Greetings from the Coastal Birds Crew! It’s hard to believe that we are already halfway through the survey season. So far, it’s been full of surprises, both good and challenging. We faced our first big challenge in May when a rare, spring nor’easter washed out 30 Piping Plover nests. Once the storm passed, our team […]
News & Notes
Trip Report: Arizona recap, join us in Ecuador!
In May, just before the spring migration really picked up in Maine, we led a tour to one of the birdiest places in the U.S.: Southeast Arizona! On this private tour with Field Guides Inc, we spent the trip with Cory Gregory (who we also traveled with to Oaxaca, MX, with in 2019) and targeted […]
Small Wonders: The Gulls On Your Roof
Last spring my upstairs neighbors had triplets. My upstairs neighbors are Herring Gulls, and they’ve been nesting on my roof, presumably since before I moved in. That May, I’d heard their parents’ quiet “mew” calls as they negotiated a site for the nest. Then one day they appeared with mouthfuls of twigs and leaves. During […]
Maine Audubon Annual Loon Count to Take Place July 19
The tremolo, the hoot, the wail, the yodel—some say that loon calls are among the best sounds in nature. One thing is for sure: People in Maine love “their” loons! Year after year, they get up early in mid July and head out, no matter what the weather, to take part in the Maine Audubon […]
Scarborough Marsh update: book your boat tours now!
The weather has been warming up and that means people have been out paddling boats around Scarborough Marsh! After what seemed like never-ending rainy Saturdays in May and June, we’re turning the page to sunny skies and busy days. We’ve had visitors already from 33 of the 50 states and from all over the world […]
Do fireworks disturb wildlife?
We always get questions about fireworks around the Fourth of July, but since the change to Maine’s law in 2012, now allowing Maine municipalities to adopt consumer fireworks ordinances, we hear about more and more conflicts with wildlife and not just around the July holiday. This simple answer is yes, fireworks definitely disturb birds, but […]
Loon Restoration Project Update: The lesson is patience
Above photo: Loon and young at Fields Pond; photo by Wayne Foote “This year, three eggs have been laid on one raft, which is exceptionally rare!” says Maine Audubon Loon Restoration Project lead scientist Tracy Hart. Her note reveals her delight in the ways loons continue to surprise us. “Sometimes,” she says, “a new egg […]
Maine Audubon Comments on CMP’s New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) Conservation Plan
First proposed back in 2017, New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) is a transmission line designed to bring electricity from hydropower facilities in Quebec to consumers in Massachusetts as part of the regional electrical grid. The construction route includes clearing a 150-foot-wide, 53-mile-long line through undeveloped Maine woods between the Canadian border and The Forks […]
School’s out: Our school-year programming recap!
It’s the end of school for many students here in Maine, and in the greater Portland area we are celebrating having worked with 5,000 students this school year (and that doesn’t even include vacation camps, festivals, or our public programming!). Through outdoor exploration, observation, experimentation, songs and games, art and storytelling, and engagement with the […]