After one of the recent snowstorms, we woke up to see our bird feeding area covered in 10 inches of snow. But, before we could get out to clean it…

The other day someone reported to the Maine birding listserve that they had seen a bald eagle carrying off a big stick. Despite the fact that it is clearly still the dead of winter, this bird was…

Reports of fruit-eating birds…

We read in Editor-at-Large Joe Gelarden’s column last week about the unfortunate demise of a snowy owl that had been delighting people with its presence at Ocean Point and thought we should write…

There’s no doubt that one of the favorite birds of many Mainers is the Northern cardinal. One view of a brilliant red male against white snow and you can see why.…

We’ve seen a few American tree sparrows in recent weeks. They are the winter cousins of the familiar summer resident chipping sparrow. Both are small sparrows with…

Islands have a mysterious draw to many people. Certainly the idea of isolation is central to the fascination. Birders may share this fascination, but we also layer on some of our own particular…

Many of the animals that first to come to mind when you think of the northernmost extremes of our planet are quite likely white or largely white, like polar bears, arctic foxes, snowy owls and…

We have always known gulls are adaptable creatures, but a few weeks ago we saw gulls doing something we had never seen before.

Seeing even a single snowy owl is an exciting moment for just about anyone. But can you imagine seeing 10 in one place? Amazingly, a Maine birder had just that experience last week in Biddeford…

“I saw a brown bird. What was it?”

We receive this kind of question quite often. But of course,…

Ever been to Greenland? No? Neither have we, yet! And more than likely, neither have most people in Maine. But it's possible that one of the little birds that birders throughout the state have…

Some weeks ago, a well-loved columnist wrote in these pages about the embarrassing situation of mistaking a…

Some writers have likened the merlin to a small, sleek, ultra-fast sports car: fast, quick-handling and handsome in appearance.

No, we are not talking about the wizard of King Arthur legend…

Spring is the time for bird song, right?

It’s the season when male birds have recently returned from a winter in warmer climes or from having endured a long, cold winter here in Maine. They…

We’ve been seeing a lot of blue jays lately. Big deal, right?

Well, many people don’t realize…

Coming home from one of Maine’s great agricultural fairs after dark recently, we stepped out of the car and heard a distinct, high-pitched “peep” overhead in the dark sky.

It sounded like a…

When you think of a pelican, the first thing that probably pops into your mind is “Florida.”

Certainly that’s a place where one can see brown pelicans along the shores throughout that state…

In early September, we had the pleasure of kayaking with a large group (43 people) on the Androscoggin River for about 10 miles between Gilead and…

We were out in Winthrop recently and happened to see a pileated woodpecker doing something one might imagine being pretty out-of-character for any woodpecker, let alone one the size of a…

It’s the stuff of legends: a society in which a female maintains a harem of males who take on all child-rearing duties while she patrols the home turf to prevent other females from coming in and…

On a recent visit to Mom Wells’ place in Damariscotta, we were struck by the numbers of finches at her backyard feeders. It’s easy to think of finches as winter birds, but here at the height of…

The lure of an August blue sky and reasonably comfortable temperature lured us into a walk at Boothbay Region Land Trust’s Ovens Mouth Preserve over the weekend.

When we stepped out of the…

Some would say “a gull is a gull” and wouldn’t give it a second thought.

But last week a seasoned birder took a second look at some gulls in the parking lot…

We have to admit that we have a special attraction to shorebirds. We’ve written about them before in these pages, and there’s no doubt they will come up more than once in future columns…

For the past few days, we’ve been delighted to hear the jubilant song of a black-and-white warbler.

The ringing “we-see-we-see-we-see-we-see” would hardly be considered a song to the…

Imagine a bird a little smaller than a robin that vigorously attacks every crow, hawk, osprey – even a massive eagle – that dares fly over its territory.

Imagine no more…

There is something cute and hopeful about a baby – and not just a human baby.

In the last few weeks, people throughout Maine have been reporting baby birds, just out of…

They preach all day.

Preach, preach, preach, rain or shine, morning, noon, right into the evening. Often, theirs is the only voice you can hear. “Over here, see me? Here…

As parents, part of our job is to feed our kids good, nutritious foods. It’s important, so, for the most part, we don’t mind. Perhaps we even enjoy it.

But imagine doing…

Maine is home to some very exotic looking bird species. Take the blackburnian warbler, for example. Maine has lots of blackburnian warblers.

By some estimates, as much…

Last week, we stopped below the dam near the old Hathaway Mill in Waterville to see the water rushing down the mighty Kennebec River following many days of rain.

The…

Like many families on Memorial Day, we visited cemeteries to plant flowers at the resting places of our loved ones who have passed.

We often see and hear many birds…

The blackburnian warbler is a firestorm of a bird.

Smaller than a chickadee, it travels here each year from northern South America. The male’s throat is such a brilliant…

Last Saturday we both woke up a strange aching in the neck. A weird flu that had gotten us both? Did we get rear-ended in the car and now had amnesia as well?

Then it…

Although the trickle of returning migrants typically becomes more like a flood this time of year, actually seeing some of those little warblers and other birds can be tricky, as their…

Every spring a great convulsion occurs across the earth. Over a few months, without sophisticated logistical coordination or the support of expensive mechanical transportation, fossil…

Just as the first warblers of spring are starting to trickle in to Maine, a sweet whistled song can often be heard floating out from amidst the still largely leafless trees.

Palm fronds rustled in the breeze. Spanish moss hung luxuriantly from the live oaks. Small lizards scurried about. Boat-tailed grackles gave their screechy calls as they chased each…

Beginning sometimes in mid-March, just as evening darkness begins to settle over fields and thickets, listen for it: a strange, low, repeated nasal bleeting call.

The…

Every spring during a narrow window of time from mid-March to early April, the king of the sparrows makes an appearance at backyard feeders here in Maine.

…

The mystery of where migratory birds go has been one that has intrigued the human mind for centuries. Early explanations seem absurd to us now: the belief that swallows dived down into the mud…

We visited one of our favorite Maine places, Reid State Park, last weekend and enjoyed watching a very spiffy male red-breasted merganser who was closely…

Several of our friends commented recently that spring must be on its way. Not because the days are getting longer or the weather gradually milder. What prompted…

With the spate of recent snowstorms, it may be hard to imagine that there are signs of spring around us. But believe it or not, the first spring migrants often…

When you think of a common loon, you probably envision a summer scene, perhaps a peaceful Maine lake with the early morning sun rising just above the treetops,…

Long before there were caravans of retiree-piloted RVs traveling south every fall to spend the winter in Florida, there was another definition of the term “…

A few weeks ago some Ocean Point residents looked out their window and noticed an odd emerald green gem against the snowy white ground. That glowing jewel…

Today, the temperature in our area is 18 F, balmy compared to the below-zero temps that engulfed the region not long ago. For most of us humans, that means less…

A Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper staffer sent us a number of beautiful photos last week that happened to be of our favorite duck species, the common eider (yes, we did include it…