Please click on the link below to view the Spring 2019 issue of our Harlequin newsletter (with photos in full color!)H
Wildlife ecologist Deborah Perkins brings us an engaging, informative, and visually dramatic show for all ages! Deborah’s experience as a bear biologist included studying black bears and grizzly bears across North America. In Maine, she worked with the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife’s black bear program. Have you ever climbed into a bear’s den? Well, Deb has!
In fact, Deb has worked on various other bird and mammal studies throughout North America including shorebirds in the Canadian Arctic, Canada Lynx in northern Maine, and seals and seabirds in Maine. In this program Deb will bring her Black Bear adventures to life with stories, science, and pictures.
FMI: https://www.firstlighthabitats.com/my-story
https://www.facebook.com/firstlighthabitats
The program will be held in the Mather Auditorium of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm. It’s free and open to the public, and starts at 7 p.m. Come early for refreshments and social time.
Biologist Logan Maxwell recently completed her master’s work at UNH. Her research focused on ways climate change affects birds along our coast. Our saltmarshes provide breeding habitat for a community of uniquely adapted birds that are threatened by the ongoing changes in vegetation, loss of habitat, and increased tidal flooding due to rising sea levels.
Logan’s aim was to figure out how saltmarsh birds might adapt to this changing environment. Birds that live in our saltmarshes are seriously impacted by lunar high tides. These tides are the leading cause of nest failure. Saltmarsh nesting birds are extremely vulnerable to even slight increases in sea level. How might they survive?
Logan is an engaging speaker who relates well to a diverse audience. You will leave this program with a better understanding of factors which concern the birder, motivate the biologist, and threaten our saltmarsh birds. This program is free and open to the public. Come early for refreshments and social time.
The program will be at 7 p.m. in the Mather Auditorium at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm. Free and open to the public. Come early for social time and refreshments.
Thanks to Maine Audubon’s Eric Topper for a great program this week on Bringing Nature Home. He described the many ways in which native plants and animals benefit our environment. Here’s a great list of resources and links:
Bringing Nature Home is Maine Audubon’s new community engagement and habitat stewardship initiative based on the bestselling book of that title by Doug Tallamy. Join Maine Audubon’s Director of Education, Eric Topper, to explore the plants, practices and perks involved in restoring native food webs in our gardens, yards and communities.
Like many places, the landscape of coastal Maine has changed dramatically. Today, gardens, yards, neighborhoods and towns are playing increasingly critical roles in supporting native food webs for birds, pollinators and other wildlife. Our individual efforts to support wildlife can be both intimately rewarding and broadly beneficial.
With an overall focus on Maine birds and their habitats, Topper will introduce what individuals and groups can do, including what plants to choose and how to manage and maintain our gardens for their full ecological function and benefit. He will also discuss the large selection of beautiful native flowers, shrubs and trees we can incorporate into our yards to attract and support a multitude of birds, butterflies and other interesting native wildlife. YCA programs are free and open to the public. Come early for social time and refreshments.
The program will be at 7 p.m. in the Mather Auditorium at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm. Free and open to the public. Come early for social time and refreshments.
Please click on the link below to view the Winter 2019 issue of our Harlequin newsletter (with photos in full color!)
MYBC, in conjunction with York County Audubon and Friends of Hog Island, is sponsoring two scholarships for Coastal Maine Bird Studies for Teens. This intensive 6-day, 5-night program on Hog Island allows enthusiastic young birders to work with some of the country’s best-known birders and ornithologists on field identification, bird ecology and conservation. This program includes the unique opportunity to see Audubon’s seabird restoration work in action, and visit Eastern Egg Rock during the puffin breeding season (weather and sea conditions permitting). The program runs from June 16th to 21st.
The scholarships will pay 80% of the recipient’s cost for program tuition, room and board. Additional funds may be available if an applicant demonstrates financial need. Applicants must be 14-17 years old to attend.
Scott Weidensaul photo
Hog Island on midcoast Maine
YCAS will again be awarding a scholarship for the Educator’s Week program, July 14-19, 2019 on famed Hog Island. Check the Scholarship Programs link under the Community Involvement pull down heading above for more information. The application deadline is March 15th.
