Embrace winter through wildlife this season at Maine Audubon’s Fields Pond Audubon Center. We’ve got a month full of activities that can help connect you and your family to wildlife and the outdoors, while still celebrating the holiday season.
Fields Pond Audubon Center, just seven miles from Bangor, is a beautiful 229-acre wildlife sanctuary with a 191-acre pond and trails winding through fields, wetland, forest, and lakeshore. The walking trails are free and open to the public from dawn to dusk daily.
First up is our Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, December 9, from 10 am to 3 pm.
At our Fields Pond Audubon Nature Store, you’ll find unique local products including jewelry and nature-based pottery, books, home goods, holiday ornaments, as well as gift memberships and gift certificates. We’ll also have these local Maine artisans on site with their unique products:
Madder Root—hand-printed goods
The Glass Feather Cove—handcrafted stained glass artwork
Hillary Manson Art—brightly colored and whimsical art
ADHD Collective—handmade botanical jewelry
Emma’s Abnormalities—ceramics
Q.D. Loon “Repurposing for the Birds”—one of a kind repurposed bird feeders
SPECIAL BONUS: Our naturalists will lead Scavenger Hunts at 10 am and noon, so you can leave your kids to us while you shop. We’ll take them on a 30-minute wildlife-based scavenger hunt on the trails around the sanctuary!
On Saturday, December 16, at 3 pm, bring the whole family for our Annual Welcome Winter Celebration. We start with a read aloud of Eve Bunting’s classic story, The Night Tree. We’ll then create wildlife-friendly ornaments to share with Maine’s creatures that make our sanctuary their home in winter. Weather permitting, we’ll go outside to hang the ornaments on our own night tree. Come relax and spend time with your loved ones as we get ready to welcome the longest night of the year. Warm beverages and snacks await. Advance registration is recommended, though drop-ins are welcome if space is available.
Fee: Maine Audubon member families: $10, Nonmember families: $12. (If your family group is more than 5 people, please give us a call 207-989-2591).
In December we’re also kicking off our first ever Fields Pond Audubon Center 2024 Winter Photo Contest! Visit the beautiful wildlife sanctuary with a 191-acre pond and trails winding through fields, wetland, forest, and lakeshore—all just seven miles from Bangor. Submit your favorite winter photos that highlight the sanctuary’s natural beauty!
The contest opens December 4, 2023, and runs through Friday, January 26, 2024. Photos should be taken outdoors of winter scenery on the Fields Pond Audubon Center’s sanctuary grounds. For details and to submit photos, visit maineaudubon.org/fieldspondphotocontest. The winning photograph will be framed and featured at the Fields Pond Audubon Center lobby for one year and the winner will also receive a bundle of signature Maine Audubon swag!
