The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is world famous for its work with birds, but did you know that it also has an Elephant Listening Project? In recent decades, forest elephant populations have dramatically declined largely due to poaching, habitat fragmentation, and habitat loss. To help conserve west and central Africa’s tropical forests and forest elephants, the Elephant Listening Project (ELP) utilizes passive acoustic monitoring (PAM). PAM is a non-invasive method that enables evidence-based conservation strategies through large-scale monitoring of elusive, acoustically active species, as well as human disturbance, such as illegal gun hunting and logging. Research Analyst Bobbi Estabrook explains … Continue reading →

Guatemala is a wonderful birding destination with many avian specialties, beautiful scenery, a colorful culture (including the proud Mayan, perhaps the richest indigenous culture remaining in the New World), and some of the best coffee in the world. In March of this year, Doug Hitchcox was a leader of a spectacular trip to view the birds of Guatemala.  The areas that they visited were varied, from the cool pine-oak forests near Antigua and Tecpan (think Pink-headed Warbler) to humid tropical lowland forests in the Petén (the Caribbean slope). The tour started in the Petén with a visit to the Classic … Continue reading →

It’s almost spring and we’ve all got a hankering to get back outside to do some landscaping and gardening. Instead of grabbing the same old plants off the garden center shelves, consider going the native route. Native trees, shrubs, and perennials are the glue that holds our ecosystems together and are directly tied to the health of our environment. All of our backyards could use some extra natives planted in them, but sometimes you don’t have to recreate the wheel; recognizing and preserving the natives we already have growing around us is important too. We will learn how the food … Continue reading →

In the past two decades, our understanding of the navigational and physiological feats that enable birds to cross immense oceans, fly above the highest mountains, or remain in unbroken flight for months at a stretch has exploded. What we’ve learned of these key migrations―how billions of birds circumnavigate the globe, flying tens of thousands of miles between hemispheres on an annual basis―is nothing short of extraordinary. On Tuesday, November 15th, please join York County Audubon for a Zoom presentation: “A World on the Wing” with Scott Weidensaul.  Based on his bestselling book of the same name, author and researcher Scott … Continue reading →

Maine is a top destination for birders, as it’s known for the wonderful species that are regularly found here, as well as a good number of rarities that frequently drop by.  One of those most familiar with this world is Nick Lund, who’s well known to birders throughout Maine and far beyond its borders.  On Tuesday, October 18th,  at 7 p.m., please join us for Nick’s program, “All the Best Birds of Maine,” as Nick will take us on a whirlwind tour of as many of Maine’s “best” birds as he can squeeze into an hour of entertaining facts and … Continue reading →

On Tuesday, September 13th, at 7 p.m., York County Audubon is pleased to host Laurie Pocher who will present a program on the Galapagos.  This program will be held in-person in the Mather Auditorium at the Wells Reserve, and will also be available for viewing via Zoom. This will be our first in-person program in over two years, and we hope you can join us! The program will be held in the Mather Auditorium at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm. The entrance to the Wells Reserve parking lot is off Skinner Mill Rd in Wells, and the auditorium is in the … Continue reading →