As we begin the new year, though it has felt like a pretty below-average year for snow accumulation so far here in southern Maine, it has turned out to be an above-average year for Snowies. Yes, Snowy Owls are coming south! This is always a fun and exciting time for birders and owl aficionados as […]
Maine's Naturalist
There’s a lot to learn above and below the ice at Fields Pond
Winter is an exciting time of year for those of us close to freshwater, as ice advances across the surfaces of lakes and ponds. Ice skaters and skiers eagerly await the season of thick ice, and ice fishers get ready to set up their shacks. With the temperature dips and peaks of this December in […]
Ask Maine Audubon: Christmas Bird Count helps identify trends in bird population
This winter marks the 125th anniversary of the Christmas Bird Count. We tend to get a range of questions each year, ranging from “What is it?” to “How can I take part?” to “Is it even necessary in the modern digital era with projects like Cornell’s eBird?” So this week I wanted to cover the […]
Backyard bird of the month for December: Northern Cardinal
The vibrant red plumage of Northern Cardinals is always a welcome sight on a cold day. Northern Cardinals molt their feathers once per year, usually in August or September, after nesting and before winter. To regrow their bright red feathers, they must eat fruits (and insects) high in carotenoids, pigments that give many plants and […]
There’s a loon on the pond and winter’s coming. Should you worry?
On a recent ferry ride out to the Casco Bay Islands, I spotted hundreds of Common Loons on the ocean, many of them busy diving and foraging for their seasonal diet of saltwater prey. The majority had already traded in their striking black-and-white tuxedo worn during the breeding season in exchange for the duller, grayish-brown […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for November: Wild Turkey
Half a century ago, there were no Wild Turkeys in anyone’s backyard in Maine. A combination of deforestation (for agriculture) and unregulated hunting led to the extirpation of Wild Turkeys across much of the Northeast by the late 1800s. The birds you see today are the result of decades of successful reintroduction efforts across the […]
Keep those hummingbird feeders up
Updated in September 2026 Every spring, Maine Audubon gets inundated with questions asking “when should we put our hummingbird feeders up?” and every fall, typically in September, we get asked “when can our feeders come down?” So, it is time for our semi-annual Public Service Announcement about hummingbird feeders! All summer long, Maine has been […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for October: Yellow-rumped Warbler
Let’s get the laugh out of the way first: yes, they are called Yellow-rumped Warblers, they do have yellow rumps, and sometimes we even call them “butter-butts”. This unique feature, present in all sexes and plumages, makes this species one of the easiest warblers to identify. Even in the fall, when most warblers are relatively […]
East Point Audubon Sanctuary: A fall plant walk reveals parasitic plants
The trails at East Point Sanctuary in Biddeford Pool are a spectacular place to walk on a late summer afternoon. While it’s difficult to look away from the panoramic ocean views or abundant sea life, if you look carefully along the trailside, you can see some of Maine’s parasitic plant species. There are many parasitic […]