Riverbank Corridors Songbirds which frequent the riverbanks and woodlands use the Penobscot River as a resource for feeding, breeding and migratory purposes. While lakes are still frozen in the early spring, fast-moving water on the river opens up more quickly. This open habitat allows for earlier insect hatches, and metamorphosing insects provide excellent feeding opportunities for songbirds such as killdeer, ruby-crowned kinglets, phoebes, orioles, sparrows, and warblers, among many others. During the spring and summer, many songbirds are headed to breeding grounds in Maine or much farther north. Some may have just flown from overwintering habitats up to thousands of miles away (as far away as South America). Much like the ducks, these songbirds' fat reserves need to be replenished in order to continue migrating and for when they arrive to their breeding habitat. Songbirds hug the river corridor during their journey north. Abundance in insects means better chances for songbirds' survival during the migration. Loons tend to prefer lakes; however, when the lakes are still frozen during their northward migration, the open areas on the river offer loons a safety net and a myriad of fish for them to eat. NEXT