The tools now available to help us all learn more about the birds in our area are incredible. Apps like Merlin, for example, allow you to “aim and ID” bird vocalizations. But if you want to remember who the avian songsters are when and wherever you hear them, one of the best learning strategies is Read More
Birding with Jeff and Allison
Do you enjoy watching and learning about birds? In “Birding with Jeff and Allison Wells,” these two lifelong birders share their birding adventures, knowledge, stories, and enthusiasm for birds. Jeff, National Audubon Vice President of Boreal Conservation and a Fellow of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is one of the nation's leading bird experts and conservation biologists, and is author of Birder’s Conservation Handbook. Allison Childs Wells, formerly of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and now Senior Director of Public Affairs at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, is a widely published natural history writer and birder. Jeff and Allison are coauthors of the books, Maine’s Favorite Birds and Birds of Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao: A Site and Field Guide from Cornell Press.
Avian Flu and Maine Birds
As we’ve been talking to friends and meeting fellow birders along the trails, two words seem to be making it into our conversations: avian flu. While we humans have been dealing with the tragic implications of COVID-19, birds have been dealing with their own deadly virus. It’s called Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). For more Read More
Birds, Trees, and the Air We Breathe
Trees and people share the same breath. As Earth Day approached in April, we found ourselves having that discussion. Fascinating, when you think about it. Willows, pines, oaks, spruce—they also share their breath with birds. And with every oxygen-breathing creature on Planet Earth. Every minute of every day, we breathe deep into our lungs the Read More
“Pop-up Pond” Birding
There are many ways to spend time birding in the spring. As for us, we especially enjoy the surprises found by “pop-up pond” birding. To us, it has become a savored spring birding tradition. Sure, springtime birding also means frequent visits to favorite ponds, lakes and rivers. The increasing ice out means an increasing chance Read More
Don’t Listen to the Birds!
At least when it comes to the idea that singing birds mean spring has arrived. Ok, go ahead, listen to them. Enjoy them. Celebrate them anyway you wish. Just don’t believe them. For the last week or so, our neighborhood has erupted in bird song. The cheerful “PEA-ter, PEA-ter, PEA-ter” of a resident Tufted Titmouse Read More
From “Steller” Occasion to “Golden” Opportunity
Maine has always been a destination for celebrities, but perhaps none has attracted so much attention or been seen by as many fans as the Steller’s Sea-eagle. This rare bird has been all over the local, regional, even national news, attracting admirers—including Natural Resources Council of Maine staff and members!—from across Maine and far beyond. Read More
We’re Dreaming of a Gray Christmas
For the last few weeks, we’ve been dreaming of a gray Christmas, but many birders have already had such a dream come true. On December 3 a Gray Kingbird was found near Fortunes Rocks Beach in Biddeford Pool, only about two miles from where another rare flycatcher, an Ash-throated Flycatcher had been found before that. Read More
Blue Jays Doing Pull Ups? Sort of
We all know birds are clever. How they manage to build those beautiful nests, for example, or find their way during migration are questions posed by poets and prophets—and scientists—for centuries. The more we watch them, the more we find out just how clever they are. Blue Jay on feeder. Photo by Konni Wells Mom Read More
Congratulations, You’re a Birder!
“I’m not a birder, but I do enjoy my bird feeders.” We hear this a lot when we’re out and about, birding at a preserve or at a coastal overlook or some other place where others are out enjoying the same place. The conversation usually starts by them asking what we’re seeing for birds, and Read More
