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.
Our two annual CBC’s will be here soon. If you’d like to join us, please get in touch.
The Southern York County CBC (in the York/Cape Neddick area) will be on Monday, December 15th, 2014. FMI, contact Pat Moynahan, 284-5487 or pmmoynahan@maine.rr.com.
The Biddeford/Kennebunkport CBC will be held on Saturday December 27th, 2014 (snow date: Sunday, Dec 28th). FMI: contact Marie Jordan at 799-1408 or mijord@maine.rr.com.
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 13-15th.
Please click on this link to access the order form: Seed Sale 2014
Thanks for your support. Your birds will thank you too!
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!
Experience Australia as Marie Jordan shares her Australian travel and birding experiences in the areas around Cairns, Queensland, and the Northern Territory. Her piquant presentation will fuel our minds as she takes us down under to see beautiful unique birds – Honeyeaters and Parrots as well as Kingfishers and Kookaburras. We will also view the unique scenery and Aborigine rock paintings in Kakadu National Park and hear the haunting sound of the didgeridoo.
John Rogers has maintained a trail of bluebird nest boxes for 4 decades and has fledged over 13,000 Bluebirds in boxes he personally monitors. His presentation includes the life history of the Eastern Bluebird, other birds that nest in Bluebird boxes, and nest box management. The focus is on Bluebirds, but John also shares his passion for the natural world. The program has variety, feeling, and is thought provoking. With beautiful photographs, sounds, and an enthusiastic presentation style, this program is of interest to anyone who appreciates nature.
Our Facebook page provides our latest photos of local bird sightings and other posts of interest. It will also often have updates regarding our Wednesday morning bird walks and other events. If you wish, you can “Like” our page to be sure to catch any updates that are posted.
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.
Join York County Audubon birders for 7 a.m. bird walks…
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.
The leader (Sue Bickford) and three observers came together for nearly 3 hours of “winged jewel” searching. With some netted and others photographed, we were able to identify these species:
Join Doug Hitchcox for a shorebird extravaganza. Meet and park at Buffleheads restaurant at 122 Hills Beach Road in Biddeford
Contact: Doug 207-671-0185.
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.
In 2012 five YCAS members ventured off to Attu…an Island birding mecca 1500 miles from mainland Alaska which some may recall from the movie The Big Year. Robert and Anne Watson, Pat Moynahan. Marian Zimmerman and Doug Hitchcox will share their adventure into the Eastern Hemisphere for rare birds. They saw colonies of over 2 million birds, Song Sparrows the size of robins, 20+ foot seas en route, and a bird recently back from the edge of extinction. Come hear the story of how these birders went from making a day trip to see a bird in New Jersey to traveling across the world together.
Meeting to be held at Kennebunkport Conservation Trust
Birds Do the Darndest Things
One of the great pleasures of birding is observing the intimate snippets of birds’ lives. Usually the birds we see are either perched, flying, or feeding. But every so often, we glimpse less obvious behaviors, which hold us spellbound—a meadowlark fleeing a falcon, an oriole constructing a complex nest, or a jay surreptitiously stashing away seeds.
Observing bird behavior carefully often leads us to ponder some puzzling questions: Why do Yellow Warblers naively devote themselves to feeding cowbird fledglings twice their size? How do Black-capped Chickadees remember where they have stored thousands of seed-caches? Do birds play for the fun of it or do they play to develop certain skills necessary for survival?
Join naturalist and birding tour guide Lena Senko as she explores a slew of intriguing bird behaviors and the insights of biologists who devote their lives to studying them.
A great description of Lena can be found here: http://www.fieldguides.com/guides/lena-senko
