While we often focus on our Piping Plover friends, another endangered species we protect is Least Terns. Least Terns are small seabirds listed as endangered in Maine; they were the first species listed under Maine’s own Endangered Species Act. Least Terns and their more abundant cousins, Common Tern, can often be seen flying gracefully over […]
Piping Plover
Chicks on the beach!
Exciting update from the coastal birds crew: On Monday, May 27, we saw the first Piping Plover chicks on one of our Maine beaches! Though no one was able to capture any photos from that day–the chicks are quite small, move around a lot, and are super fast–we are delighted at the prospect of chicks […]
Commonly Misidentified Species: Plovers
COMMONLY MISIDENTIFIED SPECIES: It�s not always easy to identify Maine�s most beloved birds. Maine Audubon biologists and naturalists commonly field identification questions along the lines of �is it this, or is it that?�. Many species look similar from a distance, but there are some great telltale signs, both visual markers and behaviors, that can help […]
Four Lessons I Learned from Working with Piping Plovers this Summer
Hello! I�m Emma Sloan, a biologist with Maine Audubon�s Plover Crew. We have spent this summer protecting the endangered Piping Plover along 22 beaches in southern Maine. As a new graduate and new resident of Maine, I have learned so much through this work. So, before the season ends, I wanted to share the lessons […]
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 small feat for biologists from […]
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 […]
Visiting Nesting Piping Plovers with Congresswoman Chellie Pingree
Maine Audubon had the honor of visiting with some nesting Piping Plovers at Popham Beach State Park this morning with Maine’s 1st District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, updating her on our progress protecting these federally threatened shorebirds.� Congresswoman Pingree has long been a champion for wildlife and biodiversity, and now plays a critical role in the […]
The Coastal Birds Crew 2021 season is off and running
Spring is here and that means so are the Piping Plovers and Least Terns. The 2021 Coastal Birds Crew is already hard at work scanning sandy dunes and seaweed-covered wrack lines from Georgetown to Ogunquit. Over the past few weeks, the crew�s primary focus has been surveying for Piping Plover tracks and scrapes: small circular […]
“Why I support Maine Audubon on #GivingTuesday”
Today is #GivingTuesday. Throughout the day, we’ll be sharing a few perspectives on Maine Audubon from members of our community. One of them is nine-year old Ivy, who attended Maine Audubon camp this summer. In a handwritten note she shared with us afterward, Ivy talked about how much fun she had at camp, and all […]