Maine Audubon

Opinion: Smart stream crossings benefit wildlife, public safety "We can either pay for Stream Smart crossings or pay to repair roads washed out by the bigger and more frequent storms we’re seeing today."

in order to accelerate the replacement of high-risk crossings, protect public safety, reduce future disaster costs, protect wildlife, and strengthen Maine communities.

Read more below.
www.bangordailynews.com/2026/03/09/o...

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If we are serious about climate resilience, public safety, and protecting Maine’s outdoor heritage, we must significantly increase funding for improved stream crossings that meet Stream Smart standards.

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Maine’s rivers and streams carry rainwater and snowmelt downstream to the sea. Yet across the state, thousands of undersized and aging road-stream crossings are quietly choking those arteries.

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Maine Audubon Advocacy Director, Ches Gundrum, is in the State House today with lots of environmental partners.

Advocacy in action 📝

Our Advocacy Director, Ches Gundrum, is in the State House today with lots of environmental partners announcing our shared priority bills this legislative session, including a bill to fund the beloved Land for Maine’s Future program.

Learn more below.

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Sign our petition to ban dangerous rodenticides in Maine!
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To learn more about how rodenticides impact wildlife, read more below.
maineaudubon.org/news/reducin...

The trails at Maine Audubon's Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth are open from sunrise to sunset, but the conditions are wet and slippery on both the access road & the trails. If you are planning a walk, be sure to dress for the elements. The Nature Store is open from 10 am to 4 pm today.

Inside Dylan Berr's Effort to Understand Bowdoin’s Birds Throughout the fall, the biology major (and English minor) rose before sunrise three days a week to walk the same forty-five-minute route through campus.

Maine universities are leading the charge in updating to bird-safe windows on their campuses. Here is a great read about bird-safe glass efforts at @BowdoinCollege, where studies like these help bring awareness to bird strikes and what can be done to prevent them.

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Birdability Week 2025! Events and a Fun Birding Volunteer Opportunity - Maine Audubon Maine Audubon is committed to helping everyone get outside to enjoy wildlife, but it’s easier for some than others. Those with disabilities, health concerns, or other accessibility issues may have a…

Birders wanted for a fun birding opportunity 🪶! Birdability Week is coming up, so help us get a better understanding of accessibility at Maine birding hotspots.

For more information and to sign up for Birdability Week events, read more below.

maineaudubon.org/news/birdabi...

Plovers All Over: 2025 season recap - Maine Audubon Yes, it was another record-breaking season! Breeding pairs of Piping Plovers hit a record high in 2025 reaching 174 pairs, smashing 2023’s record of 157 pairs. A total of 251 chicks fledged, only one…

It was a record-breaking summer for the Maine Coastal Bird Project! The Coastal Birds crew spotted 174 breeding pairs of Piping Plovers (beating the previous record of 157 in 2023), resulting in 251 fledged chicks. Thanks to all the partners and volunteers who make this possible!

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Maine Audubon's Gilsland Farm Visitor Center and Nature Store in Falmouth will be closed to the public from Monday, October 13, until Sunday, November 2, for maintenance. Trails will be open dawn to dusk (no dogs please!), and all programs will run as scheduled.

Thanks for your patience.

Maine Audubon staff had a great time at the Sun Day Rally in Portland this weekend, talking to the hundreds of attendees about the Endangered Species Act and renewable energy!

Newborn in the woods? Nope, just a gray catbird In this Bird of the Week segment, Maine Audubon's Stacia Brezinski helps us get to know the gray catbird.

The gray catbird really lives up to its name. It's a robin-sized bird with a black cap and a tail that tends to wag as it talks. And does it talk! In this week's Bird of the Week with WGME, Field Naturalist Stacia Brezinski talks about the catbird, how it sings, and more!

Maine becomes one of four states to take action on bird-safe architecture “The silver lining to the window collision problem is that it is easily within our ability to fix,” said a Maine Audubon representative.

Great news! This week, Maine’s Bureau of General Services released voluntary guidelines incorporate bird-safe principles in publicly-funded buildings, including schools. Maine Audubon and others helped the state develop these guidelines; read the Maine Biz story:

In his Ask Maine Audubon column in the Press Herald, Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox explains the difference between Eastern Cottontails and our native (and rare) New England Cottontails, why Easterns are considered invasive, & more. Seeing rabbits? Tell us! www.pressherald.com/2025/08/02/e...

'Wee-eep!': Hear this flycatcher before you see it, high in Maine's treetops In this Bird of the Week segment, Maine Audubon's Sally Stockwell helps us get to know the great crested flycatcher.

In this week's Bird of the Week on WGME-TV, our Conservation Director Sally Stockwell shares great information about the Great Crested Flycatcher, a beautiful and common backyard bird. Hear its call, find out where it nests, and how to tell it from a Phoebe.

These birds are better off keeping all their eggs in one basket For eastern phoebes, a single nest requires so much incubating that splitting up the effort is almost sure to fail.

