960s, the introduction of the pesticide DDT affected the strength of the peregrine’s eggshells, leading to failed nests and a decline in the population. The pesticides were federally banned in 1973, and Congress passed the Endangered Species Act one year later. But the peregrines needed support to help restore their populations.

Acadia participated in a cooperative management plan to restore a self-sustaining population of peregrines to the eastern United States. In 1990, the plan’s success meant the peregrine falcon was removed from the federal endangered species list.

Protecting peregrines is an on-going effort. When the peregrines return to nest on Acadia’s cliffs, certain trails are temporarily closed to avoid disturbing them. That’s why Precipice, East Face, Jordan Cliffs Trails and the northern section of the Flying Mountain Trail may be closed during a summer visit. In the summer, young falcons are practicing flight. You might spot them flying above the cliffs or other parts of the island.

Learn more about peregrine falcons in Acadia and read updates on this year’s falcons.

Wildlife Technician Chris Long checks a peregrine falcon chick for the correct band size. (Photo by Will Greene)

Bats eat a host of agricultural pests and night-flying insects (like mosquitoes!)—one reason they’re good to have around. They’re also stealthy fliers and prefer to be active at night, so most park visitors won’t see any bats during a visit. Acadia boasts several species of bats.

Some are migratory; others, like the little brown bat, Eastern smallfooted bat, and Northern long-eared bat, call Acadia home all year. In the warmer months, they roost during the day in rock crevices, buildings, and trees.

The Acadia National Park Wildlife Crew traps Eastern small-footed bats using mist nets near Jordan Pond as a part of their long-term monitoring program to track changes in bat populations as a result of white nose syndrome (WNS). (Photo by Will Greene/Friends of Acadia)

Unfortunately, bat populations have diminished in North America in recent decades due to white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that causes a white, fuzzy appearance on a bat’s muzzle. In Acadia, the bat population has been reduced by 95% since 2011, when the disease was first detected in the park.

The park’s ongoing monitoring program employs mist nets and acoustic call recorders to help park managers know where bats are and how they’re doing. The park is also mindful of bats when doing tree cutting, which is done in the winter when bats are no longer roosting in trees but hibernating elsewhere.

Learn more about bats in Acadia.

Acadia National Park Biological Science Technician Morgan Ingalls holds an Eastern small-footed bat before measuring its wingspan and checking for signs of white nose syndrome. (Photo by Sam Mallon/Friends of Acadia)

A salamander spotting in Acadia feels like a rare treat, mostly because these slick-looking amphibians tend to hide out in cool, damp nooks, like under a covering of dead leaves or a moist log on the forest floor. But you might catch a bold orange newt or a dark gray spotted salamander (notable for its yellow spots) while exploring the trails.

Spring is when many amphibians head off to vernal pools to mate and lay eggs before returning to their forest crannies. Sometimes they need to cross a road to get from one place to another, which means they’re at risk of getting run over by automobiles. And many do, unfortunately.

Park volunteer Thea Clark finds a red-backed salamander. (Photo by Nathaniel X. Boechat/Friends of Acadia)

But there’s research being done in and around Acadia this year to track amphibian mortality, which may help resource managers develop solutions that make those road crossings safer. You can help by volunteering as a site monitor! Learn more: Acadia Amphibian Project on Facebook.

Acadia is also home to populations of spotted salamanders that lay their eggs on the rocky coastline, where crashing waves splash saltwater onto them. That’s unique, since salt and direct sunlight are typically detrimental to amphibian eggs. A researcher from College of the Atlantic is studying those populations to figure out how those eggs fare longer-term and how those populations persist.

An Eastern newt is found along the edge of Great Meadow nearby the Jesup Path in Acadia National Park. (Photo by Sam Mallon/Friends of Acadia)

Gulls are wonderfully resourceful. They’ve been known to bait fish with bread and wait for people to walk through automatic doors at the supermarket so they can fly in and grab some chips. They’re also supremely adept at swooping in to grab a snack out of a park visitor’s hands.

In Acadia, you’re most likely to see herring gulls (notable for the red dot on their lower bills), ring-billed gulls (a thin black ring around their bill), and great black-backed gulls (the largest gulls in North America, they also have a red dot on their lower bills, but are notable for their dark gray wing and back feathers).

A herring gull sits on a rock in front of the Bubbles as seen from the Jordan Pond Path. (Photo by Ashley L. Conti/Friends of Acadia)

Gulls nest on offshore islands, and researchers and students from College of the Atlantic have studied them for years under the tutelage of Professor John Anderson. Last year, Anderson and his students conducted a survey of Acadia’s seabird islands, tallying the number of nests on several of those islands and maps of where each of those nests was located. This data enables researchers to track population shifts as the climate changes and sea levels rise.

Read more about gull studies in Acadia.

College of the Atlantic student and seabird researcher Autumn Pauly holds a Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) chick to show visitors while they visit College of the Atlantic’s Great Duck Island to learn about the seabird research happening on the island. (Photo by Sam Mallon/Friends of Acadia)

SHANNON BRYAN is Friends of Acadia’s Content and Website Manager.