Once inside the front door of the Nature Center, summer visitors to the Fields Pond Audubon Center have been greeted by a display of Monarch Butterflies. Beginning as either eggs or small caterpillars, we collected these from the plethora of milkweed plants that grow all around the Nature Center. …
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Big Update on a Successful Piping Plover Season!
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 …
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 …
Dune Grass Habitat: Essential For More Than The Birds
I recently was surveying for some of the last piping plover chicks of the season on Old Orchard Beach when a woman approached me, pointing to the bright green runners of beach grass at my feet. "What type of grass is that?", she asked to which I replied, "dune grass", caught off guard by such a …
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 2021 Coastal Bird Crew Update: Chicks Are Off The Ground
July is here, and while fewer Piping Plover nests are popping up on sandy beaches, a lot of work remains for the Coastal Birds Crew to ensure that young flightless chicks successfully fledge off Maine’s coast. Piping Plover chicks fledge or can fly short distances on the beach within 25 days of …