Category Archives: Program

Falconry: Extreme Birdwatching Here in Maine– with Scott McNeff – Tuesday, November 18th, in-person and via Zoom

York County Audubon Posted on by

Scott McNeff is a lifelong birder who has been practicing falconry for over 30 years. He is past President of the North American Falconers Association and currently serves on the board of two international falconry organizations. Scott is also a federally licensed bird bander, who got his start under the instruction of the late June Ficker, at the Wells Reserve. Scott has trained, handled and hunted with nearly all of the diurnal raptors of North America, as well as quite a few exotic species, but is particularly passionate about red-tailed hawks, goshawks, and merlins. He will be discussing the crossover … Continue reading →

A Video of our October 2025 Program: A 2024 Lower 48 Big Year – with Ethan and Ingrid Whitaker

York County Audubon Posted on by

This program was presented on October 21, 2025 at the Wells Reserve and via Zoom. For a description of the program, you can scroll down to the original post for the program. To access the recording, please click on the image below to watch it on this page, or you can click on “Watch on Youtube” at the bottom of that image. (We also recommend clicking on the little white square in the bot right corner of that viewing screen to convert the image to “full screen”). Please note that due to technical difficulties, only a portion of each Powerpoint … Continue reading →

A Video of our September 2025 Program: Community Farming & Grassland Birds: A Local Conservation Strategy – with Noah Perlut

York County Audubon Posted on by

This program was presented on September 16, 2025 at the Wells Reserve and via Zoom. For a description of the program, you can scroll down to the original post for the program. To access the recording, please click on the image below to watch it on this page, or you can click on “Watch on Youtube” at the bottom of that image. (We also recommend clicking on the little white square in the bot right corner of that viewing screen to convert the image to “full screen”).

Continue reading →

A 2024 Lower 48 Big Year – with Ethan and Ingrid Whitaker – Tuesday, October 21st, in-person and via Zoom

York County Audubon Posted on by

York County Audubon invites the community to a special program at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, October 21, when Ethan and Ingrid Whitaker will share the story of their 2024 Lower 48 State Big Year. Over the course of a single year, the Whitakers traveled from coast to coast and border to border, observing 708 species of birds. They will share their adventures with photographs, videos, and funny stories from the road. Together, Ethan and Ingrid planned and executed an ambitious year of birding with an unorthodox strategy that resulted in a hundred more birds than expected. From high deserts to … Continue reading →

Community Farming & Grassland Birds: A Local Conservation Strategy – with Noah Perlut – Tuesday, September 16, in-person and via Zoom

York County Audubon Posted on by

Bobolink and Savannah Sparrow populations are declining throughout the Northeast.  While intensifying grassland management and loss of breeding habitat are important factors in these declines, these birds spend ~9 months of the year away from the breeding grounds.  We used miniaturized tracking devices to reveal mysteries of Bobolink and Savannah Sparrow movement ecology, connecting what happens to them on the breeding grounds to the rest of their life-cycle. Noah Perlut leads the Perlut Lab, which explores how human habitat management effects the ecoloty of diverse species and diverse habitats, studying mostly birds but some mammals too. The Lab uses state … Continue reading →

A Video of our June 2025 Program: Iceland: Land of the Midnight Sun and Magnificent Birds – with Shawn Carey

York County Audubon Posted on by

This program was presented on June 17, 2025 at the Wells Reserve and via Zoom. For a description of the program, you can scroll down to the original post for the program. To access the recording, please click on the image below to watch it on this page, or you can click on “Watch on Youtube” at the bottom of that image. (We also recommend clicking on the little white square in the bot right corner of that viewing screen to convert the image to “full screen”).

