Final results from Maine Audubon’s Annual Loon Count for 2022 estimate that adult loon numbers dipped slightly this year but chick numbers are up! Long-term trends continue to show a strong adult population that has grown steadily over the years, and a stable population of chicks over time. The annual loon count takes place on […]
Birds
Native Plants for Winter Finches
By planting or encouraging native woody plants in your yard, you can attract these winter visitors.� The arrival of �winter finches� is one of the most anticipated events in winter birding. Several species, including Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, and Common Redpolls, move southward in winter in search of food. These movements are known as �irruptions�, […]
Bringing birds into the classroom
Last week, as a member of Maine Audubon�s education team, I was able to do one of my favorite things: partner with students and teachers in the classroom.�� Two seventh-grade science teachers at Lyman Moore Middle School in Portland, Hazel Cashman and Margaret Paisley, were doing a unit on owls. We met to discuss how […]
Banding a rare Rufous Hummingbird
Here at Maine Audubon, each fall we encourage you to keep hummingbird feeders up. We write blog posts and newspaper articles and that is because while we all know Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are in Maine from the beginning of May, through the end of September, it is later in the fall that hummingbirds from western portions […]
Becoming a bird-safe school
Something’s happening during recess these days at Yarmouth Elementary School. Instead of the shouts and sounds of a soccer game, there’s quiet. Groups of kids are standing, looking, listening. Yes, they’re birding! According to Nicole Colfer, the school’s STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) teacher, the kids have become more present in nature thanks […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for November: White-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatches are one of the most charismatic backyard birds. They frequently visit feeders, digging through the seeds and tossing aside undesirable selections until they find a good one. They will often take seeds away and cache them in crevices of trees to save for later. They will also wedge large nuts like acorns into […]
Commonly Misidentified Species: Cold Weather Sparrows
It’s not always easy to identify Maine’s most beloved birds. Maine Audubon biologists and naturalists commonly field identification questions along the lines of “is it this, or is it that?” Many species look similar from a distance, but there are some great telltale signs, both visual markers and behaviors, that can help identify species. This […]
Installing Bird Safe Windows at Gilsland Farm
Maine Audubon and our partners are continuing to spread the word about bird safe architecture through our BirdSafe Maine program. An essential part of that work involves displaying different bird safe window treatments, especially on the many windows of our Gilsland Farm headquarters in Falmouth, to show builders and homeowners what their options are. In […]
Commonly Misidentified Species: Nuthatches
It’s not always easy to identify Maine’s most beloved birds. Maine Audubon biologists and naturalists commonly field identification questions along the lines of “is it this, or is it that?” Many species look similar from a distance, but there are some great telltale signs, both visual markers and behaviors, that can help identify species. This […]