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.
“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.
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!
“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?
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!
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.
“A World on the Wing” with Scott Weidensaul via Zoom, Tuesday, November 15th
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 Weidensaul takes you around the globe — with researchers in the lab probing the limits of what migrating birds can do, to the shores of the Yellow Sea in China, the remote mountains of northeastern India where tribal villages saved the greatest gathering of falcons on the planet, and the Mediterranean, where activists and police are battling bird poachers — to learn how people are fighting to understand and save the world’s great bird migrations.
Scott Weidensaul is the author of nearly 30 books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist Living on the Wind and his latest, the New York Times bestseller A World on the Wing. Weidensaul is a contributing editor for Audubon and writes for a variety of other publications, including Living Bird. He is a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society and an active field researcher, studying saw-whet owl migration for more than two decades, as well as winter hummingbirds in the East, bird migration in Alaska, and the winter movements of snowy owls through Project SNOWstorm, which he co-founded.
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_Jvj4zeVbTSK5wW53q4SstQ
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
We hope you can join us!
2022 Bird Seed Sale – Early Bird Pricing Deadline is October 28th
Keep your feathered friends happy this winter by treating them to tasty and fresh, premium quality bird food and help support two of your favorite environmental organizations at the same time. Profits from our annual sale support the educational programs of both York County Audubon and the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve. A wide variety of types of seed and suet is available, with great pricing, especially if you order early.
Early bird pricing is available if you place your order by 4 p.m. on Friday, October 28th. The instructions for ordering are on the order form which you can access via the link in red below.
Order pick up (and additional opportunity for purchases) will be at the Wells Reserve on Friday, November 4th from 1 – 4 p.m., and Saturday, Nov 5th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with easy access and volunteers on hand to help load your car.
For more information, please access the order form via this link:
A Video of our October 2022 Program: All the Best Birds in Maine with Nick Lund
This program was presented on October 18, 2022 at the Wells Reserve. To watch the program, please click on the image below to watch it on this page, and you can also click on “Watch on Youtube.” (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.
The Harlequin – Autumn 2022
Please click on the link below to view the Autumn 2022 issue of our Harlequin newsletter:
https://www.yorkcountyaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Harlequin-Autumn-2022.pdf
“All the Best Birds in Maine” with Nick Lund – Tuesday, Oct 18th, in-person and via Zoom
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 anecdotes.
Nick is the author of the American Birding Association’s newly released ABA Field Guide to the Birds of Maine. He’s been well known for years as the man beyond the popular birding blog known as “The Birdist.” His birding and nature writing has appeared in Audubon magazine, Slate.com, the Washington Post, NationalGeographic.com, the Maine Sportsman, Down East magazine, Popular Science and others. A Maine native, he’s a graduate of the UMO School of Law, and worked in Washington, D.C. on protecting our national parks, before (wisely) electing to return to Maine and join Maine Audubon as its Advocacy and Outreach Manager.
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_-o597jj1SV2p4p8OqKLHHA
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!
The 2023 Maine Birds Desk Calendar is now available!
For many years, our former Board member, Marie Jordan, an avid birder and photographer, has produced a calendar and offered it for sale, graciously donating the calendars to YCA to support our educational programs. As many of our programs are now presented via Zoom, so we’re making the calendars available by mail.
It’s a desk calendar in a 4” by 6” plastic case that opens into a stand to display each month. Each page features a great photo she took this year of a Maine bird. The cost is $10 plus mailing costs. They’re wonderful anywhere in the house, and also make great gifts! And York County Audubon tremendously appreciates your support for our programs.
To place an order, please make out a check payable to York County Audubon, write Calendar in the memo line, and mail it to Marie Jordan, 32 Crestview Drive, South Portland, ME 04106. Be sure to include the address or addresses that the calendar(s) should be sent to. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Marie at wooddk5555@gmail.com.
