One of the most familiar of songbirds, the American Goldfinch, is a late and specialized nester. In late summer, while many of Maine’s breeding birds are fledging this year’s chicks, goldfinches are just getting started. By September, the goldfinch chicks should be out of the nest, still following …
Doug Hitchcox
Monitoring Bird Illness (July 2021)
There is an unknown disease that has been causing bird deaths in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States over the past two months. This blog post will be used to share updates and useful information about the disease, particularly as it pertains to Maine birds. At this time (11 July …
Trip Report: Matinicus Rock 2021
After having to cancel in 2020, we were thrilled to be on the water on Friday, June 11, for our annual “Seabirds of Matinicus Rock” trip out of New Harbor. Aboard the Hardy III, captained by Al Crocetti of Hardy Boat, we took a full day ride out of Muscongus Bay, cruising 25 miles to one of the …
Do’s and Don’ts of Duck Feeding
Is it okay to feed ducks? Much like feeding the birds you may feed in your backyard, there is nothing wrong with feeding other wild birds, and especially ducks, food, as long as it is the right food. Unfortunately, most people associate feeding ducks at a park with giving them bread, which is …
World Series of Birding 2021 Recap
Maine Audubon’s second year of participating in the World Series of Birding is now on the books, and what a year it was. Unlike our first attempt in 2020 when we were geographically restricted to small areas around each team members’ home, in 2021 the whole state was up for grabs and Team Maine …
Warbler Walks at Evergreen Cemetery, May 2021
Every spring Maine Audubon has led free bird walks at Evergreen Cemetery in Portland during the peak of bird migration, specifically as warblers are flooding into the state. These Warbler Walks have often drawn large crowds of birders hoping to catch a glimpse of some of North America's most …
RARE BIRD ALERT: REDWING
UPDATE - 23 Feb 2021: The Redwing has not been seen since the afternoon of the 22nd, despite extensive searching on the 23rd and 24th. ---------- UPDATE - 4-22 Feb 2021: Redwing showed throughout the day in its usual spot. Dickcissel and Black-headed Grosbeak also reported daily, typically …
Summer 2020 was Cuckoo
The summer of 2020 was cuckoo in more ways than one . . . both Black- and Yellow-billed! There are two species of cuckoos (Cuculidae) that nest in Maine, Black-billed Cuckoo (pictured above) being more wide-spread while Yellow-billed Cuckoo (pictured below) is scarce with only a few known nesting …
Naturalist’s View of Comet NEOWISE
Being stuck at home has been motivation for many people to find new things to do. The uptick in people watching birds during COVID19 has been well documented, as in New York Times' The Birds Are Not on Lockdown and More People Are Watching Them or Portland Press Herald's During coronavirus, backyard …