Peaks Island Land Preserve

03/31/2024

Ducks, ducks, ducks. We hear them quacking and see them waddling or paddling around, almost every day. But what do you really know about ducks? Well, Patty has made a new post to the Bird Blog, and she answers a lot of the questions you’ve always wondered about ducks. AND, she poses new duck question for you to ponder, while you enjoy the many photos and drawings she’s included of our web-footed friends. Read it at the Peaks Island Land Preserve's Bird Blog.
https://www.peaksislandlandpreserve.org/single-post/large-gatherings-of-peaks-island-sea-ducks

02/16/2024

The Peaks Island Land Preserve is pleased to announce that island author Rae Chalmers will be donating $4 per any book sales from now until Earth Day, April 22, to PILP!
Rae’s Oxbow Island Gang series of environmental mysteries celebrates an island community and its environment that seems an awful lot like Peaks. The books are illustrated by fellow islander, Jamie Hogan.
Summer Bats, the fifth and final book in the series, will be available the first week in March, and is for readers from 8 to 88!
For the donation to go to PILP, order the books directly from Rae by texting her at 207-590-7514 and picking them up from her when they are available in about 2 weeks. Books are $16.95 each. You can learn more about the Oxbow Island Gang series at raechalmers.com/.
Thanks to Rae and her support of the Peaks Island Land Preserve!

07/02/2023

The Peaks Island Land Preserve’s Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, July 13th, from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum. All are welcome to attend.

We hope you will join us at this beautiful place for light refreshments at 6pm. Mingling on the porch will be followed by our meeting at 7pm.

In addition to being one of the highlights of the summer, the Annual Meeting is a great chance to sign up for, or renew, your PILP membership. (If you are unable to attend this year’s celebration, you may become a member or send contributions to PILP at P.O. Box 99, Peaks Island, ME 04108, or through our website, www.peaksislandlandpreserve.org).

Thank you for your support this year and every year, and we’ll hope to see you on July 13th!

04/18/2023

You know how much fun PeaksFest is — How about WormFest? Patty just made a new post on the PILP Bird Blog, and that is the best place to find out what I'm talking about. Check it out!

Did anyone notice a large gathering of Common Eiders on Woodlanding Cove (end of Great Pond Rd) on April 6 and 7? Valerie did – so off we went to investigate what was causing the commotion. The Common Eiders, a Common Loon, a few Herring and Black-backed Gulls were searching for something on the s...

03/10/2023

Warmer winters have caused some changes in the birds you may be seeing at your feeder. The Audubon Society has made two efforts involving local birders to track those changes, the Christmas Bird Count and the Climate Watch Survey. In her latest Bird Blog post, Patty Wainright reports on the effort on Peaks…and the results. Follow the link to get the whole story.

Have any of you long-timers on Peaks Island been noticing changes in the avian visitors to your yards and bird feeders this winter? Apparently, warmer winters are encouraging some birds that used to head further south for the winter to establish their winter bases further north. And there are also s...

11/13/2022

After letting her mowed lawn go "wild" for two years, Laura Glendening shares the changes that have taken place. Learn more about it on the home page of our website, https://www.peaksislandlandpreserve.org/

07/12/2022

FIRE ON PEAKS
Tuesday morning, July 12

AN ABANDONED CAMPFIRE was discovered burning and spreading near the Indian Trail off Brackett Avenue this morning. Only quick action by a person who happened to be passing and alerted others and the Fire Department averted what could have been a serious event.

CAMPING IS NOT PERMITTED ON PEAKS.
FIRES ARE ALLOWED ONLY WITH A CITY PERMIT.
NO FIRES ARE ALLOWED ON PILP PROPERTIES.

Maine is very dry and experiencing drought conditions. A fire getting out of hand on an island can be a disaster, as Peaks has experienced several times over the years. Do not have a fire without a permit, and PLEASE extinguish it with water before you leave.

This story could have had a very different ending.

Peaks Island Land Preserve

06/22/2022

Wondering what’s going on at the Ice Pond?
Ever since the Peaks Island Land Preserve bought the Ice Pond property in 2014, we have been working on plans for its protection and preservation. One need, after the 100 year-old dam was rebuilt, was plantings on the dam berm to protect it from erosion. The idea for a wildflower meadow grew into a bird- and pollinator-friendly habitat of native species, designed by PILP Board member Elizabeth Walworth. You can follow the progress of the plan in a post titled “A Year of Hard Work and Progress at the Ice Pond.” It’s on an expanding Ice Pond page of the Land Preserve website, https://www.peaksislandlandpreserve.org/ice-pond-c1feh, or under the “Places We Protect” tab in the website’s main menu (https://www.peaksislandlandpreserve.org/).
While you’re there, take at look at the evocative video created in 2013 by then-President Curtis Rindlaub to alert the island community to the possible loss of the Ice Pond, and begin the fund-raising effort. I guarantee you’ll get a lump in your throat. The video will remain on the page but will move down as the planting updates continue.