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Posts Tagged ‘black-crowned night-heron’

National Audubon’s Island Jewel is Maine’s Most Diverse Heronry

Posted in Field Notes, Photos, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 24, 2012| 4 Comments »

Snowy egrets perched in apple trees.

This past May, I had the unique opportunity to assist National Audubon Society (NAS) with a wading bird census on Stratton Island in Saco Bay.  Part of NAS’s Phineas W. Sprague Memorial Sanctuary, this 23-acre island is located 1.5 miles south of Prout’s Neck and is home to an immense diversity of wading birds, waterfowl, seabirds, and songbirds, and is an important stopover for all the above during migration.

In fact, Stratton Island hosts the most diverse wading bird colony in Maine, and is the most northerly U.S. breeding location for a few of these species.  On the north side of the island, great and snowy egrets, black-crowned night-herons, little blue herons, and glossy ibis layer their nests in among the branches of choke cherry and apple trees.

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Still on the Lookout for Wading Bird Colonies

Posted in Field Notes, Photos, tagged , , , , on April 27, 2010| 4 Comments »

What we see from the air! There is an active great blue heron colony on this island. The nests are the light gray clumps in the trees!

A couple weeks ago, I accompanied eagle biologist Charlie Todd and warden pilot Dan Dufault on an aerial survey for nesting bald eagles.  Starting in Waterville, we ventured down the Kennebec to the coast, in and out of coves, back and forth over peninsulas, and hopping from island to island.  While early April is prime time for catching bald eagles in the incubation stage, it is not what we consider the peak of the great blue heron nesting season.  In spite of this, it was still a good opportunity to fly by some known heron colony locations to see if anyone was home.

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Land Trust Sponsors Program on Damariscove’s Sea Birds

Posted in In The News, Photos, Species Specific, tagged , , , on March 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

   
 

Two black-crowned night-herons on Damariscove Island.

(From a 3/11/2010 News Release)

Historic Damariscove Island has yet another story to tell. On Sunday, March 21, at 2 p.m. at the Southport Town Hall, Boothbay Region Land Trust (BRLT) will host Brad Allen and Danielle D’Auria, wildlife biologists, who will detail the 2008 report to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife concerning the 19 pairs of Black-Crowned Night-Herons nesting on the island. The island’s Eider population will also be discussed.

While the program is open to the public free of charge, the land trust asks those wishing to attend to call the office at 633-4818 or email [email protected] for advance reservations.   

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