Even in the thick of winter, you might hear Great Horned Owls hooting back and forth to each other through the cold nights. Pairs often call together; the male is the one with the larger, deeper voice. Great Horned Owls tend to nest unusually early for birds in the north and are thought to be […]
Backyard bird of the month for January: Evening Grosbeak
Historically restricted to the western half of this continent, Evening Grosbeaks have expanded eastward thanks to the food they found here. Evening Grosbeaks are large finches, and like other finches will often have irruptions in winter, meaning they�ll leave their typical range when food is scarce. Thanks to the abundance of (unfortunately non-native) Box Elder […]
Winter Bird Atlas Returns: Count birds this winter
It is almost time for the start of the Winter Season of the Maine Bird Atlas, a project by the Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to document the breeding and wintering distributions of Maine’s birds. This five year project has just one breeding season (in 2022) left, and we are about to start […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for December: Eastern Bluebird
An increasingly common sight during Maine’s winter is the bright sky blue flash of an Eastern Bluebird lingering in our backyards. The trend has been well documented thanks to long running surveys like the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), showing that just a couple of decades ago bluebirds were scarce here in winter. In the 90s […]
Rare Birds of November 2021
Many birders affectionately refer to November as “rarity season” since it tends to be the month that brings the most rare birds to Maine and the northeast. November 2021 has been no exception, with the highlights (so far) being a Barnacle Goose in Rockland and an Ash-throated Flycatcher (above) in Biddeford. As of this writing, […]
Backyard bird of the month for November: Black-capped Chickadee
Perhaps the best known bird in the state, holding the title of “Maine’s State Bird”, the Black-capped Chickadee is an amazing survivor thanks to its wits. For a bird that is just over five inches long and that weighs less than the equivalent weight of five pennies, it is remarkable that it can survive Maine’s […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for October: Rufous Hummingbird
Vagrant hummingbirds Although the majority of our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will have departed for Central America by early October, the hummingbird feeders and late blooming flowers in your yard can act as an important fueling station for late migrants or as an attractant for vagrants from the west. We are increasingly seeing western species like Rufous […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for September: American Goldfinch
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 adults around, while most of their migrating […]
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 2021) there have […]