York County Audubon is very pleased to present again its popular Gull ID workshop, led by the very knowledgeable birder Derek Lovitch. It’s a two-part workshop, indoors in Wells on Saturday afternoon, Jan 26th, and outdoors in greater Portland on Sunday morning, Jan 27th. It will get you started on unraveling the mysteries of gull identification.
There is a registration fee of $20 for YCA (or Maine Audubon) members and $25 for non-members. Space is limited and advance registration is required. To register, please click on this Event under What’s Coming Up on the right hand side of this webpage, and scroll down to find the form.
Actually, most gulls are not very difficult to tell apart, though adult and juveniles of most species look very different. We’re going to give ourselves confidence with identifying the easier plumage’s of our common species, and then tackle the more challenging intermediate plumage’s and the less-common species.
Iceland Gull in South Portland. Photo by Marie Jordan
Part I of the Workshop on Saturday January 26th will be at the Mather Auditorium of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, and will be divided into two sections (you need not be present for both):
1:00 pm-2:30 pm – Beginning Gull Identification. Using Powerpoint and book resources, we’ll start with the basics of gull identification, such as feather topography and aging. We’ll then focus on our most common species: Ring-billed, Herring, Great Black-backed, Laughing, and Bonaparte’s Gulls.
3:00 pm-4:30 pm – Advanced Gull Identification. Now comfortable with the basics, we’ll move on to the uncommon species: Lesser Black-backed, Iceland, Glaucous, and Black-legged Kittiwake. Next up will be the rarities: Little, Black-headed, and yes, even “Thayer’s.” We’ll touch upon “Megas” such as Mew, Slaty-backed, and Sabine’s, and we’ll discuss hybrids. Finally, we’ll apply what we have learned to tackle and understand some identification quandaries, such as the famous “Westbrook Gull” before we finish up with some photo quizzes to test our new-found knowledge.
For Part II on Sunday, January 27th, we’ll be in the greater Portland area from 8:00am – noon. We’ll meet at the Back Cove parking lot on Preble Street Ext. (opposite the Hannaford’s) to carpool around the area to apply what we have learned. We’ll spend some time with our most common species: Herring, Ring-billed, and Great Black-backed, and then seek out Iceland and Glaucous, and perhaps we’ll find something even better!
We hope that you will join Derek for this workshop to foster appreciation for this fascinating group of birds. Derek (with his wife Jeannette) owns and operates Wild Bird Supply in Freeport. He’s the author of “How to Be a Better Birder” and “Birdwatching in Maine, A Site Guide,” the most comprehensive guide to where to bird in Maine.
Beginning on Christmas Day in 1900, the Audubon Society has been sponsoring Christmas Bird Counts (CBC’s) to help monitor the health and status of bird populations throughout North America. In that first year, there were 25 count circles with a total of 27 birders. Now, there are over 2300 count circles each year with over 70,000 birders participating, with the locations stretching from Alaska to South America.
Each year, York County Audubon sponsors two counts. The Southern York County circle extends from Kittery to Ogunquit, while the Biddeford/Kennebunkport count circle reaches from Kennebunk to Saco. Each count territory is a geographic circle, carved out into six or more territories. Each territory has a team that scours it during “count day” looking for all bird species, and recording the numbers seen of each. It can, at times, be a bit more art than science, as we attempt to count – but not double count – the birds we find. We also have supporters who monitor their home feeders during the day and contribute their totals. To avoid double counting, we ask them only to report the greatest number of each species that they see at any one time during the day.
At the end of the day (at 5 p.m.), we meet to compile the counts and share highlights. Once compiled, the counts are forwarded to National Audubon for their master compilation. Both locally and nationally, the totals are reviewed to assess trends in the populations of all species. While the totals can vary fairly dramatically year to year due to the weather that happens to grace us on count day, the bigger picture over time can be very informative.
This year, the Southern York County CBC will be held on Monday, December 17th, while the Biddeford/Kennebunkport CBC will be on Saturday, December 29th. The Southern YC compilation will be held in the Mather Auditorium at the Wells Reserve, while the Bidd/Kport compilation will held at the Church on the Cape in Cape Porpoise. If you might like to find out about participating in one or both, please contact Monica Grabin at 207-985-3342 or grabin@roadrunner.com for the Southern York County CBC, or Kathy Donahue at 207-967-4102 or kadona11@roadrunner.com for the Biddeford/Kennebunkport CBC.
