I can’t believe I’ve lived in the Bangor area for more than four years and never visited the Penjajawoc Marsh.

I didn’t know what to expect as our little group hiked in from the north end of the marsh, through the Bangor City Forest. Our trip leader, Bob Milardo, had organized the excursion to benefit the Bangor Area Citizens for Responsible Development.

By now I knew all about the controversy surrounding the marsh and this group’s efforts to prevent the construction of a super Wal-Mart adjacent to the wetland.

But I didn’t know very much about life in the marsh itself. What I found this day was spectacular.

Even the hike into the marsh proved to be very fruitful, turning up sharp-shinned hawk, pileated woodpecker, ruby-crowned kinglet, yellow-bellied sapsucker, and brown creeper, among others. Amphibian life was represented as well, with green and leopard frogs along the trail.

Smaller wetlands along the way turned up species such as solitary sandpiper. These shorebirds, retaining part of their breeding plumage, were beautiful to behold. They completely ignored us as they foraged for food, building up their fat reserves in preparation for their long flights south.

When we actually arrived at the Penjajawoc (a Native American term meaning “current raggedly falling down”), I was dumbfounded. I knew it was big-I had seen aerial photos of its 300 acres-but could never have appreciated its vastness only from a picture. The somber, rainy weather could do nothing to dampen my sense of wonder and appreciation.

Birds were everywhere. Swamp sparrows, song and white-throated sparrows, common yellowthroat warblers and yellow-rumped warblers foraged among the reeds and marsh-side vegetation. Great blue herons dwarfed the belted kingfishers that zipped around.

Pied-billed grebes dove and surfaced out in the middle of the marsh, along with wood ducks and black ducks. A great egret – unusual in this area – came gliding over the water, its pure white plumage starkly contrasting with the gray sky. We watched a marsh hawk (also known as the northern harrier) hunting above the cattails. It was a special treat to see this bird, which is on Maine’s watch list as a species that may become threatened or endangered.

In fact, part of the Penjajawoc’s importance is as a sanctuary to three of Maine’s endangered birds: the sedge wren, the black tern, and the upland sandpiper. In all, the marsh and its surrounding uplands are home to 188 species of birds – almost half the number of bird species in the entire state.

No wonder the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has designated the Penjajwoc as the most productive and diverse wetland in Maine.

How could we ever let this be lost?

To learn more about the Penjajwoc and its conservation, view a slide show of its diverse wildlife, and learn how you can help, come to a presentation at the Fields Pond Nature Center on Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. There is no charge. For further information, call the center at 989-2591.

Chris Corio’s column on birds is published each Saturday. Corio, a volunteer at Fields Pond Nature Center in Holden, can be reached at fieldspond@juno.com