For the 36th year in a row, community scientists all over Maine ventured onto their local lakes and ponds on the third Saturday in July this year to count Common Loons. In total, 1, 414 people participated in the count this year (up from 1,350 in 2018), covering 292 lakes. Click here to see images, […]
Maine's Naturalist
Louisiana Rails Trip Report
At the end of October, Maine Audubon partnered with Field Guides to offer a tour for our members to Louisiana. Following the success of our South Texas and Oaxaca, MX tours, it is no surprise that this was another really fun trip with great company (and we can’t wait for our Arizona trip in March, […]
Through the Lens with Nick Leadley: A Little Soft Light
Welcome back to Through the Lens with Nick Leadley, our continuing series on wildlife photography. Read the rest of the series here, and see more of his work at Touch The Wild. Cloudy days never get me down. Actually, I look forward to them. Building on the last blog post for Maine Audubon, I’m going […]
Bluebirds in Maine’s Winter
Eastern Bluebirds are becoming an increasingly common sight during the winter in the southern-half of Maine. I wrote about this when we started this blog back in 2015 (“It’s Winter in Maine! Why do I see robins and bluebirds?“) and we’ve seen the trend continue since. Let’s take a look at a few citizen science […]
How to Tell Crows from Ravens in Maine
Maine is home to several species of large, smart, loud, occasionally obnoxious, sometimes eerie, endlessly fascinating birds called corvids. Our two species of jay belong to this family, Canada Jay and Blue Jay, as well as three similar-looking black birds: American Crow, Fish Crow, and Common Raven. Crows and ravens are notoriously difficult to tell […]
Introducing Our New Roommate: A Baby Snapping Turtle
Each summer, adult female Common Snapping Turtles haul themselves out of the pond here at Gilsland Farm and look for a place to lay their eggs. They climb the hill and slowly probe around looking for an appropriately dry and sandy spot, checking the pollinator garden, the parking lot, and around the Education Center. We […]
Through the Lens with Nick Leadley: The Quality of Light
Light is the one constant all photographs have in stock and something all photographers must learn to work with, though the quality, color, and angle can change quickly. As photographers, how do we learn to evaluate light not only in terms of quality but our creative goals? The answer is simple � observation.
National Audubon Reports on Climate Risks to Maine Birds
A new report gives projections for how climate change will impact the ranges of hundreds of bird species. Maine Audubon is working to minimize these impacts.
Bird numbers declining by the billions
A shocking new report published this week in the journal Science has outlined what many avid birders in Maine have been telling us for years: the number of birds we are seeing in our fields, forests, coastlines, and even our feeders is shrinking. Dramatically shrinking — on average by 29%, or one in every four […]