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
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: Canada Warbler
Canada Warbler Scientific name: Cardellina canadensis Cool fact: A flurry of feathers rustling in ferny, shrubby thickets is all that is often seen of the bird, as Canada Warblers are secretive. The Canada Warbler is one of the latest arriving of the 26 warbler species that split their lives between Maine and the tropics of Read More
Creature Feature: Harbor Seal
Harbor Seal Phoca vitulina Cool Fact: The Portland Sea Dogs, a minor league baseball team, are named after a slang term for the harbor seal. Anyone who has spent much time on the coast of Maine has probably seen a harbor seal. Seals haul out on rocks to rest and sun themselves, often posing with Read More
Creature Feature: Red Fox
Did you know that the red fox is the most widely distributed carnivore in the world and one of the most common animals in the Northern Hemisphere?
Creature Feature: Rusty Patched Bumble Bee
Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Bombus affinis Cool Fact: Bumble bee queens hatch in the fall and spend the winter a few inches below the snow. In the shortening days of late August and September, the bumble bees are ever-present in the garden. Deliberate in their flight, they hover and land on the oregano, arugula, butterflyweed, Read More
Creature Feature: Raccoon
The only place raccoons don’t live is in the dense spruces and firs of the northern boreal forest, and the high peaks of the Rocky Mountains.
Creature Feature: Common Eider
Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Cool Fact: Female eiders often combine their chicks together into larger nursery groups called “crèches” and collectively watch over them. As noted in a recent blog post, 2018 has been designated The Year of the Bird in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the enactment of the historic Migratory Bird Treaty Read More
Creature Feature: Gray Squirrel
Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) Cool fact: Gray squirrels will hide food all over the neighborhood, each time taking note of surrounding landmarks and use spatial memory and smell to recover buried food. This is harvest season, a time to prepare for the long winter ahead. In the city and in the country, gray squirrels are Read More
Creature Feature: River Otter
To encounter a river otter in the wild is to know joy. How could it be otherwise? “Otters are highly intelligent; their inclination to make a ‘game’ out of almost any activity is almost legendary,” wrote Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife biologist John Hunt.
NRCM’s Creature Feature helps you learn about many species of wildlife that live in Maine and whose survival depends upon a clean and healthy environment.
