On May 1, Maine Audubon's Director of Finance and Human Resources, Dorothy (Dori) H. Barnes (May 4, 1966–May 1, 2020)–our passionate, hard-working, larger-than-life, fierce, loyal friend–left this world way too soon. Dori always spoke the truth and she kept us honest. Generous and inclusive, she …
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Connections: Releasing the turtle into the pond!
In case you missed it, Catherine Griset did a live broacast at 10 am Tuesday morning (May 12) to release a baby snapping turtle into the pond at the Gilsland Farm Audubon Center. Catherine Griset wrote about her seven months fostering the baby snapping turtle. Watch this video to see her release the …
Seven Months in the Life of a Snapping Turtle
Seven months ago, a nest of Snapping Turtle eggs hatched at the edge of the parking lot at Gilsland Farm. You can read about that eventful day and the decision to overwinter one of the hatchlings in a previous blog post, Introducing Our New Roommate: A Baby Snapping Turtle. After consulting …
Family Fun Connections: Animal Homes and Nests
One unexpected outcome of spending all this extra time at home has been seeing what other creatures find shelter in my neighborhood, too! This week, my challenge to you is to look for places where wildlife live, hide, and nest all around you. And once you see something, take a closer look! What I …
Elementary Connections: Spring Wildflowers
What woodland flowers bloom first in our area? How can you tell them apart? What insects or animals help these early blooming flowers reproduce and grow through pollination? Ephemeral: What does that mean? When talking about the early-blooming flowers that pop up in forests around New England, …
Good luck, young salmon!
If you've followed along with our adventures in salmon-rearing in previous years, you know that May is when we typically release our Atlantic Salmon fry into the Presumpscot River watershed. Of course, this year has been anything but typical, with participants in the Fish Friends program scrambling …
Connections: Great Migrations, Part 1
Nature in the Middle The sights and sounds of birds around us are increasing every day as we move further into spring. This annual symphony of color and song is the result of something called migration. Migration is a strategy used by many bird species to survive seasonal changes in their …
Connections: Attract Orioles To Your Yard!
Baltimore Orioles are back! We're not talking about the baseball team (though we can't wait for the Sox to play again!), we're talking about one of the brightest and most beautiful bird species in the entire country. The first of these migratory birds have returned to Maine just a few days ago, …
Connections: Nature’s Reading List
Looking for ways for you and your family to stay connected to nature during this time of social distancing? While getting outside and exploring is certainly the best way to experience nature, sometimes that just isn't possible. So, grab a book and take in some nature that way. There are many …