Continue reading →

Iceland: Land of the Midnight Sun and Magnificent Birds – with Shawn Carey – preceded by (brief!) Annual Meeting – Tuesday, June 17th in-person and via Zoom

York County Audubon Posted on by

Iceland abounds in natural splendor: Waterfalls and glaciers, panoramic views and otherworldly landscapes. It is a land of Northern Lights and midnight sun. And it is the realm of one of the world’s most charming and iconic birds: the Atlantic Puffin. But Iceland is home to much more. During the summer months, Iceland’s round-the-clock sunlight draws in a panoply of birds: Razorbills and guillemots, phalaropes and godwits, plovers and terns, all accompany the puffins in nesting frenzy. Come along with wildlife photographer and Mass Audubon instructor Shawn Carey as he shares images and stories from his journey spent on two … Continue reading →

A Video of our May Program: York County: Birds, Birders and Birding – with Britney Fox Hover

York County Audubon Posted on by

This program was presented on May 20, 2025 at the Wells Reserve and via Zoom. For a description of the program, you can scroll down to the original post for the program. Please note that there were some technical difficulties that lasted from the 5 minute to the 9 minute mark of the video, but that the program then successfully resumed. To access the recording, please click on the image below to watch it on this page, or you can click on “Watch on Youtube” at the bottom of that image. (We also recommend clicking on the little white square … Continue reading →

York County: Birds, Birders and Birding – with Britney Fox Hover – – Tuesday, May 20th at 7 p.m. in person and via Zoom

York County Audubon Posted on by

Curious to know more about what birds can be found in York County?  Birding close to home or where you often visit is an amazing way to deepen your understanding and curiosity about the world around you.  Plain and simple, York County is a spectacular place to bird! In this program, we’ll talk about some of the incredible birds that visit York County from the far reaches of the globe and go on a visual tour to see some of them.  We will also explore the seasonality of York County and how the birds change with the flow of the … Continue reading →

A Video of our April Program: The Yellowstone River Osprey Project with Marco Restani

York County Audubon Posted on by

This program was presented on April 15, 2025 at the Wells Reserve and via Zoom. For a description of the program, you can scroll down to the original post for the program. To access the recording, please click on the image below to watch it on this page, or you can click on “Watch on Youtube” at the bottom of that image. (We also recommend clicking on the little white square in the bottom right corner of that viewing screen to convert the image to “full screen”).

Continue reading →

The Yellowstone River Osprey Project with Marco Restani – Tuesday, April 15th at 7 p.m. – in-person and via Zoom

York County Audubon Posted on by

In 2009 a few members of the Yellowstone Valley Audubon Society in Billings, Montana initiated a field study of Ospreys. They were interested in monitoring the distribution and abundance of the local population, and in helping management agencies and electric utilities reduce human-Osprey conflicts. That first year 3 members found 22 nests. Today over 40 volunteers monitor nearly 100 nests along the Yellowstone River in collaboration with power companies, landowners, and government agencies. This presentation will describe how nest monitors are trained to become proficient in Osprey observation and data collection. From the efforts of these dedicated volunteers, you will … Continue reading →

A Video of our March program: Behavior, Society, and Sex in Adolescent Birds with Dr. Liam Taylor

York County Audubon Posted on by

This program was presented on March 18, 2025 at the Wells Reserve and via Zoom. For a description of the program, you can scroll down to the original post for the program. To access the recording, please click on the image below to watch it on this page, or you can click on “Watch on Youtube” at the bottom of that image. (We also recommend clicking on the little white square in the bottom right corner of that viewing screen to convert the image to “full screen”).

Continue reading →

Behavior, Society, and Sex in Adolescent Birds with Dr. Liam Taylor – Tuesday, March 18th at 7 p.m. – in-person and via Zoom

York County Audubon Posted on by

Most birds have some growing up to do before they start to breed. Despite reaching full size within weeks or months of hatching, some species will not raise offspring for years, or even decades. Dr. Liam Taylor explores the strange things that some birds need to do before they reproduce—from developing a territory on a rocky island to finding a dance partner on the rainforest floor. Looking back through millions of years of evolution, we will uncover how behavioral, social, and sexual development continues to create new challenges and opportunities for adolescent birds. Liam Taylor is an ornithologist and evolutionary … Continue reading →

The Hidden History of American Shorebirds – An online talk with Kenn Kaufman – Monday, February 10th at 6 p.m.