The costs including postage and handling are:
1 calendar – $10 plus $5.00 postage and handling
2 calendars (mailed to one address) – $20 plus $5.50 postage and handling
3 calendars (mailed to one address) – $30 plus $10.50 postage and handling
4 calendars (mailed to one address) – $35 plus $10.50 postage and handling
(Note: these rates reflect the latest USPS increases.)
Thank you!
Intro to Foraging – with Dan Gardoqui – Sunday, Oct 2nd
Are you curious about wild foods and foraging during this season of abundance? Does uncertainty and concern stop you from sampling healthy, wild foods? Come spend a morning at the Wells Reserve with forager and expert naturalist Dan Gardoqui of Lead with Nature. On Sunday morning, Oct 2nd, from 9 till noon, YCA is pleased to co-host this program with the Wells Reserve.
We’ll stroll the fields, forests and shorelines, all the while connecting with the wild plants, trees, fungi and more with all of our senses. Participants should be prepared to walk a few miles, dress for the weather, and bring along a water bottle. Please note that foraging is NOT permitted at the Wells Reserve outside of this program. We encourage you to find legal places to forage near your home.
Dan Gardoqui has been studying naturalist skills, wildlife tracking, bird language, and mentoring for nearly 30 years. Dan has a M.S. in Natural Resources, is a Certified Wildlife Tracker, Registered Maine Guide, and served as Science Faculty at Granite State College. Through wildlife tracking, Dan has contributed to wildlife studies and served as science editor for the bird language book What the Robin Knows. Dan co-founded and led the nature connection nonprofit, White Pine Programs for 20 years. He currently runs Lead with Nature, where he helps leaders find success and meaning through nature-based consulting services & adventures.
The cost for the workshop is $25 for members (of YCA or the Wells Reserve), or $30 for non-members. Space is limited. To reserve a spot, please email suzanne@wellsnerr.org or call (207) 646-1555 x116. Please note: Program fee does not include site admission fee.
We hope you can join us!
A video of our September 2022 program: 11 Days in the Galapagos – with Laurie Pocher
This program was presented on September 13, 2022 at the Wells Reserve. To watch the program, please click on the image below to watch it on this page, and you can also click on “Watch on Youtube.” (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 full description, you can scroll down to the original post for the program.
The audio quality on a few video clips did not reproduce well in the Zoom broadcast, so we’ve post those clips below so that they can be fully appreciated!
Video Clips from our Galapagos program: #1 – Frigatebird Courtship
As mentioned above, the audio quality on a few of the video clips did not reproduce well in the Zoom broadcast, so we’ve post those clips so that they can be fully appreciated!
Video Clips from our Galapagos program: #2 – Nazca Booby Chick
As mentioned above, the audio quality on a few of the video clips did not reproduce well in the Zoom broadcast, so we’ve post those clips so that they can be fully appreciated!
Video clips from our Galapagos program: #3 – Albatross Courtship
As mentioned above, the audio quality on a few of the video clips did not reproduce well in the Zoom broadcast, so we’ve post those clips so that they can be fully appreciated!
Video clips from our Galapagos program: #4 – San Cristobal Mockingbird
As mentioned above, the audio quality on a few of the video clips did not reproduce well in the Zoom broadcast, so we’ve post those clips so that they can be fully appreciated!
“11 Days in the Galapagos” with Laurie Pocher, Tuesday, September 13th – In-person and by Zoom
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 barn, directly up the path from the parking lot.
Charles Darwin spent five weeks in the Galapagos Islands in 1835, and this visit helped inspire his theories of evolution and natural selection. In 1959, 97% of the Galapagos was declared a National Park. Thanks to the archipelago’s remote location, absence of predators, and conservation efforts, many Galapagos animals remain curious and unafraid of humans to this day. Visitors to the islands are often treated to close encounters with Blue-Footed Boobies, Waved Albatross, Giant Tortoises, Marine Iguanas, and Sea Lions.
The flora and fauna in this remote location are impacted by both equatorial sun and cool waters from the Humboldt and Cromwell currents, resulting in a mix of both tropical and temperate environments. As a result, there are many endemic species that can only be found in the Galapagos.
