Saving Birds With Maine’s Commercial Forest: the 30-Year Bird Project – with Anna Siegel – Tuesday, May 16th – at the Wells Reserve and via Zoom

In 2019, an alarming article from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology reported that three billion North American birds have been lost since 1970 (about 30%). Maine’s nearly 10-million-acres of commercial forest form the heart of National Audubon’s largest Important Bird Area of Global Significance in the contiguous U.S.  What role does this enormous area play in national-scale land bird conservation?  This fertile breeding ground still supports a wide range of bird species of conservation concern.

In 2021 and 2022, the “30-Year Bird Project” replicated a groundbreaking 1990s study to understand how bird populations have changed as a result of changes in forest practices. The project has involved three generations of scientists.  Anna Siegel, the Outreach Lead of the project, will describe what the team has learned and how forest practices might change to further support bird conservation while also sustaining rural, forest-based communities.

Anna Siegel is climate justice activist, young birder, and high school student. She is the Advocacy Director of Maine Youth Action, a Core member of Maine Youth for Climate Justice, and serves on her town’s Climate Action Task Force. She is also a member of the Maine Young Birders Club and is an avid hiker.

This program will be presented in-person in the Mather Auditorium of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, and will also be viewable via Zoom.  To view via Zoom, you’ll need to register in advance.

To do so, please click on this link and enter your name and email address:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_DU-HSEE4TZ6BCYKA0NUnrw#/registration

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We hope you can join us in-person, or, if not, via Zoom!

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A Video of our April program: Native Plants: Good for What Ails Your Garden – with Shawn Jalbert

This program was presented on April 18, 2023 in-person at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm and via Zoom. To watch it, 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”). For a description of the program, you can scroll down to the original post for the program.

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The Harlequin – Spring 2023

Please click on the link below to view the Spring 2023 issue of our Harlequin newsletter:

http://www.yorkcountyaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Harlequin-Spring-2023.pdf

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Native Plants: Good for What Ails Your Garden – with Shawn Jalbert – Tuesday, April 18th – at the Wells Reserve and via Zoom

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.

Fritillary Butterfly on Coneflower – Shawn Jalbert photo

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 web revolves around native plants; the more we have in our yards the richer the biodiversity of our neighborhoods, from the birds to the bees. These actions have tangible results we can see, smell, hear, and even taste. Join us for an empowering evening on how native plants are the best medicine for what ails our landscapes.

Shawn Jalbert is the owner and operator of Native Haunts, based in Alfred, Maine. He has made it his mission to make native plants, and the knowledge of their critical importance, available to the general public. “Native Haunts” is an “old-timey” term to describe native plants in their natural habitats. For the last 20 years, he’s made it his mission to sustainably propagate and sell native plant materials, but more importantly, to share the vast knowledge he has accumulated through his personal experience and his intense studies as a lecturer and consultant. FMI: https://nativehaunts.com/

This program will be presented in-person at 7 p.m. in the Mather Auditorium of the Wells Reserve at Laudholm, and will also be viewable via Zoom.  To view via Zoom, you’ll need to register in advance.

To do so, please click on this link and enter your name and email address:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vALL9WzQRi6z_RvircuAig

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We hope you can join us in-person, or, if not, via Zoom!

Posted in Program, Zoom

Enjoy a quick word from Holly Merker, our March 21st Presenter!

If the video doesn’t run on this page, please click on the “Youtube” in the lower right corner of the video box.

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Winter Seabirds in Maine – a workshop with Ed Jenkins – Saturday, March 11th

THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN FULLY BOOKED.  IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE ADDED TO THE WAITING LIST, PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO ycas@yorkcountyaudubon.org WITH “WORKSHOP WAITING LIST” AS THE SUBJECT

Seabirds are, by their very nature, enigmatic and difficult to observe closely. They are superbly adapted for life out at sea, specialized in a myriad of ways to fill every niche in an environment that may seem harsh and desolate to us.

Even in Maine where seabirds are present in large numbers, getting close enough to begin to understand their fascinating lives can be tough, especially as they face growing conservation challenges. This program will start with an overview of seabird ecology, from how they find food at sea, to their incredible migration strategies, before focusing on the species that can be found in Maine in the winter, from razorbills and murres to gulls and sea ducks. We will then conduct a ‘sea-watch’ from the coastal cliffs, learning to identify passing birds, including, hopefully, some passing rarities.

This workshop will be held on Saturday morning, March 11, 2023, from 8:00 am till (about) 11 am. at the Cliff House in Cape Neddick (whose support for this event is greatly appreciated). It will include both an indoor presentation and discussion, and an outdoor search for seabirds.

Advance registration is required.  To register, please click on this event in the What’s Coming Up column on the right hand side at the top of this page, then scroll down to the registration form. The price is $25/person ($30/person for non-members), payable by cash or check at the workshop.

