Over the summer, our partners at Maine Association for New Americans (MANA) helped us recruit 12 teens to help us learn about and plant species from the K-5 Wabanaki Studies curriculum at Portland elementary schools. These new plantings will enable teachers and students to visit these plants as they grow and bloom during the school […]
News & Notes
Spot the Asters and Goldenrods Blooming in the Pond Meadow!
Late August is the best time of year to observe many species in the Asteraceae, the Aster family, as their flowers bloom and blanket the landscape in yellow and white. This is specifically true of goldenrods and asters, in the Astereae tribe of the massive Asteraceae family. These species often appear similar but are easier […]
Sprout Lewiston: Ending on a High
A special trip to Acadia National Park marked the culmination of this summer’s Sprout Lewiston, a four-week program for teen girls, run in partnership with Maine Community Integration in Lewiston. MCI “educates and empowers New Mainer girls and women to be confident in themselves, work together, and make positive changes in their communities.” To be […]
How to help monarchs this season
As we enter peak monarch butterfly season, here is the latest on the status of these majestic and vulnerable insects. Monarch butterflies migrate north in a relay race, with three to four generations successively laying eggs and passing the baton to their offspring. In Maine, you will start to see the final generation in late […]
What we did in July!
July went by in the blink of an eye, partly because we were so busy here at Maine Audubon. I wanted to give you all a small sampling of some of the many things that take place at Maine Audubon, so I asked colleagues to send me a snapshot of one fun thing they did […]
Summer Naturalist Weekend at Borestone Mountain: Walk, swim, hike, bird!
High on the shoulder of Borestone Mountain, draping down its flank toward Lake Onawa on one side and the 100-Mile Wilderness on the other, sits Borestone Mountain Audubon Sanctuary. Surrounded by miles of northern hardwood forest and itself full of stands of very old trees, the sanctuary is a haven for breeding birds and diverse […]
What the Supreme Court’s Chevron Deference Ruling Means for Our Work
In late June 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a case with the potential for outsized impacts on the work that Maine Audubon does. The majority decision for Loper Bright Enterprises et al. v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, et al. overturned a longstanding doctrine giving federal agencies the “benefit of the doubt” when executing […]
Maine Audubon Annual Loon Count Set for July 20
Nothing symbolizes summer in Maine quite like the haunting wail of a loon. The urge to help them and make sure that future generations will be able to hear that call is what has galvanized people to turn out, year after year, early on a Saturday morning in July, to count loons and aid in […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for July: Song Sparrow
The song of the male Song Sparrow is one of the most frequently-heard vocalizations across the continent. The exact song varies by region and individual, and individuals will often sing multiple distinct songs, but they always follow a discernable pattern: two to four introductory notes, followed by a trill, and then a jumble of quick […]