At�our busiest time in May, during the peak of spring migration, Maine Audubon holds its annual Bird-a-thon. This is a fundraiser where teams of birders try to see as many species�as they can within 24-hours, staying in Maine. There are strict rules for those who want to set a ‘big-day’ record, but our goal was […]
Maine's Naturalist
2017 Evergreen Cemetery and Capisic Pond Warbler Walks
Our annual Warbler Walks at Evergreen Cemetery and Capisic Pond are underway and the birds are not disappointing! We will continue these walks through next Friday, May 19th, so I hope you can join us at Evergreen, Mondays�through�Thursday, or Capisic on Friday. Here is a quick summary of what we’ve seen so far -�check back […]
Rarest Bird Alert – FIELDFARE
We were still riding the excitement of the Vermilion Flycatcher at Hog Island when a new bird showed up that blew our minds yet again: Maine’s first FIELDFARE. This Eurasian thrush was found on the morning of 19 April 2017 by Jeff Cherry in Newcastle. Many thanks to Jeff for quickly alerting�the Maine Birds listserv […]
Rare Bird Alert: Vermilion Flycatcher
Spring is upon us and many birds are migrating north for the breeding season. Along with our usual migrants, a few wayward vagrants will fly off course, either as overshoots (literally flying too far north) or misguided (perhaps misdirected by a strong tail wind) and those birds can cause quite the stir (bird puns intentionally […]
Nature Notes 2017: 06
“Nature Notes” will be a near-weekly blog post to keep you updated on some things going on with Maine’s wildlife. This will include incidental observations (many of which are shared on our�Instagram page), recent unusual bird sightings, and notes on our bird walks or other field trips. Observations: In our last post I shared some […]
Peter Vickery, 1949-2017
Last week Maine’s birding and conservation community lost one of its biggest advocates and proponents. Peter Vickery passed away on February 28th following an 18-month battle with esophageal cancer. Peter had a long and storied history with Maine Audubon that spanned decades. From leading teams during our annual Bird-a-thon, to guiding field trips like the […]
Nature Notes 2017: 05
“Nature Notes” will be a near-weekly blog post to keep you updated on some things going on with Maine’s wildlife. This will include incidental observations (many of which are shared on our�Instagram page), recent unusual bird sightings, and notes on our bird walks or other field trips. Observations:The Barred Owl fun continues this week with […]
Marmota monax Madness!
Despite all the snow on the ground, the first groundhogs (aka woodchucks, whistle pigs, Marmota monax) will be emerging from their burrows soon. Groundhogs are one of the few “true” hibernating species that we have in Maine.�They slow their metabolic rate and drop their body temperatures to wait out winter in the safety and warmth […]
App Review: Song Sleuth
Since the first time birders used Shazam to learn what song was playing on the radio, they’ve been waiting for an app that can identify what birds they are hearing. There have been attempts at the technology and we’ve been teased with releases. Princeton, for example, has been dangling the “BirdGenie” app in front of […]