Maine Audubon is pleased to announce the passage of LD 497, An Act Regarding the Regulation of Significant Vernal Pools Under the Natural Resources Protection Act in the Maine Legislature. Formerly worked within LD 1882 in the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, this effort seeks to better protect state-recognized “Significant Vernal Pools,” essential breeding habitat […]
Amphibians
Input needed on State Wildlife Action Plan
May 28 update from Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife: We invite you to provide input on identifying significant Threats and what conservation actions are needed to address those Threats. Step 1: Review the list of Threats and Conservation Actions Step 2: Share your input! Based on your personal understanding of and familiarity with […]
Want to Help Wildlife? There’s a Community Science Project for Everyone
Community Science is your chance to join friends, neighbors, students, and teachers in collecting valuable scientific data on wildlife in Maine. Your sightings will help us better understand, protect, and conserve Maine native wildlife and habitat. From projects led by Maine Audubon to others spearheaded by the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, there’s […]
A Snapping Turtle Story: Good luck, Muddy!
In September 2022, a nest full of baby Snapping Turtles hatched here at Maine Audubon’s Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth, Maine. We kept one of them, the biggest and the muddiest, to spend the winter in our Discovery Room, so it could teach us all about the early life of these ancient creatures. The […]
Make Your BIG NIGHT Last a Week!
Things are starting to spring, and even sing! Our minds often start thinking of spring as birds return to Maine. However, the arrival of Red-winged Blackbirds and Woodcocks are also phenological indicators of something completely different � BIG NIGHT!!!� Maine�s incredible reptiles and amphibians, or �herps� as we affectionately call the subjects of herpetology, have […]
Seven Months in the Life of a Snapping Turtle
Seven months ago, a nest of Snapping Turtle eggs hatched at the edge of the parking lot at Gilsland Farm. You can read about that eventful day and the decision to overwinter one of the hatchlings in a previous blog post, Introducing Our New Roommate: A Baby Snapping Turtle.� After consulting various experts and the […]
Elementary Connections: Spring Amphibians
What amphibians can be seen and heard this time of year? Where can they be found? How does their life cycle begin? This fun video by Nat Wheelwright introduces us to the timeline of frogs calling and breeding in Maine, starting with the Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers that are currently out and about in […]
BIG NIGHT: Amphibians are on the move!
Greetings! I hope everyone is staying safe and well in these crazy times. I wanted to reach out, because we may finally be coming into amphibian movement time! Looking out the window as well as at the forecast for both the Falmouth area and the Holden area, we have a stretch of warm rain today […]
Renewed Urgency for Protection of Maine Wildlife
The most challenging aspect of human impact on the environment is that we get used to it. It’s easy to see colorful birds at your feeders this spring and forget that there are billions fewer songbirds than there used to be, or enjoy a day at the beach in Maine without realizing that the Gulf […]