York County Audubon Posted on by

The shorebirds – sandpipers, plovers, and their kin – are beautiful, but telling the many species apart can be a confusing challenge for birders. However, the level of confusion was much greater in the early 1800s, when naturalists were struggling to classify all these birds for the first time. Some species were described to science over and over, under different names, while some other species were overlooked completely for decades. And for many years, everyone underestimated the amazing migrations of these long-distance travelers. In this program, based on a chapter from his most recent book, Kenn Kaufman will describe the … Continue reading →

Old Forests: Jewels in the crown of the Maine landscape? – a Zoom program with Malcolm Hunter – Tuesday, January 21st at 7 p.m.

York County Audubon Posted on by

The Maine landscape remains widely covered by forests but our current forests are very young compared to the pre-European landscape, when large, old trees were dominant.  These old forests may be treasure troves of hidden biodiversity.  Why this matters and what we should do about it will be discussed by Malcolm Hunter, Professor Emeritus of Wildlife Ecology from the University of Maine. Dr. Hunter’s research experience covers a variety of ecosystems and organisms – birds, amphibians, mammals, reptiles, insects, vascular plants, rivers, lakes, wetlands, grasslands, and more – but his major focus is on forest ecosystems and the maintenance of … Continue reading →

A Video of our November 2024 program – Wandering Rivers, Nameless Mountains-Drawing the Arctic – with Michael Boardman

York County Audubon Posted on by

This program was presented on November 19, 2024 at the Wells Reserve, but we had difficulty with the video feed for our Zoom link. Michael was gracious enough to present it again for us via Zoom on December 3rd, and a recording of that encore presentation is available below. For a description of the program, you can scroll down to the original post for the November program. To access the recording, please click on the image below to watch it on this page, or you can click on “Watch on Youtube” at the bottom of that image. (We also recommend … Continue reading →

Wandering Rivers, Nameless Mountains-Drawing the Arctic – with Michael Boardman – Tuesday, November 19th at 7 pm – in-person and via Zoom

York County Audubon Posted on by

In 2019, North Yarmouth wildlife artist Michael Boardman was selected to be the artist-in-residence for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Northern Alaska. The landscape has become embedded in Michael’s focus and artwork, and he has returned several times to explore the natural history of the Refuge, recording his experiences through sketching. In May, 2019, Michael had planned to make a presentation for us on his residency, but we had to cancel it due to Covid.  The following month, he did our first Zoom program.  Since then, he has returned to the Arctic several times, and we’re delighted to host … Continue reading →

A Video of our October 2024 Program – The Science of Watching, The Art of Seeing, and the Power of Nature Absorption

York County Audubon Posted on by

This program was presented on October 15, 2024 at the Wells Reserve and via Zoom. For a description of the program, you can scroll down to the original post for the program. To access the recording, please click on the image below to watch it on this page, or you can click on “Watch on Youtube” at the bottom of that image. (We also recommend clicking on the little white square in the bottom right corner of that viewing screen to convert the image to “full screen”). Please note that Chris stepped out of the camera view at the beginning … Continue reading →

A Video of our September 2024 Program – Falkland Islands – The Penguin Adventure – with Shawn Carey

York County Audubon Posted on by

This program was presented on September 17, 2024 at the Wells Reserve and via Zoom. For a description of the program, you can scroll down to the original post for the program. To access the recording, please click on the image below to watch it on this page, or you can click on “Watch on Youtube” at the bottom of that image. (We also recommend clicking on the little white square in the bottom right corner of that viewing screen to convert the image to “full screen”).

Continue reading →

The Science of Watching, The Art of Seeing, and the Power of Nature Absorption – with Chris Lewey, Sharon Fisher and Jane Lounsbury – Tuesday, October 15th at 7 pm – in-person and via Zoom

York County Audubon Posted on by

There are profound connections between humanity and our natural world, offering a refreshing perspective that can resonate deeply.  We can connect with Nature on many different levels.  As Benjamin Franklin once said, “What signifies knowing the names, if you know not the nature of things?” We make connections with scientific facts and spiritual relationships that open us to different perspectives and increase the awareness of the sacred all around us. Nature Absorption brings about physical, mental, and spiritual transformations. The Science of Watching, The Art of Seeing, and the Power of Nature Absorption was written by Chris Lewey, Sharon Fisher … Continue reading →