Goose watching in the North Country

Autumn birding in the North Country means geese. A LOT of geese! Canada Geese. Snow Geese. And sometimes, it even means a Cackling Goose and a Ross’s Goose. I’ve watched innumerable geese in my life, but it took this most recent trip to one of my favorite North Country birding haunts to really absorb that geese roost on the water at night but leave during the day.

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Richard MacDonald
Downeast Audubon Birdathon

Rich spent 15 hours birding by bicycle, part of his zero-carbon little big year, all in an effort to raise scholarship money so Downeast Audubon can send local youths to summer camp. Final results: 47 miles pedaled and walked, 14 hours birded, and 101 species!

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Richard MacDonald
Happy World Migratory Bird Day!

How did you spend your World Migratory Bird Day? Mine was on Ship Island, part of the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, where I am care-taking for a week. During the course of the day, I observed 23 species today.

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Richard MacDonald
"Little Big Year," the book, is published

Rich’s first book, Little Big Year: Chasing Acadia’s Birds, has been published! Read about his year-long adventure to see all of the birds of his corner of Downeast Maine. This story-telling narrative weaves information about each species with his experience finding them and draws on his years’ of study in the field.

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Richard MacDonald
A western sparrow down east

When a rare bird shows up in Bar Harbor (the second in a week), it is time to go on the chase. Brewer’s Sparrows are normally found west of the Mississippi. This is only the third documented occurrence in Maine!

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Richard MacDonald
Zero-Carbon Birdathon

Ever wonder what it is like to spend an entire day birding? (And I do mean an E.N.T.I.R.E. day!) Join me on a virtual birdathon as I try to identify as many species of birds as possible in one day, all while riding my bicycle. And in case you wonder what triggered this crazy adventure, it was to raise funds to send local youths to summer camp. Please consider sending a check to Downeast Audubon, P.O. Box 1212, Ellsworth, ME 04605. And tell them you watched Rich's birdathon video.

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Richard MacDonald
A Splash of Color

On a cool Maine Earth Day, Rich finds a splash of avian color at Hamilton Pond. Enjoy Palm Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Yellow-rumped Warbler In this 2-minute movie. (You can link to it in the title or navigate to https://youtu.be/kkkPP3aqdaI.)

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Natalie Springuel
Big Night Amphibs

On a rainy April night (at least, that’s the case here in Maine), head out after dark to a local road bordering a wetland and look for amphibians—frogs and salamanders—crossing the road. Tonight was one of those nights. During an hour out after dark, we helped about thirty Spotted Salamanders cross the road in hopes that they don’t become flattened fauna.

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Natalie Springuel
Birding in the time of coronavirus

We are living in a challenging time in human history. Each of us is doing our utmost to gracefully maneuver through this period. Although The Natural History Center has canceled tours until May, we do what we can to keep our sanity. For us, that includes birding. Beginning next week, we intend to offer virtual birding tours! Look for details over the weekend.

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Natalie Springuel