At 4:25 on an early April Sunday morning the temperature was a chilly 24o, stars littered the floor of the sky, and the air was still as stone granite. I know this because my husband and I were returning from four hours of owling in central Maine. As part of the Maine Owl Monitoring Project, a Read More
birds
“Locally Written” Gift Ideas
If you’re like me, you still have plenty of holiday shopping to do. After all, there’s nearly a full week to go before the Great Unwrapping. When it comes to purchasing presents, I buy locally made gifts as much as possible—and that includes “locally written.” Several NRCM members have some very lovely offerings this year. Read More
New Report Sheds Light on Disappointing Winter
Last winter, I wrote a blog post, Joys of a Maine winter, sharing my love for winter fishing in Maine. But this winter has been disappointing. With the warm December and January, and early spring (summer, really) temperatures, the ice fishing season was much abbreviated. I got out on the ice maybe only five times this Read More
Mercury Causes “Foggy Headed” Loons to Fail as Parents, Possibly Threatening Their Future
By Seth Koenig, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story STANDISH, Maine — When Thom Watson is showing tourists or budding sportsmen around the lakes of Maine, loons are the prized sightings. “In terms of Maine folklore, when I’m with clients, I love to see them, love to hear them and, maybe most of all, Read More
A Birder’s Take on Signs of Spring
Last year around this time, dozens of cars lined up along Route 126 from South Gardiner to Gardiner. Children, along with one or both of their parents, gazed out through the windows or stood nearby as two Coast Guard ice breakers plowed their way up the Kennebec River, slicing through thick layers of ice—an annual Read More
Winter Camping in Maine’s Wilderness: A Reminder to Take Action
“Crunch, crunch, crunch.” The sound of my snowshoes mark our progress slowly down the flowage in northern Maine. Our group of five NRCM members, including our treasurer, Chris Bond (pictured, on the right), is embarking on our annual winter camping trip along this quiet waterway. Traditional camping with toboggans, snowshoes, canvas tents, and portable wood stoves Read More
The Worst Duck-hunting Season Ever
On January 31, 2012, I finally got around to my first blog entry since hunting season started in October. I’ve been delinquent again and I’m sorry about it. But there is something fitting in writing my blog on the last possible day to duck hunt in Maine. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it out hunting that Read More
Creature Feature: Bohemian Waxwing
Unlike most bird species, Bohemian Waxwings do not hold breeding territories, and in winter, they wander in search of large staples of fruits and berries. Typically, they breed from Alaska across northwestern Canada south to British Columbia, with a few breeding records from parts of the northwestern U.S.. But in winter, when their berry supplies become scarce, they wander south, and if we’re lucky, large flocks of these gorgeous birds appear in Maine.
Report Suggests Songbirds, Bats at Risk of Mercury Poisoning
by Kevin Miller Bangor Daily News news story Researchers examining the effects of mercury on wildlife found elevated levels of the neurotoxin in songbirds and bats from Maine to Virginia, prompting the study’s authors to call for more monitoring and stronger conservation measures. Researchers with the BioDiversity Research Institute, based in Gorham, and The Nature Read More
