This month, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced $1.2 million in funding to “protect and restore fish and wildlife habitat in New England.” This includes a grant of $96,368 to Maine Audubon to improve mature forest habitat for forest-dwelling birds. Our work through this …
News & Notes
Reminder: Keep your hummingbird feeders up
You can tell it is October when we start using words like Selasphorus or Archilochus - these two mouthfuls are the genera of some of the hummingbirds that occur in North America, which could be in your yard right now. Even though mostly all of our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have left Maine by the …
My DC “Fly in” to protect ANWR for wildlife
Although Maine Audubon's lens is usually (and rightly) focused on wildlife and habitat issues within the state of Maine, there are times when issues "from away" warrant our time and attention. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is one of those. Maine is an unparalleled fall destination …
62 species seen at our 2017 Big Sit!
On Saturday we hosted the Big Sit at Maine Audubon's Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth. Over the course of the day, more than 30 people came by to help us count as many birds as we could. Ultimately, we counted 62 species of birds (see the full list), which was 10 more than last year. …
Photos from our Merrymeeting Bay Trip
On Saturday, September 23, Maine Audubon's 48th annual Bald Eagles of Merrymeeting Bay trip left Boothbay Harbor with beautiful, sunny weather. The five-hour round trip took us through a variety of habitats as we cruised on open ocean to the mouth of the Kennebec River, up the river to Merrymeeting …
King Middle School students restore wildlife habitat on school grounds
On Tuesday, October 5, 80 seventh graders at King Middle School in Portland worked with Maine Audubon and horticulture staff from the City of Portland to plant over 60 native wildflowers, shrubs, and trees along the Park Street entrance to the school. This planting project was the culmination of …
Portland superintendent & students go “ponding”
Last Thursday, we welcomed Portland Schools Superintendent Xavier Botana and first graders from Hall Elementary to Gilsland Farm. The group went "ponding" -- building on work the students and teachers at Hall have been doing with Maine Audubon educators on wildlife and habitat conservation. This …
Andy’s Note: Getting outside in October
Happy October, friends. Two words for you this month: Get outside! It is foliage season and nature is dressed in its brightest colors of the year. Not only that, but the woods have a unique aroma in the fall -- and the mosquitoes get scarce. For my part, I've been taking advantage of the cool …
Honoring Carroll Tiernan at Gilsland Farm
We had a lovely memorial gathering and potluck for Carroll Tiernan, who managed our Nature Store for over 30 years, at Gilsland Farm last Sunday. Thank you to all the family and friends who joined us and shared memories of Carroll's indomitable spirit. As we heard on Sunday, one of Carroll's many …