News & Notes

Learning that Sticks: Bangor Students Explore Watershed Health

This spring, fifth graders in Ms. Estes’ class at Mary Snow School wrapped up a yearlong investigation into watershed health with an inspiring environmental action project, thanks to support from the NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) grant program. Their learning journey brought them from the top of Copeland Hill in Holden to the […]

The Federal Government is Taking Unprecedented Action Against the Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act is perhaps the most famous and effective wildlife conservation law in the nation, but the Trump Administration has recently proposed a change that would significantly weaken the Act and put species at risk. To understand the threat, it’s important to  first understand how the Endangered Species Act works. Once a species […]

Building for Barn Swallows

In my years of regular birding at Gilsland Farm, I’ve seen several species come, and others go, as breeders on the landscape. These changes are generally caused by changing habitat compositions and of course our warming climate, which has caused historically southern species to now nest here. We typically think of nesting habitats as the […]

The Birds Are Back in Town!

Above photo: A Piping Plover pair on Wells Beach in April. Photo by Coastal Birds Project Technician Kaily Rich The Coastal Birds Project 2025 season is already in full swing and Piping Plovers are busy foraging along the shoreline, making scrapes in the sand, and starting their nests all up and down the Maine coast. […]

Backyard Bird of the Month for May: Barn Swallow

Barn Swallows are a graceful, long-tailed swallow, known for building nests on human structures. After migrating more than 4,500 miles from Central and South America, the swallows begin collecting mud and grass to build their cup nests. They’ll transport between 750–1450 individual mud pellets to form the base, and line the nest with grass and […]

From Classroom to Community: Bangor’s Young Environmental Stewards Take the Lead This Spring!

With spring in full swing, the final chapter of the Penobscot Classrooms journey is coming to life in vibrant, hands-on projects blooming across Bangor. This two-year collaboration between Maine Audubon and Bangor Schools, funded by NOAA’s B-WET (Bay Watershed Education and Training) program, culminates in several community environmental learning projects spearheaded by students. Since 2023, […]

Scarborough Marsh gets ready for the season!

It was cold; it was rainy; but that didn’t stop more than 50 volunteers from showing up with warm and enthusiastic energy to help at the Scarborough Marsh Clean Up this past Sunday, April 27. Not only did they remove lots of trash, folks worked hard to get the center ready for a new season. […]