One of the most ubiquitous birds around, the American Crow is a bird often seen from your yard but not often thought of as a “backyard bird” since they rarely come to feeders. Crows are very opportunistic, being both omnivores and scavengers, so they are just as likely to steal a big chunk of suet […]
Snowy Owls in Winter 2024/25
As we begin the new year, though it has felt like a pretty below-average year for snow accumulation so far here in southern Maine, it has turned out to be an above-average year for Snowies. Yes, Snowy Owls are coming south! This is always a fun and exciting time for birders and owl aficionados as […]
Announcing the Maine Flower Fly Survey
Since the Maine Bird Atlas wrapped up, many of us having been looking for more citizen science projects to get involved in and I’m happy to help announce that the Maine Flower Fly Survey (MFFS) is launching this year! Herb Wilson, Ron Butler, and Beth Swartz are coordinating a new project sponsored by the Maine […]
Ask Maine Audubon: Christmas Bird Count helps identify trends in bird population
This winter marks the 125th anniversary of the Christmas Bird Count. We tend to get a range of questions each year, ranging from “What is it?” to “How can I take part?” to “Is it even necessary in the modern digital era with projects like Cornell’s eBird?” So this week I wanted to cover the […]
Peru Trip Report
We’re back! In November, Maine Audubon partnered with Fields Guides Inc. to run a tour to Peru to look for birds of Abra Malaga and the Sacred Valley, as well as taking in the culture and history at Machu Picchu and around Cusco. This trip brought us from subtropical forests to the high puna grasses […]
Keep those hummingbird feeders up
Every spring, Maine Audubon gets inundated with questions asking “when should we put our hummingbird feeders up?” and every fall, typically in September, we get asked “when can our feeders come down?” So, it is time for our semi-annual Public Service Announcement about hummingbird feeders! All summer long, Maine has been home to Ruby-throated Hummingbirds […]
2024 Bar Harbor Pelagic Trip Report
We’ve been dealing with hurricanes the last few years, but had wonderful stretch of calm seas around this year’s pelagic trip from Bar Harbor. It was a beautiful sunny day aboard Bar Harbor Whale Watch’s Friendship V, a 112 foot a jet-powered catamaran. Perhaps the best nautical forecast we’ve ever seen on this trip, with […]
Great Backyard Bird Count 2024
The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) kicks off tomorrow, Friday, February 16, and runs through Monday, February 19. This annual contributory science project run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is easy to join and your sightings are a valuable piece to this snapshot of bird populations. It is as simple as reporting what birds […]
Changes to Common Bird Names
Earlier this month, the American Ornithological Society (AOS) announced a plan to change the eponymic bird names, those named after people, in the US and Canada. The announcement comes after years of work by the AOS, holding listening session, meeting with stakeholders, and ultimately deciding that for birding and ornithology to be more inclusive and […]