On a beautiful, sunny Friday afternoon in late October, staff members from Maine Audubon, Portland Parks, U.S. Forest Service, Maine TREE Foundation, and The Nature Conservancy gathered in Portland to visit some of Maine’s biggest trees right here in “Forest City.” While all of us on the tour …
Maine's Naturalist
Who’s that turtle in the tank?
Earlier this fall, on September 7, some observant visitors notified our staff at Gilsland Farm that there was a baby Snapping Turtle in the parking lot. Echoing the events of three Septembers prior, we began searching the parking lot and surrounding area for tiny crawling turtles. Female Snapping …
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 …
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 …
Top Ten Rare Birds found at Scarborough Marsh
At over 3,000 acres, Scarborough Marsh is the largest contiguous salt marsh in Maine, and also one of the most famous and productive birding destinations. Thousands of birders visit Scarborough Marsh each year—from Dunstan's Landing to the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center to Pine Point and …
NEW Birding Hotspot Map for Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
When President Obama established the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in 2016 he added permanent protection for some of the most important bird breeding habitat in the state. Contained in its more than 87,000 acres are boreal and deciduous forests, mountain peaks, spruce bogs, rivers and …
Help us keep track of creepy-crawly critters!
Like creepy-crawly critters? Did you love looking for turtles, snakes, or salamanders as a kid? If so, rekindle that curious kid to help the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW) search for amphibians and reptiles across Maine this spring, summer, and fall. This is the last year …
RARE BIRD ALERT: STELLER’S SEA-EAGLE
LATEST UPDATE: 1 Apr 2022 -- It's not an April Fool's joke, the Steller's Sea-Eagle has been seen in Nova Scotia! This blog will no longer be updated (unless the sea-eagle returns to Maine!) but you can follow the new Nova Scotia: Steller's Sea-Eagle Facebook Group for updates on sightings …
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, …