Maine Audubon

10/15/2026

We know we've been talking a lot about how fall is a great time to plant, but did you know it's also a great time to collect seeds 🌱?

Join us this Saturday for a Seed Collection & Processing Native Plants Workshop at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center. You'll learn how to identify when seeds are ready, how to collect without impacting wild populations, and how to clean and store seeds for future use.

This is a great opportunity to gain foundational skills for growing native plants from seed and building your own seed sources.

Plus, after the program, you can browse the nursery at Gilsland Farm with our Native Plants Team and purchase native plants before the end of the season!

Learn more and sign up below.

https://maineaudubon.org/events/native-plants-workshop-oct/

10/15/2026

Want to learn more about the birds you can see at Portland's Back Cove Trail? Join us for an accessible birding outing with Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox on Wednesday, October 21!

Mid-October is a great time to watch ducks and geese arriving for the winter, look for lingering sparrows, and get acquainted with the gulls that frequent the area. We'll meet at the Back Cove Trail Parking Lot at 8 am. We plan on being stationary throughout our birding, and we’ll bird near a few permanent benches that are along the edge of the trail, which is a 5+-foot-wide path of compacted stone dust

This program is part of Birdability Week, an annual collection of events that is a celebration of birders with disabilities and other health concerns, as well as an opportunity to share resources and ideas to help the birding community become accessible, inclusive, and welcoming to everybody.

No registration required. Click the link below to learn more about the trail and get directions to the meeting spot.

https://maineaudubon.org/events/birdability-accessible-birding-in-back-cove/

10/14/2026

It's going to be a beautiful fall day tomorrow 🍂! There's still time to sign up for a guided walk to learn all about meadow habitats at Gilsland Farm!

Sign up below 👇.

10/14/2026

We ❤ planting in the fall! If you're in the Bangor area, get your orders in for the last plant pickup at Fields Pond Audubon Center!

Fall is a great time to plant native 🪴, and this is your last chance to order from the 2026 Maine Native Plants Sale!

Place your order by Wednesday, October 21, to be included in the last plant sale pickup of the season at Fields Pond Audubon Center (in Holden, serving the Greater Bangor area) on Friday, October 23.

Take advantage of some great deals and make your garden a biodiverse native habitat for pollinators and other wildlife!

Learn more and pick out plants at the link below.

https://shop.mainenativeplants.org/

10/14/2026

Spend a relaxing afternoon learning how to paint the many native berries 🫐 found in Maine with local artist Kristin F. Simmons, Digital Marketing & Visual Storyteller!

Join us this Saturday, October 17, from 1:30–4 pm, at the Ann and Jim Hancock Native Plants Education Center at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center. Kristin will demonstrate watercolor techniques and show how to create a composition inspired by Maine native berries.

No experience needed. All materials are provided. Just show up ready to slow down, look closely, and let nature do what it does best.

Learn more and sign up below.

https://maineaudubon.org/events/native-plants-art-oct/

10/14/2026

If you have visited Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth recently, you may have noticed a certain large wading bird lurking around the orchard and brush pile 👀.

While you may normally see a Great Blue Heron near marshes, ponds, or wetlands, searching for fish and other small prey to eat, they can and do hunt for food on dry land, too.

The Great Blue Heron currently being spotted around Gilsland Farm was likely born this year and is having success hunting rodents on drier land. So if you see it while you're taking a walk on the trails, remember to keep your distance, and you'll get to watch an ambush predator at work!

Keep watching for this week's Wildlife Wednesday with Field Naturalist, Stacia.

10/10/2026

Need a break from scrolling? Join us on Thursday, October 15, from 5:30–6:30 pm, at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth for a guided walk to observe meadows after peak bloom.

Spend an hour learning about different plants like goldenrods and asters and how their abundant seeds and stems support migrating birds, small mammals, and a huge diversity of insects.

"Natural Communities: Walk the Meadows of Gilsland Farm" is free for Maine Audubon members, $8 for nonmembers.

Sign up and enjoy the beautiful fall weather with us!

https://maineaudubon.org/events/natural-communities-visit-meadows/

10/09/2026

What kind of mushroom do you think we'll find next 🍄‍🟫?

Watch this week's Friday Fungi Fun Fact all about the Maitake mushroom, aka Hen of the Woods 🐔. And if you want to learn how to identify and ethically forage edible mushrooms like this one, sign up for our Mushroom Class and Walk with North Spore on October 18.

Also, please remember: if you see any mushrooms at any Maine Audubon sanctuaries, leave them be so other visitors can observe them, too!

Learn more and sign up for our upcoming mushroom walk below.

https://maineaudubon.org/events/mushroom-class-and-walk-with-north-spore/