Category Archives: Zoom

What’s That Bird I’m Hearing? – a Zoom program with Doug Hitchcox on Tuesday, May 17th

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Take your birding to a new dimension, literally! Learning to identify birds by their songs or calls will help you find more birds, and aurally read the landscape. In this program we’ll focus on the skills to identify and recognize different vocalization, rather than just playing hundreds of recordings, but there will be plenty of examples! On Tuesday, May 17th, at 7 p.m., York County Audubon is pleased to host YCA Board member Doug Hitchcox who will present this program on “birding by ear.”   Doug is the Outreach Coordinator for the Maine Bird Atlas and Staff Naturalist for Maine Audubon. … Continue reading →

Hummingbirds – Recent Research and Spectacular Species We Have Met – a Zoom program with Dana and Bob Fox – Tuesday, April 19th

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Lifelong birders Dana and Bob Fox, who have traveled extensively on 6 continents and visited more than 40 countries, will present this program which focuses on a magnificent group of birds: the hummingbirds. A male Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the Fox’s NH cabin – photo by Steve Whitebread Studies have given us insights into the wonders of hummingbirds. This talk will provide information including: what is a hummingbird, how they did they evolve, how do their nectar gathering and pollination activities compare with bees and butterflies, what do they eat besides nectar, what are their feeding techniques, what is torpor, how … Continue reading →

Our Smallest Raptor: the Northern Saw-whet Owl – with Zoe Korpi – Tuesday, March 22nd

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With a size comparable to a soda can, the Northern Saw-whet owl is the smallest raptor in eastern North America. Due to the secretive nature of this species, it wasn’t until the 1960’s that its migratory behavior was widely accepted. Much of what we know about this species today is thanks to extensive banding efforts. Project Owlnet is one such effort striving to better understand this illusive migrant through a growing network of banding stations using standardized methodologies across North America. While our knowledge of this species has grown, many mysteries remain. Zoe Korpi delves into the research unraveling the … Continue reading →

Snowy Owl: A Visual Natural History – with Paul Bannick – Tuesday, February 15th

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“If your average picture is worth a thousand words, a Paul Bannick wildlife photograph is worth 20,000. Having worked with wildlife photographers for articles in Audubon, Smithsonian, Sierra, National Wildlife and other magazines for 45 years, I have yet to encounter one who better captures the magic and beauty of the natural world.”  Ted Williams, former Editor of Audubon Magazine On Tuesday, February 15th at 7 p.m., York County Audubon is honored to again host award winning author and photographer Paul Bannick. Please join Paul for an intimate visual exploration of the life history of the Snowy Owl, based upon … Continue reading →

Partnering With Beavers to Heal the Planet – with Ben Goldfarb – Tuesday, November 16th

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The consequences of losing beavers were profound: streams eroded, wetlands dried up, and species from salmon to swans and other birds lost vital habitat. Today, a growing coalition of “Beaver Believers”—including scientists, ranchers, and passionate citizens—recognizes that ecosystems with beavers are far healthier, for humans and non-humans than those without them. Ben Goldfarb is an award-winning environmental journalist and an excellent speaker. His recent book Eager: The Surprising Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter reveals that our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is wrong, distorted by the fur trade that once trapped … Continue reading →

Peregrine Falcon Restoration in Acadia National Park – with Patrick Kark – Tuesday, September 21st

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The Peregrine Falcon is thought to be the fastest animal on earth. Want to learn more?  On Tuesday, September 21st, York County Audubon will present a Zoom program entitled:  Peregrine Falcon Restoration in Acadia National Park with Park Ranger Patrick Kark. The Peregrine Falcon was one of the first species to be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, and the species’ recovery is one of the Act’s greatest success stories. Acadia National Park has a storied history in the Peregrine Project.  Join Ranger Patrick Kark as he discusses this success story and tells of the interesting places Acadia’s falcons … Continue reading →

Birds of SE Asia: a focus on Cambodian Natural History – with Howie Nielsen – Tuesday, June 15th

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Ever wondered what birds might be found in Cambodia?  On Tuesday, June 15th, York County Audubon will present a Zoom program entitled: Birds of SE Asia: a focus on Cambodian Natural History with Howie Nielsen. Doctor Howie Nielsen is a world class birder who lives in Lincoln County, Maine. Getting hooked on birds when he was in graduate school, Howie’s birding adventures have allowed him to be involved in studying flora and fauna while traveling in multiple countries. He’s now a retired dentist who has volunteered his services in six different countries. For 10 years Howie was in and out … Continue reading →

Ravens, Wolves and People – with John Marzluff – Tuesday, May 18th

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On May 18th, Wildlife professor John Marzluff will bring us an exciting program on recent work in Yellowstone National Park which looked at interactions between ravens, wolves, and people.  Ravens are known to scavenge food from wolves and people but the relationship has not been well studied. In 2019 Matthias Loretto and presenter John Marzluff began tagging ravens in Yellowstone with radio transmitters that are similar to the transmitter in your mobile device.  After tagging and following many ravens they were able to relate raven’s movements to the activities of people and wolves. From this the scientists gained a better … Continue reading →

Decades of Change in Maine’s Birds – with Doug Hitchcox – Tuesday, April 20th

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If you’ve lived in Maine for a while, you’ve probably noticed that bird populations have changed and continue to do so.  Just a few decades ago, birds such as the Northern Cardinal, the Tufted Titmouse, the Red-Bellied Woodpecker and the Carolina Wren were uncommon sightings here, if seen at all.  Birds such as the Eastern Bluebird were much fewer in number.  In 1949, Robert Palmer’s then definitive Maine Birds described the “Eastern” Cardinal as “a very rare visitant,” with most sightings being “escaped captives.” As for the Tufted Titmouse, he noted there was one specimen in the University of Maine … Continue reading →

