FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 5, 2026 MAINE AUDUBON media AT maineaudubon.org Maine Audubon Celebrates Rodenticide Restrictions State Board of Pesticides Control moves to restrict harmful toxins often found in owls, eagles, pets, and other non-target wildlife AUGUSTA – The Board of Pesticides Control (BPC, Board) moved forward today with a restriction on the sale and […]
Birds
Big news regarding little birds: we have Piping Plover chicks on the beach!
—By Kevin Mullan, Coastal Birds Seasonal Outreach Coordinator; photo by Rachel Dupre, Coastal Birds Seasonal Shorebird Technician Four sand-colored cotton balls hatched in Biddeford over Memorial Day weekend. The Coastal Birds Crew and volunteers have been preparing for this moment all spring, surveying beaches for breeding pairs, searching for nests, and putting up fencing and […]
Small Wonders: Why nest on the ground?
Last week I found a large, speckled egg in the West Meadow at Gilsland Farm. It was an empty Wild Turkey egg, and its location in the middle of a meadow, rather than in the woods at the base of a tree, where turkeys nest, suggested that it had been someone’s dinner. To any bird, […]
Optimism in the Face of Development: Birds & Cities
When you’re thinking about birding, the first places that come to mind are probably remote nature preserves, large expanses of marsh, or maybe even national parks like Acadia. You might not spend your time watching the pigeons that nest in the eaves of your neighbor’s house or the Chipping Sparrows that sing from that lone […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for January: Tufted Titmouse
You don’t have to be an expert to know what’s on the mind of a Tufted Titmouse. As one of the most vocal birds in Maine, they’re a great subject for studying bird behavior. Their most familiar noises might be their squeaky (dare I say ‘mousey’) contact calls and the raspy, mechanical scolding which you […]
Looking Up: Maine Audubon’s 42nd Annual Loon Count Results Show Positive Signs
Bruce and Gail Small could not stop exclaiming as they navigated their boat in and around the bays, nooks, crannies, and marinas at a busy end of Sebago Lake. It was their fourth year participating in Maine Audubon’s Annual Loon Count. Bruce navigated the boat while Gail recorded each sighting carefully on the map. And […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for December: Redpoll
You may see large numbers of uncommon visitors at your feeder this winter. Poor seed crops in the boreal forest this year are forcing arctic and subarctic breeders southward. This type of species movement is called an “irruption.” Among irruptive species this year are Redpolls, small, bouncy finches that travel in large flocks. Their rosy-red […]
Small Wonders: Convergent Evolution
Depending on how online you are, you may have seen the plethora of articles and memes about carcinization. This is the phenomenon of various crustacean lineages eventually evolving into crabs. In Maine we have species of “true crabs,” like the finely-speckled Atlantic Rock Crab (Cancer irroratus). Elsewhere in the world, however, many other animals in […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for November: Barred Owl
Barred Owls maintain year-round territories in Maine, but the loss of deciduous foliage in the fall makes it just a little bit easier to see these inconspicuous birds in the winter. Folks with Barred Owl neighbors know that individuals tend to be faithful to their favorite hunting and roosting perches, which are often close to […]