Laurie Pocher – a York County Audubon Board member and nature photographer – recently returned from the Galapagos, where she spent 11 days on a photography tour of the major islands. Over the last few weeks, she’s been combing through thousands of photos and videos, compiling a day-by-day recap of her “11 Days in the Galapagos.”
We’ll be attempting a hybrid approach by which this program will also be available live via Zoom. To watch via Zoom, you need to pre-register. To do so, please click on this link and enter your name and email address:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WDcwf75bQB-uxHAgTfFrYQ
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
The in-person program at the Wells Reserve will also feature a “bird book” sale. Pat Moynahan, whom we honored with a memorial concert in June, donated her large collection of birding books to YCA, and we’ll be offering them at this September meeting, with the proceeds being used to support YCA programs and projects, and the Maine Young Birders Club.
Wildlife Track and Sign by the Sea – with Dan Gardoqui
Many people think of “tracking” as something best done when snow is on the ground, but the sands of Laudholm Beach reveal the stories of a diverse array of birds, mammals and invertebrates. On Saturday morning, July 16th, from 7:30 – 10:30 a.m., YCA and the Wells Reserve are pleased to host a seaside workshop that will help to reveal such signs and tales. Join Certified Wildlife Tracker and Maine Guide Dan Gardoqui for an enlightening morning of decoding stories in the sand. Participants will need to walk about 3 miles and spend time on uneven surfaces. Please bring your own water and snacks.
Dan Gardoqui has been studying naturalist skills, wildlife tracking, bird language, and mentoring for nearly 30 years. Dan has a M.S. in Natural Resources, is a Certified Wildlife Tracker, Registered Maine Guide, and served as Science Faculty at Granite State College. Through wildlife tracking, Dan has contributed to wildlife studies and served as science editor for the bird language book What the Robin Knows. Dan co-founded and led the nature connection nonprofit, White Pine Programs for 20 years. He currently runs Lead with Nature, where he helps leaders find success and meaning through nature-based consulting services & adventures.
The cost for the workshop is $25 for members (of YCA or the Wells Reserve), or $30 for non-members. Space is limited. To reserve a spot, please email suzanne@wellsnerr.org or call (207) 646-1555 x116.
We hope you can join us!
A Video of our June 2022 program: Bird Songs – with Monica Grabin
This program was presented on June 21, 2022. To watch the program, please click on the “Play” button – OR – click on “Youtube” – in the video screen below. You can also scroll down to the original post for this program to read a full description.
Birding Backpacks are now at a library library near you!
York County Audubon has established a Birding Backpack program that donates complete birding kits to local libraries. After a successful trial at the Kennebunk Free Library, we are now engaged in an effort to make these available to libraries throughout York County.
This project is being done in memory of one of our dearest friends and colleagues, Pat Moynahan. She was a treasure of the Maine birding community and so much more, as rare a bird as any she ever found in the field. She served on the York County Audubon Board of Directors for 25 years. We are honored to announce that the many donations that we have received in Pat’s memory (and any additional ones we receive) will be dedicated to supporting the Birding Backpack program.
Bird watching is for everyone, and people of all ages and abilities can enjoy looking at birds. You can bird in your backyard, in the woods, at the beach or anywhere you see birds. You can bird with your family, your friends or by yourself. You can learn to identify the birds you see and keep a “Life List” or just enjoy watching bird behavior.
Each backpack contains everything you need to enjoy birding whether you are a beginner, an avid birder or just interested in the natural world. The kit includes binoculars to get a close look at the birds; birding guides from beginner to expert to help you to identify the birds; birding checklists for children and adults to keep track of the birds you see; documentation on how to use binoculars, where to look for birds and get more information; plus maps of local land trusts and trails that are full of birds.
The following Libraries now have Birding Backpacks: McArthur Public Library in Biddeford, Kennebunk Free Library, D.A. Hurd Library in North Berwick, Dyer Library in Saco, Louis B. Goodall Memorial Library in Sanford, and Waterboro Public Library. If you are a patron of these libraries or in their borrowing network, you can take advantage of this program.