Birders in Maine have recently begun noting the first pulses of southbound, migrating Common Nighthawks. In fact, staff at the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) could very well see one while leaving the office in Augusta after a long day! Based on checklists submitted to eBird, the online database housed at our old stomping Read More
birds
Yellowlegs and the Year of the Bird
The fact that we can hear the calls of yellowlegs echoing around our favorite cove here in Maine as the tide recedes on a warm, late-summer evening is thanks to the forethought and persistence of bird enthusiasts a hundred years ago. They ushered through the Migratory Bird Treaty, and then the legislation to enact it in the Read More
Long Journeys for Conservation
In the Year of the Bird, as the Natural Resources Council of Maine joins other groups in celebrating 100 years since the signing of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it is exciting to know that some of the biggest players in bird conservation today are not necessarily ones many bird enthusiasts know or recognize. A Read More
My Maine This Week: David Small
“I’ve been quietly and unobtrusively observing this Spotted Sandpiper for a couple of weeks. Yesterday I discovered that this bird is the parent of three chicks, though I didn’t stay long to see if there were others.” – Photos taken in Old Town along the Penobscot River by NRCM member Dave Small of Old Town, Maine Read More
Game Cameras and Birdhouses Allow Up-close Wildlife Observation for Athens Students
Our wildlife observation project at ACS has now taken flight! On April 2, students Hunter and Tyler and an instructor from Somerset County Technical Center in Skowhegan, Mr. Dan Foss, visited our school to teach our 4-H club how to build birdhouses for our projects. Mr. Foss provided a chart that allowed students to choose Read More
My Maine This Week: Ted Anderson
There’s nothing quite like the call of the loons across Maine’s lakes during the summer months. Enjoy these stunning photos of Common Loons taken in the early morning on Brettun’s Pond in Livermore, Maine. Photos by NRCM member Ted Anderson of Harrison, Maine. Do you have beautiful photos of Maine’s wildlife or scenic landscapes to Read More
Fur, Feathers, and Other Bird Nest Treasures
Our cats love to be groomed. This is a very good thing, especially this time of year when they both are shedding profusely. We, too, find it a satisfying experience: better to catch that fur with a comb than to see it plastered on the furniture and tumbling in clumps across the floor like tumbleweeds. Read More
My Maine This Week: Earl Wilcher
Thank you to Earl Wilcher of Ocean Park, Maine, for sharing this beautiful photo of a Great Egret in breeding plumage, taken in Ocean Park, Maine, on April 14, 2018. Do you have beautiful photos of Maine’s landscape or wildlife to share? If so, please send them to us at nrcm@nrcm.org. To learn more about how Read More
Last of Their Kind in the Year of the Bird
Like many of you, we mourned the loss of the last male northern white rhino on Earth. His name was Sudan. Though he was named for the country where he was born, Sudan had spent most of his life in a zoo in the Czech Republic. While Sudan lived out his life thousands of miles Read More


















