Volunteers Essential for Keeping an Eye on Maine's Herons
Now that winter has finally decided to show up in Maine, I figured I should report on our 2016 field season before the 2017 season is knocking at our door. I guess it takes a blizzard to get me to stay put long enough to enter and analyze the past year’s volunteer monitoring data! The Heron Observation Network’s volunteers have been monitoring great blue heron colonies across Maine for eight years now, and this past year’s effort was just as important as the first year of monitoring.
Tracking Maine's Great Blue Herons - Online!
This spring, MDIFW tagged five adult great blue herons with GPS transmitters as part of an ongoing effort to better understand the state’s great blue heron population. After a significant decline in the number of nesting pairs on Maine’s coastal islands from the 1980s to 2007, MDIFW listed the great blue heron as a Species of Special Concern and began a citizen science adopt-a-colony program called the Heron Observation Network.
Species Spotlight: Why Egrets are so Great!
[caption id="attachment_1334" align="alignleft" width="300"] A Snowy Egret sporting its plumes which were once more valuable than gold. Note its yellow feet.
HERON Volunteers Fill Crucial Information Gaps
[caption id="attachment_1318" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Great blue heron nest discovered and photographed by Paul Cyr.[/caption] This past spring while I was focused on completing an extensive aerial survey effort to estimate the statewide breeding population of great b
Species Spotlight: Maine's "Night Ravens"
[caption id="attachment_290" align="alignleft" width="295"] Adults perched during a ground survey.
On the Hunt for Heron Foraging Locations
[caption id="attachment_1277" align="aligncenter" width="879"] Photo series by Doug Albert.[/caption] We are looking for volunteers willing to scope out areas habitually used by foraging great blue herons in anticipation of a potential research project aimed at tracking adults with satellite transmitters. By partnering w
Biologists Take to the Air to Estimate Maine’s Heron Population
[caption id="attachment_1263" align="alignleft" width="300"] This is a typical "fly-by" view of a great blue heron colony. How many nests do you see?
Nocturnal Predators Likely Cause Colony Failures
[caption id="attachment_1225" align="alignright" width="300"] Typical time lapse camera and sound recorder setup.[/caption] The great blue heron was listed by MDIFW as a Species of Special Concern in Maine in 2007 because of a perceived population decline.
First Field Visit a Rewarding One
[caption id="attachment_1089" align="alignleft" width="300"] Volunteer, Rick Lawrence and technician, Brittany Currier, making observations from the wetland edge.[/caption] This Thursday, I had the pleasure of going out in the field with volunteer, Rick Lawrence, and technician, Brittany Currier. This was my first heron
2013 Heron Observation Network Photos from the Field
To celebrate the Heron Observation Network's fifth year, I put together a collection of Photos from the Field, taken by myself, co-workers, and some very talented HERON volunteers. Many THANKS to all the HERON volunteers who monitored colonies, and to the landowners that allowed access. Here's to another exciting year ahead of us! Happy 2014! http://youtu.be/GW31bH30grM
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