Acadia National Park

🇺🇸 United States

🦆 Loon Calls Across Acadia's Ponds

🌍 #213 Global · 3.4 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ #36 in North America #35 in Temperate Forest

North Atlantic Coast, United States 577 spp. recorded

Acadia National Park is a rugged coastal reserve on the rocky Atlantic shore of Maine, where dense temperate forests of pine and spruce blanket granite ridges and shelter the coastline. Trails wind beneath evergreen canopies and along the edge of the sea, crossing forested hillsides and freshwater ponds.

44.302° N 68.374° W

Wildlife

⭐ Iconic Species

Harbor Seal

Phoca vitulina

30–40% · Possible

Common Loon

Gavia immer

40–50% · Likely

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

20–30% · Possible

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

50–60% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

American Crow

Corvus brachyrhynchos

80–90% · Very likely

American Herring Gull

Larus smithsonianus

70–80% · Very likely

Black-capped Chickadee

Poecile atricapillus

60–70% · Likely

American Bullfrog

Lithobates catesbeianus

60–70% · Likely

Song Sparrow

Melospiza melodia

60–70% · Likely

American Red Squirrel

Tamiasciurus hudsonicus

50–60% · Likely

American Goldfinch

Spinus tristis

50–60% · Likely

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

50–60% · Likely

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta canadensis

40–50% · Likely

Common Garter Snake

Thamnophis sirtalis

40–50% · Likely

Double-crested Cormorant

Phalacrocorax auritus

40–50% · Likely

American Robin

Turdus migratorius

40–50% · Likely

⭐ Iconic Species

Harbor Seal

Phoca vitulina

30–40% · Possible

White-tailed Deer

Odocoileus virginianus

50–60% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

American Red Squirrel

Tamiasciurus hudsonicus

50–60% · Likely

Quiller

Erethizon dorsatus

30–40% · Possible

Eastern Chipmunk

Tamias striatus

20–30% · Possible

American Beaver

Castor canadensis

20–30% · Possible

Gray Seal

Halichoerus grypus

20–30% · Possible

Common Porpoise

Phocoena phocoena

10–20% · With luck

Snowshoe Hare

Lepus americanus

10–20% · With luck

Red Fox

Vulpes vulpes

10–20% · With luck

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis

10–20% · With luck

Coyote

Canis latrans

10–20% · With luck

Northern River Otter

Lontra canadensis

10–20% · With luck

Woodchuck

Marmota monax

10–20% · With luck

⭐ Iconic Species

Common Loon

Gavia immer

40–50% · Likely

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

20–30% · Possible

📊 Most Spotted

American Crow

Corvus brachyrhynchos

80–90% · Very likely

American Herring Gull

Larus smithsonianus

70–80% · Very likely

Black-capped Chickadee

Poecile atricapillus

60–70% · Likely

Song Sparrow

Melospiza melodia

60–70% · Likely

American Goldfinch

Spinus tristis

50–60% · Likely

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

50–60% · Likely

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta canadensis

40–50% · Likely

Double-crested Cormorant

Phalacrocorax auritus

40–50% · Likely

American Robin

Turdus migratorius

40–50% · Likely

Dark-eyed Junco

Junco hyemalis

40–50% · Likely

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Regulus satrapa

40–50% · Likely

Great Black-backed Gull

Larus marinus

40–50% · Likely

📊 Most Spotted

Common Garter Snake

Thamnophis sirtalis

40–50% · Likely

Redbelly Snake

Storeria occipitomaculata

20–30% · Possible

Eastern Milksnake

Lampropeltis triangulum

20–30% · Possible

Ringneck Snake

Diadophis punctatus

20–30% · Possible

Painted Turtle

Chrysemys picta

20–30% · Possible

Snapping Turtle

Chelydra serpentina

20–30% · Possible

Smooth Greensnake

Opheodrys vernalis

10–20% · With luck

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Dermochelys coriacea

Insufficient data

📊 Most Spotted

American Bullfrog

Lithobates catesbeianus

60–70% · Likely

Eastern Red-backed Salamander

Plethodon cinereus

40–50% · Likely

Green Frog

Lithobates clamitans

30–40% · Possible

Pickerel Frog

Lithobates palustris

30–40% · Possible

Spotted Salamander

Ambystoma maculatum

30–40% · Possible

Spring Peeper

Pseudacris crucifer

20–30% · Possible

Wood Frog

Lithobates sylvaticus

20–30% · Possible

Eastern Newt

Notophthalmus viridescens

20–30% · Possible

Gray Treefrog

Dryophytes versicolor

10–20% · With luck

American Toad

Anaxyrus americanus

10–20% · With luck

Four-toed Salamander

Hemidactylium scutatum

10–20% · With luck

Northern Two-lined Salamander

Eurycea bislineata

Insufficient data

Animal Events

🐋

Whale and Porpoise Season

JulAugSep

Summer feeding aggregation off Mount Desert Island — humpback whales and harbor porpoises in the waters off Bar Harbor and Schoodic.

Humpback Whale

Megaptera novaeangliae

10–20% · With luck

Common Porpoise

Phocoena phocoena

10–20% · With luck

🦭

Seal Haul-Out Season

JunJulAug

Summer haul-outs — groups of harbor and gray seals gather on rocky ledges at low tide along Acadia's coast.

