Come join us for our April program meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday the 21st – Whale Conservation Research in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.   Dr. David Wiley is the Research Coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and leader of the Office of National Marine Sanctuary’s Center of Excellence for Acoustic Research and Marine Mammal Conservation.  Currently he is leading a multi-organizational study using advanced telemetry and novel visualization software to explore the underwater behavior of endangered whales.  His results have appeared in numerous scientific journals and he has received many awards for his science efforts.  His research has been featured in several television documentaries and he was profiled in the recently published WILDLIFE HEROES, as one of the 40 top wildlife conservationists of our time.   Location:  the Mather Auditorium at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm.

Hog Island on midcoast Maine

YCAS will again be awarding a scholarship for the Educator’s Week program, July 19-24, 2015 on famed Hog Island. Check the Scholarship Programs link under the Community Involvement heading above for more information.  The application deadline is March 15th.

Early Bird Pricing through 10/31

Keep your feathered friends happy this winter by treating them to high quality bird food and help support two of your favorite environmental organizations at the same time.  Each fall, York County Audubon joins forces with the Wells Reserve at Laudholm to offer this sale.

The seed from Blue Seal is fresh from the 2014 crop.  There’s a broad selection of seed and suet, and great prices, especially if you order by 10/31.  There’s easy access pickup at the Wells Reserve November 13-15^th.

Please click on this link to access the order form:  Seed Sale 2014

Thanks for your support.  Your birds will thank you too!

• Program to be presented in the Mather Auditorium at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm
• Come early to socialize
• Come earlier to sit in on the Board Meeting
• Program is free and open to the public, and starts at 7 p.m.

This film was screened recently, at the joint meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union and the Cooper Ornithological Society.  It has received outstanding reviews and in July, it won first place in the non-commercial film division and was named “Film of the Year” at the 30th annual Animal Behavior Film Festival in Boulder, Colorado. This amazing film captures the beauty of the bird while offering fascinating details on biology and natural history.  If you think the Junco is a common bird and you don’t give it a second thought -well you won’t make that mistake again!

Join us at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm every other Saturday this summer starting June 14th, for a guided bird walk around the Reserve property.  Beginners are welcome.  Please bring binoculars if you have them; if not, you can borrow some. These walks are free and open to the public.  We meet in the parking lot, and reservations not required.  Future dates are 6/28, 7/12 and 7/26, 8/9 and 8/23.

YCAS will again be awarding a scholarship for the Educator’s Week program, July 20-25, 2014 on famed Hog Island. Check the Scholarship Programs link under the Community Involvement heading above for more information.  The application deadline is March 15th.

The great blue heron is often touted as one of the most widespread and adaptable birds in North America. Here in Maine they are certainly widespread, but recent data has suggested a decline in their breeding population especially along the coast. Concerns over a population decline prompted the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to conduct a comprehensive survey of breeding colonies in 2009, and to begin a statewide adopt-a-colony program called the Heron Observation Network. Join Danielle D’Auria, a wildlife biologist with MDIFW’s Bird Group, to learn more about Maine’s largest colonial wading bird as well its close relatives.