This past weekend, three members of the BirdSafe Maine team traveled to Burlington, VT, to present their work at the Northeast Natural History Conference (NENHC). The NENHC is one of the largest regional gatherings where naturalists, research scientists, natural resource managers, students, and activists share their work on the ecology and biology of the northeastern […]
Community Science
Spring means it’s time to start surveying Maine streams
It�s officially spring so that means it�s time to check on your local streams, explore water quality, and find bugs! We�re kicking off a new Stream Explorer season and recruiting community scientists who can help survey large aquatic insects (macroinvertebrates) in Maine streams. If that sounds interesting to you, there are two ways you can […]
New soft plastic lure project invites anglers to gather data
Have you ever thought about the fish you are catching�or eating? And wondered what that fish had been eating? Soft plastic fishing lures are a popular and common tackle used extensively across Maine. These lures imitate worms, frogs, and other natural baits by moving more freely through the water than a hard plastic lure. Soft […]
Stream Explorers Goes to School
On a beautiful fall day with 70 degree temperatures, Maine Audubon educators took our conservation program, Stream Explorers, to Sanford Middle School. The week before our visit, we went into the classroom and practiced using the nets and identifying macroinvertebrates. By sampling the stream and identifying the macroinvertebrates, the students would be able to tell […]
Four Lessons I Learned from Working with Piping Plovers this Summer
Hello! I�m Emma Sloan, a biologist with Maine Audubon�s Plover Crew. We have spent this summer protecting the endangered Piping Plover along 22 beaches in southern Maine. As a new graduate and new resident of Maine, I have learned so much through this work. So, before the season ends, I wanted to share the lessons […]
Guest blog post: Stream Explorers Opens Doors
�The door will be opened to those who are bold enough to knock.� (Tony Gaskins) My name is Aroha Walsh, and the Stream Explorers has done many things in the past few months that inspire me to be a better person. The Stream Explorers program aims to test the pollution in streams by looking at […]
2021 Annual Loon Count Shows Importance of Long Term Studies
Adults up, chicks down, but what does it all mean? As Maine Audubon releases the data from its 2021 Annual Loon Count, it underscores the importance of long-term studies and highlights the need to look beyond the one-day count to understand the data.� The annual loon count takes place on the third Saturday of July, […]
Nanotagging Monarch Butterflies — Very, Very Carefully — at Fields Pond
Once inside the front door of the Nature Center, summer visitors to the Fields Pond Audubon Center have been greeted by a display of Monarch Butterflies.� Beginning as either eggs or small caterpillars, we collected these from the plethora of milkweed plants that grow all around the Nature Center.� To date we�ve raised and fledged […]
It’s Mayhem: Maine Audubon is busting out all over
In May, Maine Audubon staff was out in front of the public leading bird walks, protecting endangered plovers on the beaches, giving forest bird workshops, planting native plants, and more.