Harbor Seal

Phoca vitulina

30–40% · Possible

Gray Seal

Halichoerus grypus

20–30% · Possible

🦅

Cadillac Mountain Hawk Watch

SepOct

Fall raptor migration — thousands of hawks, falcons, eagles and ospreys funnel past Cadillac Mountain each autumn, counted at the NPS Hawk Watch.

Broad-winged Hawk

Buteo platypterus

5–10% · With luck

Merlin

Falco columbarius

5–10% · With luck

Bald Eagle

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

20–30% · Possible

🐦

Warbler Migration

MayJun

Spring songbird migration — over 20 warbler species pass through or breed in Acadia in , celebrated by the Acadia Birding Festival.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Setophaga coronata

30–40% · Possible

Black-throated Green Warbler

Setophaga virens

30–40% · Possible

Northern Parula

Setophaga americana

30–40% · Possible

Sighting Calendar

Chance of spotting each species, month by month

Species Total

30–40

30–40

40–50

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

50–60

40–50

40–50

10–20

30–40

30–40

10–20

30–40

40–50

30–40

30–40

30–40

30–40

30–40

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

30–40

30–40

30–40

30–40

30–40

50–60

50–60

60–70

70–80

20–30

30–40

20–30

20–30

20–30

20–30

20–30

30–40

30–40

30–40

20–30

20–30

White-tailed Deer

50–60

50–60

60–70

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

50–60

40–50

40–50

70–80

60–70

80–90

90–100

90–100

80–90

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

80–90

90–100

80–90

American Herring Gull

70–80

70–80

70–80

60–70

60–70

70–80

70–80

80–90

80–90

70–80

80–90

80–90

Black-capped Chickadee

70–80

70–80

80–90

80–90

70–80

60–70

50–60

70–80

60–70

70–80

70–80

70–80

American Bullfrog

5–10

5–10

5–10

30–40

40–50

60–70

70–80

70–80

60–70

30–40

5–10

10–20

10–20

10–20

40–50

70–80

70–80

70–80

70–80

50–60

40–50

60–70

30–40

20–30

American Red Squirrel

30–40

40–50

40–50

40–50

50–60

60–70

50–60

60–70

60–70

70–80

50–60

40–50

American Goldfinch

40–50

40–50

40–50

50–60

60–70

50–60

50–60

60–70

30–40

20–30

40–50

40–50

30–40

30–40

40–50

50–60

50–60

50–60

40–50

40–50

60–70

60–70

40–50

40–50

Red-breasted Nuthatch

50–60

50–60

50–60

60–70

50–60

50–60

30–40

40–50

40–50

30–40

20–30

30–40

Common Garter Snake

5–10

5–10

10–20

30–40

50–60

40–50

50–60

50–60

40–50

40–50

5–10

20–30

Double-crested Cormorant

<5

<5

<5

10–20

40–50

50–60

50–60

70–80

70–80

70–80

30–40

10–20

5–10

10–20

30–40

60–70

60–70

60–70

50–60

30–40

20–30

30–40

20–30

10–20

Animal Events

🦅 Cadillac Mountain Hawk Watch

🐋 Whale and Porpoise Season

🦭 Seal Haul-Out Season

🐦 Warbler Migration

Sighting Zones

Warm areas are where all species together are recorded most, so they track where people go as much as where animals are. For one species, see the map on its own page.

0.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★ Good

🦆 Loon Calls Across Acadia's Ponds

🦜

Biodiversity

Very good

How rich is the wildlife?

4.3 Global avg

4.3 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

Species by taxon

🦅 Birds

440

🐒 Mammals

92

🦎 Reptiles

17

🐸 Amphibians

28

577 Total Species

850 Global average across 296 parks

34 Threatened 57 Endemic

🔭

Sighting

Good

How likely to see animals?

3.6 Global avg

3.0 ★★★★★ ★★★★★

🎯

Top-12 Avg Probability

62% Global avg

58%

📊

Coverage (134 species at ≥5% of 577 in the inventory)

24% Global avg

23%

🔀

Taxon variety in top 12 (8 bird, 2 mammal, 1 amphibian, 1 reptile)

46% Global avg

69%

🔭

Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)

134 Global avg

93

🌟

Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)

15 Global avg

6

⭐

High-prob species (>40%)

27 Global avg

18

Quick answers

What animals can you see in Acadia National Park?

The most likely sightings are American Crow (seen by 80–90% of wildlife watchers), American Herring Gull (seen by 70–80% of wildlife watchers), Black-capped Chickadee (seen by 60–70% of wildlife watchers), American Bullfrog (seen by 60–70% of wildlife watchers), Song Sparrow (seen by 60–70% of wildlife watchers) — among 577 recorded vertebrate species, based on citizen-science data from GBIF.

When is the best time to visit Acadia National Park for wildlife?

August has the highest combined sighting rate for the park's top species in our month-by-month GBIF data. The full sighting calendar on this page shows each species' best months.

Can you see Harbor Seal in Acadia National Park?

Yes — about 38% of wildlife watchers report a Harbor Seal sighting in Acadia National Park, based on 232 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Can you see Common Loon in Acadia National Park?

Yes — about 45% of wildlife watchers report a Common Loon sighting in Acadia National Park, based on 5,279 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Can you see Bald Eagle in Acadia National Park?

Yes — about 26% of wildlife watchers report a Bald Eagle sighting in Acadia National Park, based on 3,112 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

Can you see White-tailed Deer in Acadia National Park?

Yes — about 56% of wildlife watchers report a White-tailed Deer sighting in Acadia National Park, based on 498 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.

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