Somehow it’s August! The piping plover breeding season is beginning to wind down, birds are taking off from Maine beaches to migrate South for the winter, and Maine Audubon’s Coastal Bird Crew is breathing a little easier. 170 young birds fledged off of beaches from Georgetown to Ogunquit is no …
News & Notes
Andy’s Note: Summer is flying
Wow, where did July go? I guess it wasn’t just the rain that was evaporating. I hope that you and your families enjoyed the month and are preparing for a fun filled August. At Maine Audubon, July brought continuing success with this year’s Piping Plovers fledglings (despite some very busy …
August is all about art at Maine Audubon
There is a long tradition of art at Maine Audubon, and this month is full of options for all ages to connect creativity and nature. In the Shadow of a Pine: Black Poets from Maine Respond to David Driskell We were delighted to be approached by our friends of the Portland Museum of Art and …
August Plants Sale Update
August 2021 Plants Sale Update: Make the dog days of this summer about cats -- caterpillars that is! August 1 always marks the halfway point of what we consider Maine’s growing and planting season (May 15 to October 15), essentially the five-month space between hard frosts. This year, the rainy …
The 2021 Annual Loon Count is in the books!
Once again, as they have every year since 1983, volunteers across Maine set their alarm clocks early, gulped down some coffee, and were out on lakes by 7 a.m. to record observations about Common Loons in the Annual Loon Count. For half an hour, more than a thousand volunteers were paddling kayaks, …
Monitoring Bird Illness (July 2021)
There is an unknown disease that has been causing bird deaths in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States over the past two months. This blog post will be used to share updates and useful information about the disease, particularly as it pertains to Maine birds. At this time (11 July …
July Plants Update: Plants for a Changing Climate
The heat has finally broken. Those final few days of June were certainly tough on people, plants, and animals. While that heat wave was clearly a weather event, it’s a good reminder that things seem to be changing much more broadly; it’s more than just record highs on specific dates and what’s doing …
Maine Audubon and partners receive grant for loon restoration
In 2003, 98,000 gallons of oil spilled in Buzzards Bay from a tank barge called Bouchard B-120. An estimated 531 Common Loons, overwintering in Buzzards Bay (off the coasts of MA and RI), died from direct or indirect impacts from this spill. Now, a natural resources damage settlement from this …
Andy’s blog: Allagash trip reinforces need to act on behalf of wildlife
Slosh, slosh, slosh. As I lay on my back in a tiny backpacking tent just steps away from the gently flowing Allagash River, I could hear a steady sloshing. At first, the rhythmic sound made me think of my grandchildren and the sounds they make as they splash through springtime puddles in their …