On December 1, Volunteer Maine announced that Maine Audubon has officially achieved Service Enterprise Certification, a national recognition awarded to organizations that strategically leverage the skills and talent of volunteers at all levels of their work. This designation places Maine Audubon among the top-performing nonprofits in the country—organizations that don’t just use volunteers, but operate […]
News & Notes
Looking Up: Maine Audubon’s 42nd Annual Loon Count Results Show Positive Signs
Bruce and Gail Small could not stop exclaiming as they navigated their boat in and around the bays, nooks, crannies, and marinas at a busy end of Sebago Lake. It was their fourth year participating in Maine Audubon’s Annual Loon Count. Bruce navigated the boat while Gail recorded each sighting carefully on the map. And […]
Make your own wildlife-friendly ornaments
Making ornaments is a great activity, but the best thing you can do is plant a native plant in your yard that will be a permanent natural food source. Winterberry is beautiful in the winter, and birds love the colorful red berries. Also, consider leaving leaf litter, seedheads, and plant stalks, which are crucial places […]
Backyard Bird of the Month for December: Redpoll
You may see large numbers of uncommon visitors at your feeder this winter. Poor seed crops in the boreal forest this year are forcing arctic and subarctic breeders southward. This type of species movement is called an “irruption.” Among irruptive species this year are Redpolls, small, bouncy finches that travel in large flocks. Their rosy-red […]
Small Wonders: Convergent Evolution
Depending on how online you are, you may have seen the plethora of articles and memes about carcinization. This is the phenomenon of various crustacean lineages eventually evolving into crabs. In Maine we have species of “true crabs,” like the finely-speckled Atlantic Rock Crab (Cancer irroratus). Elsewhere in the world, however, many other animals in […]
NECEC’s Conservation Plan Was Not Fit for Approval
Proposed in 2017, Central Maine Power’s New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line would carry hydropower from Quebec to Massachusetts, requiring a 150-foot-wide, 53-mile corridor through undeveloped woods in Western Maine. Maine Audubon has engaged throughout the entire review process to assess wildlife impacts and push for adequate mitigation outcomes. Developing a Conservation Plan […]
Nurturing Young Environmental Stewards: The SeDoMoCha Collaboration
Becoming a drop of water, acting like a migrating fish, and designing dams– middle school students have enjoyed hands-on nature based learning experiences thanks to Maine Audubon educators. In the fall of 2024, Fields Pond Audubon Center partnered with SeDoMoCha Middle School’s 21CCLC (21st Century Community Learning Center) after-school program to provide hands-on, nature-based learning […]
Back to School on the Narraguagus River
Whether you are a student, teacher, restoration professional, or a family member of one of those, you are well aware of how busy fall can be. Across the state, classrooms fill and settle back into school year routines while stewardship and restoration professionals scramble to finish fieldwork without interns and seasonal staff. Given our mission […]
Students, Native Plants, Art, Community: Beauty emerges in Bangor
A few more exciting stages in the Maine Audubon Mural adventure took place in October! On Thursday, October 16, Bangor Beautiful and Maine Audubon hosted seven classrooms (about 140 students!) from Fairmount School in Bangor for a chilly, all-day planting spree (photo above) along the mural’s upper shelf facing York Street. These aren’t just any […]