In this week’s Ask Maine Audubon column in the Portland Press Herald, Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox answers a reader’s question about why a bird might lay eggs in more than one nest. Turns out it is in fact smarter to keep all your eggs in one basket!

'Trash bird' or problem solver? Learn to love Maine's infamous herring gull In this Bird of the Week segment, Stacia Brezinski with the Maine Audubon tells us all about the herring gull.

Learn to love Maine's infamous Herring Gull! Maine Audubon Field Naturalist Stacia Brezinski joins WGME's Stephanie Grindley for the Bird of the Week to talk about gulls and why they deserve our admiration.

Summer Birding Summer is nesting season—learn what species to look for and where to view them, as well as what to know about bird conservation

ICYMI: yesterday was all about summer birding! Have a listen as Maine Audubon's Nick Lund and Freeport Wild Bird Supply's Derek Lovitch talk about what birds are up to right now, how we can help protect them, and even perhaps see some rare birds.

Augusta bird attack prompts trail closure at Bond Brook Trails 'Two pounds of fury:' Officials believe a nesting goshawk is defending its territory and is attacking people it deems threatening.

“It’s two pounds of fury coming at you.” Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox says it was a good decision to close trails in Augusta after a goshawk attacked a runner; the territorial bird should only have a few more weeks on the nest, & trails will reopen after that. www.centralmaine.com/2025/06/17/a...

REMINDER: ROAD CLOSED!
On Monday, June 16, Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth is closed due to road work. The Visitor Center and Nature Store will be closed and the trails and peony garden will not be accessible. We will reopen on Tuesday, June 17 at 10 am. Thank you!

I give 30-50 outreach presentations per year for @maineaudubon.bsky.social but my favorite might be my annual talk for the Belfast Free Library / Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition. Great crowd, they laugh at all my jokes, and they send me off with a fresh-baked pie. 💯

The Federal Government is Taking Unprecedented Action Against the Endangered Species Act - Maine Audubon The Endangered Species Act is perhaps the most famous and effective wildlife conservation law in the nation, but the Trump Administration has recently proposed a change that would significantly…

Today (May 16) is Endangered Species Day! It's the perfect day to show your support for the Endangered Species Act. Learn more about how important the Act is, and how it's currently under threat. Please sign our petition!

Vernal pools are small in size, but they're huge in value, providing habitat for lots of Maine wildlife. A new bill can help protect Significant Vernal Pools from development threats. Sign our petition to show support & we'll represent at the hearing Monday! secure.everyaction.com/jpXO7N9G0k6r...

Neonicotinoid pesticides harm ecosystems that support our farmers and food system. A bill being considered in the legislature would ban use while still allowing for emergency exemptions. Protect Maine’s native bee species! Sign the petition to urge Maine lawmakers to support LD 1323: buff.ly/hz6mjnr

Endangered piping plovers return to Maine with beach restrictions in place Piping plovers are endangered sandy colored shore birds that are found along much of the east coast.

Many thanks to Ryan Munn at WGME for joining Coastal Birds Project Director Laura Zitske at Higgins Beach to talk about Piping Plovers and how beachgoers can help protect the birds and the beaches this season.

Spring Birding Which birds are arriving, why are some not migrating, and how is avian flu affecting Maine's wild birds? Plus: What to do to help protect birds from threats.

In case you missed it: Staff naturalist Doug Hitchcox was a guest on Maine Calling today talking about spring birding. Listen to the show here:

Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30, join us as we mark the annual trek of billions of birds on their far-flung journeys. The Gear Up for Migration weekend includes our spring birdseed and optics sale, plus member double discount on all other in store items!
maineaudubon.org

BirdSafe on View Opening Reception invitation, Sunday, March 30, 2-4 pm at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth.

As we mark the 5th year of the BirdSafe Maine, we hope you will join us for the opening reception of BirdSafe on View, a multifaceted exhibition celebrating the work and successes.
Sunday, March 30, 2-4 pm at Gilsland Farm in Falmouth!

maineaudubon.org/advocacy/bir...

Federal Focus Webinar Series - Maine Audubon FEDERAL FOCUS WEBINAR SERIES MARCH / APRIL 2025 A series of online webinars highlighting the impacts of federal policies and legislation on Maine wildlife and Maine Audubon’s policy goals. The…

Corsetti will be one of the speakers in our Federal Focus series, talking about her work to protect endangered bats in Maine and how her absence may impact conservation. March 31, 12 pm. Register here: maineaudubon.org/events/feder...

Maine federal workers laid off by Trump administration would go back to jobs ‘in a heartbeat’ Last week two federal judges ordered the reinstatement of thousands of employees who were fired unjustly, but some Mainers remain in limbo.

In this Bangor Daily News article, Maine federal workers discuss being laid off and what the impacts are, including Tessa Corsetti, former regional bat coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

www.bangordailynews.com/2025/03/19/p...