Lake Josephine

Lake Josephine and Christiana Reservoir are owned by McCain Foods, one of the chief potato processors in Maine and Canada. Stay on roads and avoid active farming operations.

Lake Josephine is used primarily to impound water for use by the plant. In species quality and quantity, it is Maine's most productive breeding pond, resembling some of America’s best national wildlife refuges. Look for mallards, American black ducks, American wigeons, blue-winged and green-winged teal, pied-billed grebes, wood ducks, and ring-necked ducks throughout summer. Redheads, ruddy ducks, and northern shovelers are rare nesters in Maine, but they breed here. Great blue herons and American bitterns lead the list of potential wading birds. Sora and Virginia rails are common but elusive in the reeds. Merlins are among the raptors sighted most often. Look for shorebirds in migration, and spotted sandpipers throughout summer.

Christiana Reservoir provides a reliable water supply for the processing plant and a reliable water level for nesting birds. The reservoir is larger than Lake Josephine, and views of waterfowl are sometimes more distant. Fewer birds nest here than they do at Lake Josephine. Often, the best action is in migration season, when flocks settle down to rest and forage. The dike extends over a mile along the southern edge, giving plenty of observation points. A spotting scope is handy. The brush along the water’s edge and the trees behind the dike are excellent for warblers and sparrows.

Directions: From Presque Isle, take Route 10 at Academy Street east toward Easton. At 1.4 miles, bear left onto Conant Road. In about four miles, turn right onto Station Road, then left for access to Lake Josephine just before the wood yard. A perimeter road follows the dike around the south and east side and exits north through a farm field. (Avoid this area during active operations.) Christiana Reservoir is on Conant Road 2 miles beyond the Station Road turnoff. Park at the entrance road, and hike the levee on foot.