The superstar Steller’s Sea-eagle is back! Last winter, Maine hosted the mega-popular rarity that delighted birders with stops along the midcoast, sending birders and the simply curious alike flocking to places like Georgetown, Boothbay Harbor, and Pemaquid. Unless you live under a rock, you probably remember the flurry of excitement. After all, this is one Read More
birds
Creature Feature: Dark-eyed Junco
Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis Cool facts: The oldest recorded Dark-eyed Junco? At least 11 years, 4 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in West Virginia in 2001. It had originally been banded in 1991, also in West Virginia. Interestingly, a flock of juncos is often referred to as a “blizzard.” Read More
Jeepers Creepers, That’s a Cool Bird
We have been fascinated with Brown Creepers from our earliest birding days. That’s a really long time! By “long time,” we mean back to junior high school days, where Allison caught her first glimpse of this mysterious tree-hugging bird along the forested edges of the Winthrop dump (ya, the foreground was not very scenic!); Jeff Read More
A Worldwide Gift of Birds and Biodiversity
Common Loon. Wood Thrush. Bobolink. Rusty Blackbird. Harlequin Duck. Black-throated Blue Warbler. White-throated Sparrow. Piping Plover. Broad-winged Hawk. This is a tiny fraction of the bird species that are found here in Maine that will benefit from the signing of a new global biodiversity agreement. The signing took place on Monday, December 19, in Montreal, Read More
My Maine This Week: Sanderlings by David Small
Frequent My Maine This Week contributor and NRCM member Dave Small of Old Town, Maine, writes, “Almost a year ago to date, this remembrance of our visit with some sanderlings at Reid State Park. Lots of fun watching them forage in the surf. Charging in then darting out all the time eking out a living.” Read More
Evening Grosbeaks are on the Move
When we think of Evening Grosbeaks, we remember the hordes of them gorging themselves at the double-decker platform feeder at a former family home in Winthrop. We’d watch from the large living room window as the plump golden, black, and white orbs chomped through gobs of sunflower seeds with their enormous bills. Sometimes the flocks Read More
Puffins and a Purposeful Person
Many people think of Dr. Steve Kress as “the puffin man.” He’s widely revered for reestablishing puffin colonies to the coast of Maine, and rightly so. But when it comes to bird conservation, Steve is much more than that. We first met Steve when we were graduate students at Cornell University years ago. (Interestingly, Steve Read More
My Maine This Week: Roger Leisner
Roger Leisner of Augusta, Maine, is a new My Maine This Week photographer, but definitely not new to photography! Roger has photographed Maine people, places, and events for many years. We are glad to have Roger’s photo as this week’s feature. Roger entered this photo into the contest at the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Read More
New Mind-blowing Tool Unveils the Secrets of Bird Migrations
During migration, birds mysteriously come and go—the sudden appearance of ducks in the bay or at your local pond. Maybe you’ve noticed a warbler or sparrow flitting about in the backyard shrubbery that you hadn’t seen the day before—or maybe even for weeks or months? Maybe you wondered where it was headed next? Perhaps you Read More
