LATEST UPDATE: 1 Apr 2022 -- It's not an April Fool's joke, the Steller's Sea-Eagle has been seen in Nova Scotia! This blog will no longer be updated (unless the sea-eagle returns to Maine!) but you can follow the new Nova Scotia: Steller's Sea-Eagle Facebook Group for updates on sightings …
News & Notes
Loon raft building workshops kick off this spring
Kicking off a new 5-year project to help loon breeding success! One component is to build loon rafts. The goal of the raft program is to increase the number of loon chicks hatched through placement and monitoring of nearly 100 loon nesting rafts in territories with low nesting success. When used in …
Backyard Bird of the Month for April: Common Grackle
As spring swells and shakes off the cold grip of winter, early migrants such as the Common Grackle become more…well, common. This bird can be found striding around backyards or gardens carefully searching for grubs and insects in the grass. Grackles belong to a family of birds called Icterids (or …
New Law Will Expand Maine’s Ecological Reserve System
March 31, 2022 (Augusta, ME) – A bill that will expand Maine’s network of ecological reserves to protect more habitat for the state’s rich array of plants, animals, and other species was signed into law by Governor Janet Mills on Tuesday March 29, 2022. State-owned ecological reserves cover less …
Biddeford Youth Wins Maine Junior Duck Stamp for Second Year in a Row
For the second year in a row, a talented young artist from Biddeford has edged out other young artists from across the state to win the Maine Junior Duck Stamp art contest. Ariah Lowell, 13, impressed the judges in a field of extremely talented artists with her oil painting of a Wood Duck in flight …
Make Your BIG NIGHT Last a Week!
Things are starting to spring, and even sing! Our minds often start thinking of spring as birds return to Maine. However, the arrival of Red-winged Blackbirds and Woodcocks are also phenological indicators of something completely different – BIG NIGHT!!! Maine’s incredible reptiles and amphibians, …
Help Us Protect Birds! Volunteers Needed to Monitor Bird/Building Collisions
It's estimated that one million birds die per day around the country after colliding with glass windows. We need your help understanding this problem so we can craft and implement solutions. We are looking for volunteers this spring migration to join us on the early-morning streets of Portland to …
Mid-March Sightings of Things with Scaled Wings
With temperatures going above 60ºF on this Friday afternoon, it wasn't much of a surprise to see insect activity from outside my office window. A quick walk outside produced a couple fun lepidopteran finds (Lepidoptera being the "scale-winged" order of insects that include butterflies and …
Judging Complete for 2022 Junior Duck Stamp Challenge
With more drama than March Madness, the number of tie-breakers today brought the tension high as judges struggled to choose winners from a highly competitive crowd. Forget the NCAA; this is the Maine Junior Duck Stamp Challenge! Five judges gathered at Maine Audubon’s Gilsland Farm center in …