Ed Jenkins has been working with seabirds for the past decade, in Maine for National Audubon, but also elsewhere in the US and abroad, from New Zealand to Malta. Originally from the UK, he received his M.Sc. studying seabirds in Newfoundland in 2018, and now works as an avian biologist at the Biodiversity Research Institute in Portland.

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A Video of our February program: All About Loons with Dr. James Paruk

This program was presented on February 21, 2023 via Zoom. To watch it, 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”). For a description of the program, you can scroll down to the original post for the program.

Posted in Program, video, Zoom

“Ornitherapy: Watching birds is not only fun, it’s good for you!” via Zoom with Holly Merker on Tuesday, March 21st

Learn why getting your daily dose of Ornitherapy is just what the doctor ordered!

We’re pushed and pulled in many directions, no matter our age. If we allow birds and nature to slow us down, we are practicing “selfcare”. Research shows that exposure to nature actively reduces stress, depression, and anxiety, while helping build a stronger heart and immune system.  Birds are gateways into deeper experiences with nature, magnifying these benefits. Through observation, we can learn not only about birds, but gain insight into our own lives while exploring our connection to the world around us. This fosters stewardship and bolsters conservation.

Within the program, we’ll delve into our connections to birds, how to practice Ornitherapy for optimal benefits, and learn about the latest research in the power of nature for overall well being.

photo by Richard Crossley

Holly Merker is a professional birding guide, writer, and educator who has a background in art therapy, but today uses birds and nature towards the same goals delivering nature-based wellness programming to people of all ages.

Holly has been a professional environmental educator and birding instructor for the past two decades, working for: National Audubon, the American Birding Association, Hillstar Nature, and many other organizations. She is also a Certified Nature and Forest Therapy Guide (ANFT).

Holly is lead author of the award-winning book Ornitherapy: For Your Mind, Body, and Soul (Crossley Books, 2021) which guides readers into explorations that optimize the wellness benefits birding can provide us. In her free time, Holly spends every possible moment practicing Ornitherapy herself, which she credits in helping her defeat breast cancer, restoring her health mentally.

On Tuesday, March 21st at 7 p.m., York County Audubon is very pleased to present a Zoom program Ornitherapy – with Holly Merker.

This program will be presented via Zoom.  There’s no charge, but you need to register in advance.  To do so, please click on this link and enter your name and email address:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_W3dKKZv4QPiqexfeglN_RQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We hope you can join us!

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“All About Loons” with Dr. James Paruk via on Tuesday, Feb 21st

The eerie call, the distinctive black and white speckled plumage, the red eyes. We are so fortunate in Maine that loons grace our lakes and ponds, but how much do you really know about them?

photo by Nick Lund

Dr. James D. Paruk, professor of biology at Saint Joseph’s College, is considered one of the world’s experts on this species.  Understanding the breeding and non-breeding ecology of the Common Loon has been one of his life-long a passion of his for decades.  He has studied breeding loons in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Saskatchewan and Maine and non-breeding loons in California, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Maine. He spent 7 years monitoring the health of a population of loons off the Louisiana coast in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.   He is also the author of the acclaimed “Loon Lessons:  Encounters with the Great Northern Diver.”

On Tuesday, February 21st at 7 p.m., York County Audubon is very pleased to present a Zoom program ”All About Loons” with Dr. James Paruk.  He’ll present the most current detailed account of what we know about loons, from their plumage and migration routes to how old they live and how long a pair stays together.

This program will be presented via Zoom.  There’s no charge, but you need to register in advance.  To do so, please click on this link and enter your name and email address:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hfT7QJp8SiiyKCBl3Ic7Pg

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We hope you can join us!

Posted in Program, Uncategorized, Zoom | Tagged ,

Winter Wildlife Tracking with Dan Gardoqui – Sunday, Feb 5th

Can you tell the tracks of a fox from a fisher? Ever trailed a porcupine to its den? Join Certified Wildlife Tracker and Registered Maine Guide Dan Gardoqui for an outdoor adventure. This workshop is open to all curious adults (& interested teens). We’ll spend half a day seeking out, interpreting and following the tracks, trails and signs of our wild neighbors living on the Wells Reserve. Bring your own food/snacks and dress warmly.

Dan Gardoqui has been passionately connecting people to the more-than-human-world for over 30 years. He has a M.S. in Natural Resources and has served as faculty for multiple colleges. Through wildlife tracking, Dan has contributed to wildlife studies (including wolf, lynx and flying squirrel) and served as science editor for the bird language book What the Robin Knows. Dan is the founder of Lead with Nature, where he offers nature-based consulting, online classes and guiding for businesses and individuals.

Group size is limited to 15 people, and advance registration is required.  This program is co-sponsored by YCA and the Wells Reserve.  The price is $25/person ($30/person for non-members).  Members of either YCA or the Wells Reserve qualify the members rate.  To reserve your space, please email suzanne@wellsnerr.org or call (207) 646-1555 x116.

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