From 22 November through 1 December, Maine Audubon led a tour with Field Guides to Ecuador, visiting the eastern Andes to track down some of the many birds and other wildlife that inhabit this region. This tour was based out of the famous San Isidro Lodge, situated at 6,800ft, where we explored their grounds as […]
Doug Hitchcox
2025 Bar Harbor Pelagic Trip Report
This year we celebrated the 30th anniversary of our first Bar Harbor Pelagic trip running and the conditions were great! Scheduling a boat trip in mid-September is great for birds, but also hurricanes, and while most years we hope to sneak in this trip between passing storms, this year there wasn’t a cloud on the […]
Trip Report: Arizona recap, join us in Ecuador!
In May, just before the spring migration really picked up in Maine, we led a tour to one of the birdiest places in the U.S.: Southeast Arizona! On this private tour with Field Guides Inc, we spent the trip with Cory Gregory (who we also traveled with to Oaxaca, MX, with in 2019) and targeted […]
Do fireworks disturb wildlife?
We always get questions about fireworks around the Fourth of July, but since the change to Maine’s law in 2012, now allowing Maine municipalities to adopt consumer fireworks ordinances, we hear about more and more conflicts with wildlife and not just around the July holiday. This simple answer is yes, fireworks definitely disturb birds, but […]
Building for Barn Swallows
In my years of regular birding at Gilsland Farm, I’ve seen several species come, and others go, as breeders on the landscape. These changes are generally caused by changing habitat compositions and of course our warming climate, which has caused historically southern species to now nest here. We typically think of nesting habitats as the […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for April: Brown Creeper
The Brown Creeper is a small, unique bird, which can be found all over Maine but is often under-detected because of its remarkable plumage. Coming in at just over five inches long, these little brown birds sport a splotchy brown back complete with slender streaks making them completely camouflaged against brindled bark. They use their […]
Backyard bird of the month for March: Downy Woodpecker
The smallest woodpecker in Maine, the Downy Woodpecker is a common species that can be found around any deciduous woods. This species looks very similar to its large cousin, the Hairy Woodpecker, though the alliterative mnemonic that “downy is diminutive” may help you remember which is smaller. Downies are active around feeders throughout the winter, […]
Join us for Arizona birding in May
As I write this, it is a cold and dreary late February day . . . Our bird walk at Gilsland Farm this morning had only a dozen species (a few Gadwall were a nice surprise) . . . But looking at the calendar, it warmed my spirits to see that it’s only a couple […]
Avian Flu in Maine
UPDATE: February 12, 2025 With the recent increase in coverage of the ongoing avian influenza outbreak, we are updating this post to share current information as it pertains to wild birds and precautions you should take. Avian influenza is very rare in our “feeder birds” (chickadees, jays, doves, woodpeckers, etc) so there is no need […]