Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis Cool facts: The oldest recorded Dark-eyed Junco? At least 11 years, 4 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in West Virginia in 2001. It had originally been banded in 1991, also in West Virginia. Interestingly, a flock of juncos is often referred to as a “blizzard.” Read More
Creature Feature
The Natural Resources Council of Maine works to protect important wildlife habitat for our vast array of animals that live in our state. Our Creature Feature is a way to highlight those animals and share "cool facts" and other important information about them.
NRCM's Creature Feature highlights birds, fish, mammals, and other wildlife that play an important role in the nature of Maine. We have featured "creatures" that are directly affected by our work to protect our clean waters (sea lamprey, Atlantic salmon, lobsters, etc.) and protect wildlife habitat in Maine's North Woods, including in our new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument (moose, Canada lynx, black bear, etc.)
Creature Feature: Spotted Salamander
Spotted Salamander Ambystoma maculatum Cool Fact: Spotted salamanders are the only known animals with a backbone that can photosynthesize—that is, turn sunlight into food, like a plant! While an uncommon sight for most of the year, many a Mainer has encountered a spotted salamander at least once in their lifetime. Typically, spotted salamanders (colloquially called Read More
Creature Feature: Quebec Emerald Dragonfly
Quebec Emerald Dragonfly Scientific name: Somatochlora brevicincta Cool fact: Quebec emerald dragonfly larvae hatch in places called “flarks.” To find the Quebec emerald, wait for the last week of June. From then until about the middle of August, go north of Moose River and west of Moosehead Lake, in Somerset County, Maine, where sphagnum moss Read More
Creature Feature: Snowshoe Hare
Snowshoe Hare Scientific name: Lepus americanus Cool fact: Except in very southernmost Maine, where they overlap with the cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hares are the only wild “rabbit” species in the state. Somewhere right now, in the dense spruce-fir forest of northern Maine, a wild cat is stalking a white hare. The cat, a lynx, is Read More
Creature Feature: Piping Plover
Piping Plover Scientific name: Charadrius melodus Cool fact: A Piping Plover parent will attempt to lure a potential predator away from its nest by feigning a broken wing. A small, pale-brown bird that nests on sandy beaches, the Piping Plover, along with its sand-colored eggs and chicks, can be difficult to see. Thus camouflaged, they Read More
Creature Feature: Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebird Scientific name: Sialia sialis Cool fact: Bluebird houses aren’t just for nesting! Several bluebirds will roost together in a bird box for warmth in the winter. Does any songbird elicit a smile more readily than a bluebird? “The bluebird of happiness” has long been a trope in our popular culture, and the belief Read More
Creature Feature: Common Redpoll
Common Redpoll Scientific name: Acanthis flammea Cool fact: The Common Redpoll has a pouch in its throat that enables it to store food. Thanks to this adaptation, on a very cold day the bird can quickly collect seeds, then remain in a sheltered, warmer spot for several hours while it eats. Many of our songbirds Read More
Creature Feature: Snapping Turtle
Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) Cool Fact: The shell of a snapping turtle is full of nerve endings and sensitive to scratches. First, about that snap. Snapping turtles can’t pull their head and limbs into their shells, so they use their powerful jaws in self-defense. They can raise up on their hind legs, stretch out their Read More
Creature Feature: Striped Skunk
Striped Skunk Mephitus mephitus Cool fact: Skunks are active year-round, but during the cold of winter they slow down and stay inside their dens, which are insulated with leaves and grass, sometimes with other skunk families and friends. The striped skunk, Mephitus mephitus, occurs throughout most of Maine, from open fields and farms to city Read More