The Birds-of-Paradise Project: Natural history media for science and conservation – with Edwin Scholes – Tuesday, March 16th

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Among the most amazing creatures in the world, more than 40 species of birds-of-paradise live in New Guinea’s swaths of the Indo-Pacific rainforest region, one of the largest intact tropical forested areas on Earth. The stars of the show in National Geographic and PBS Nature TV documentaries, the birds-of-paradise have become icons of New Guinea’s rainforests. Their extraordinary beauty is unlike that of any other birds on Earth, but it’s their wide range of bizarre breeding behaviors that captivates audiences—from elaborate dancing and flaring their elegant plumes to shape-shifting displays that make these exotic species seem like avian transformers. Edwin … Continue reading →

The Amazing Winter Crow Roost – with Bob Fox and Dana Duxbury-Fox – Tuesday, Feb 16th

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“It blows your mind. Thousands of them. They just keep rolling in.”  It’s a spectacular display of sight and sound, a massive swarm of as many as 20,000 crows, a sky blotted black by their numbers, a crescendo of cawing that slowly fades to an eerie silence, night closing in. As it has for at least 30 years, this flock of mostly American crows arrives in Lawrence, Mass. in November, and carries out some of the primordial behaviors that still puzzle the amateur birders and professional ornithologists who study what many of them believe are the world’s most clever and … Continue reading →

A Year in the Life of North American Owls – with Paul Bannick – Tuesday, January 19th

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“If your average picture is worth a thousand words, a Paul Bannick wildlife photograph is worth 20,000. Having worked with wildlife photographers for articles in Audubon, Smithsonian, Sierra, National Wildlife and other magazines for 45 years, I have yet to encounter one who better captures the magic and beauty of the natural world.”  Ted Williams, former Editor of Audubon Magazine On Tuesday, January 19th at 7 p.m., York County Audubon is honored to host award winning author and photographer Paul Bannick.  His online Zoom program will feature video, sound and stories from the field, and images from his book, Owl: … Continue reading →

The Narwhal’s Tusk: the ten most remarkable marine mammal adaptations – with Zack Klyver – November 17th

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Have you ever wondered why a narwhal has a tusk? How sperm whales catch squid in the deep dark ocean? Which whale has the biggest tail, lives the longest, and holds the world migration record? Did you know that whale “waste” results in great plant plankton blooms in the ocean that produce the oxygen we breath, slow climate change and help create more productive fisheries? On Tuesday, November 17th, York County Audubon is delighted to host an online Zoom program featuring Maine marine mammal naturalist and conservationist Zack Klyver.  He will give a presentation based on a book he is … Continue reading →

Conserving Reptiles and Amphibians – A Maine Focus with Greg LeClair – Oct 20th

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Gregory LeClair is a wildlife biologist with a contagious passion for amphibians and reptiles that he has honed from early in his life. In our October Zoom program, he will share his enthusiasm, concerns, and insight into diverse topics including amphibian extinction, the exotic pet trade, habitat destruction, the impact of human attitudes on wildlife conservation, and more. He’ll offer backyard landscaping recommendations, and offer other ways we can become involved in protecting these threatened species. Adults will love this fascinating program. It would also be appropriate for middle school or high school students who are curious about working with wildlife. … Continue reading →

Seabird sentinels in the Gulf of Maine: What they can tell us about the state of our oceans – with Dr. Don Lyons – Sept 15th

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By the middle of the 20th century, the populations of many species of seabirds in the Gulf of Maine had been decimated.  Puffins had last nested on Eastern Egg Rock in 1885 and terns in 1936.  In 1973, National Audubon started a program to reintroduce and establish the Maine breeding grounds for these species, led by seabird visionary Steve Kress.  In 2019, forty-five years later, Steve retired and turned over the program to new leadership. The program has proved exceptionally successful. The population of Atlantic Puffins has grown to more than 1,000 nesting pairs on five coastal Maine islands, and … Continue reading →

23 Reasons To Go Outside: Snapshots from a Daily Practice of Nature Observation – with Josh Fecteau – an online program, Tuesday, August 18th at 7 p.m.

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Interested in discovering some of the birds, plants and nature that are often hiding in plain sight all around us? Local naturalist Josh Fecteau will share some of the wild treasures he’s found near his home in Kennebunkport, and encourage all of us to go outside to make rewarding discoveries of our own. On Tuesday, August 18th, at 7 p.m., York County Audubon will be presenting this program online. The program is available free of charge, but advance registration is required. Please use the link in red below. Josh grew up along the southern Maine coast. In his early 20’s, … Continue reading →

Online via Zoom: Improving Your Bird Photography – with Laurie Pocher – Tuesday, July 21st

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Bird photography has never been more popular, and we’d like to offer some help to improve your results and your enjoyment as well!  On Tuesday, July 21st, at 7 p.m., we’ll be presenting our second online Zoom program, this time on Improving Your Bird Photography.  To register for this event, please click on the link in the paragraph in bold font at the bottom of this post. If you’ve ever tried to photograph birds, you know it’s often not easy. Your subjects are small, fast, and shy… they move around a lot, they’re most active early and late in the … Continue reading →

Online via Zoom: An Artist’s View of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge – with Michael Boardman – Tuesday, June 16th

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For the past several months, we have had to cancel our programs and workshops to help ensure everyone’s health and safety.  Now, we are very pleased to present our first Zoom Online program on June 16th at 7 p.m. To register for this event, please click on the link in the paragraph in bold font at the bottom of this post. Michael Boardman is a wildlife artist and member of the Maine Master Naturalist program.  In spring of 2019, he was selected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be the Artist-In-Residence at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He … Continue reading →