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 […]
News
Our Ecuador Success & Why Jamaica Needs Us Next
From 22 November through 1 December, Maine Audubon led a tour with Field Guides to Ecuador, visiting the eastern Andes to track down some of the many birds and other wildlife that inhabit this region. This tour was based out of the famous San Isidro Lodge, situated at 6,800ft, where we explored their grounds as […]
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 […]
Starting Early in Bangor
This month, Fields Pond Audubon environmental educators Melissa Gallagher and Sarah Raymond-Boyan partnered with Bangor Public School PreK classroom teachers for the launch of an exciting year-long Nature Connection Program specifically designed to bring the wonders of seasonal nature learning directly into early childhood education. The fall theme, “I am a scientist,” focuses on sensory […]
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 […]