Still on the Lookout for Wading Bird Colonies

[caption id="attachment_332" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="What we see from the air! There is an active great blue heron colony on this island.

Land Trust Sponsors Program on Damariscove's Sea Birds

      [caption id="attachment_290" align="alignleft" width="295" caption="Two black-crowned night-herons on Damariscove Island."]

Keep Watch for Early Birds

It is March 2nd, and although I received 3 inches of snow 2 nights ago at my home, it was wet and heavy snow and had melted by noon.  The wind is blowing, but it is relatively warm air, sending me a hint of spring with every gust.  Birds are starting to move.  Recent observations of FOY (that’s “first of year” in case you’re not a birder) osprey and turkey vultures remind me that great blue herons will return to Maine within a few weeks’ time.  If my memory is correct, the first great blue heron that was reported on the Maine Birds List in 2009 was on March 12th in Brunswick.  Two

Snowbirds: Volunteers Follow (and Help) Our Herons and Egrets South

[caption id="attachment_198" align="alignleft" width="275" caption="Snowy egret at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge"][/caption]    It’s now February, and winter has “set in” here in Maine for sure.  Many of u

Burying Island, a Heronry of the Past

[caption id="attachment_176" align="alignleft" width="125" caption="Photo by Steve Perrin"][/caption] The following was written by Steve Perrin, a long-time observer of one of Maine's largest great blue heron colonies... Great blue herons maintaine

Summary of 2009 Aerial and Ground Efforts

[caption id="attachment_160" align="alignleft" width="120" caption="Two great blue heron nestlings await a food delivery.

Herons in Winter

[caption id="attachment_102" align="alignleft" width="95" caption="Great blue heron wading in Maine's icy waters."][/caption] Colonial wading birds tend to conjure up an image of the lush and wet Everglades rather than our frozen Maine landscape, yet some of these birds continue to linger in Maine

Season's Greetings!

As we approach the end of 2009 and look forward to the new year ahead of us, I want to take the opportunity to thank the many volunteers, members of the public, biologists,

Off-Season Ground Visits

This fall and winter, I've been visiting great blue heron colonies that I didn't have time to visit this past summer.  During these visits, I usually make sure the original GPS coordinate is correct; take notes on the habitat and best way to approach the site; and count all nests that ar