The Evening Grosbeak is one of the most beloved birds in Maine and one of the most enigmatic. These chunky finches are gorgeous: the yellow, black and white of the males suggests a goldfinch on steroids. Females swap out the yellow for a blue-gray color, yielding a more subtle beauty.

Evening Grosbeaks are members of the finch family (Fringillidae) and belong to the group known as the northern finches. Many of these birds nest to our north in the boreal forest or even the tundra. Winter conditions occasionally force these birds to move south in search of food. When that happens, Maine can be hopping with Pine Siskins, crossbills or Evening Grosbeaks.

Although Evening Grosbeaks nest in Maine, we mainly see Evening Grosbeaks in the winter as our population swells from northern birds pushed south.

This winter has turned out to be one of the best years in memory for Evening Grosbeaks in Maine. For the 2022-2023 Christmas Bird Counts,  22 counts found Evening Grosbeaks. Presque Isle took high honors with 154 grosbeaks, barely nudging out the 151 sighted in Unity. Orono, Ellsworth and Hartland all had over 50 individuals.

Despite the invasion, most birders have not been lucky enough to see them. This species is highly nomadic, with flocks seldom staying in one place for very long. They do love sunflower seeds, so feeders are attractive. The voracious appetites of these birds can put a dent in the budget of people that try to keep these gluttons fed.

It’s worth familiarizing yourself with the flight call of Evening Grosbeaks. The loud, mechanical clee-ip sound is distinctive. You can hear recordings of their flight calls and songs at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Evening_Grosbeak/sounds I hear far more Evening Grosbeaks than I see.

The original range of Evening Grosbeaks was in the coniferous forests of western North America. The species spread eastward during the latter part of the 19^th century. The first record of Evening Grosbeak in Maine was an incursion in the winter of 1889-1990. The species was not found again in Maine for 19 years.

The movement east is thought to have been facilitated by the planting of non-native ornamental trees, especially box elder, that provide seeds for the grosbeaks.

Caterpillar abundance, especially spruce budworm, plays an important role in the abundance of Evening Grosbeaks here in Maine. In particular, spruce budworms go through boom-and-bust cycles.

Although we think of finches as seedeaters, finches need to feed their nestlings more protein-rich food like caterpillars. So, when spruce budworms are abundant, nesting success of Evening Grosbeaks is high.

Peak numbers of Evening Grosbeaks in the northeast occurred from the 1960’s into the 1990’s when spruce budworm outbreaks were frequent. I remember large flocks of Evening Grosbeaks in the winters in North Carolina during the 1960’s, a sign that Evening Grosbeak abundance was high.

Alas, Evening Grosbeak populations have been declining since the turn of the century. The explanation for these declines is complex but certainly the lack of any spruce budworm outbreaks since 2000 played a role.

Field work for the Maine Breeding Bird Atlas shows scattered confirmed or probable evidence of nesting in the southern half of the state. However, most of the confirmed or probable records are in the boreal forests in the northern third of the state.

The name grosbeak, derived from the French for big beak, is certainly apt for Evening Grosbeaks. However, use of the name grosbeak can cause taxonomic confusion. We have four grosbeaks in Maine: the Evening Grosbeak, Pine Grosbeak, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and the uncommon vagrant Blue Grosbeak.

Evening Grosbeak and Pine Grosbeak are both members of the finch family. However, they are not that closely related. The closest relatives of the Pine Grosbeak are House Finches and Purple Finches.

Rose-breasted grosbeaks and Blue Grosbeaks are members of a different family altogether, the cardinal family (Cardinalidae).

In this post, I will continue my review of some of the Maine Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) conducted between mid-December and early January. Each CBC is conducted within a circle of 15 miles in diameter on a single day. The data from all the CBCs are collated by the National Audubon Society and provide a powerful tool for assessing changes in winter bird populations.

The Portland CBC usually has the highest species count of all Maine CBCs and the 103 species recorded was tops in the state. Twenty species of waterfowl were found with the most unusual being a pair of Gadwall and three Ring-necked Ducks.

Common Loons abounded with 426 spotted along with 20 Red-throated Loons. Grebes were harder to come by with 42 of both Horned Grebes and Red-necked Grebes. A straggling Pied-billed Grebe was a nice find.

Forty Black Guillemots were the most abundant members of the auk family with two Thick-billed Murres and seven Razorbills adding some diversity. It is shaping up to be a poor winter for northerly gulls with only one Iceland Gull and no Glaucous Gulls present.

Lingering land birds included six Belted Kingfishers, three Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, 15 Northern Flickers, three Winter Wrens, a Marsh Wren, nine Ruby-crowned Kinglets, six Hermit Thrushes, a Savannah Sparrow, three Swamp Sparrows, ten Red-winged Blackbirds, and three Brown-headed Cowbirds

Rare birds were two Orange-crowned Warblers and a Dickcissel. Northern finches were scarce with four Common Redpolls, 24 Red Crossbills and a lone Pine Siskin present.

Let’s compare two CBCs in adjacent towns: Bangor and Orono. The Orono CBC on December 17 recorded 49 species. A Snow Goose and three Barrow’s Goldeneyes were the most unusual of the seven waterfowl species.

Compared to Portland and other southerly Maine CBCs, Orono had few lingering land birds from the summer: a Northern Flicker, six Eastern Bluebirds and three Northern Mockingbirds.

Six species of finches were present, highlighted by 21 Purple Finches and 57 Evening Grosbeaks.

The Bangor CBC on December 31 had 59 species. Only seven species of waterfowl were found with the 661 Mallards easily being the most common. Only four Common Goldeneyes were found, a surprisingly low total.

One Common Loon was still sticking around. Six species of hawks were tallied with a Northern Harrier and a Red-Shouldered hawk being the most notable.

As at Orono, few lingering birds were found. These included 30 Eastern Bluebirds, a Chipping Sparrow, and a Field Sparrow.

Six finch species were spotted including 20 Pine Grosbeaks, 15 Common Redpolls and 19 Evening Grosbeaks.

The Mount Desert Island CBC had 61 species on December 18. Fourteen species of waterfowl appeared with the 701 Mallards being most common. This area is a good wintering area for Common Eiders so the 357 tallied here were not surprising.

Common Loons were just that with 111 found along with a trio of Red-throated Loons. In the same near-shore habitat, the counters found 36 Horned Grebes and 46 Red-necked Grebes. The 40 Razorbills constituted a fine record.

Lingering birds included a Great Blue Heron, a Carolina Wren and a Yellow-rumped Warbler. Seven species of finches were found, with the 84 Red Crossbills, eight White-winged Crossbills, 168 Pine Siskins and 18 Evening Grosbeaks being most noteworthy.

Let’s head just a few miles north and east where the Schoodic CBC started the new year right with a count of 57 species. Thirteen species of waterfowl included 20 Harlequin Ducks and an impressive high count of 354 Buffleheads.

Loons found were 40 Common Loons and one of the Red-throated persuasion. Grebe numbers were modest with 20 Horned Grebes and 21 Red-necked Grebes.

The four species of gulls included eight Black-legged Kittiwakes, an uncommon gull so far this winter in Maine. This count had a dearth of lingering land birds. The five species of northern finches included 83 Red Crossbills, 91 Pine Siskins and 19 Evening Grosbeaks.

The 123^rd year of the National Audubon Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs)  is now history. Each CBC is conducted within a circle of 15-mile diameter on a single day between mid-December and early January. The data provide a powerful means for assessing changes in winter bird abundance and distribution.

The York CBC, held on December 19, produced a list of 84 species. Thirteen species of waterfowl were present with over a thousand Canada Geese and 32 Harlequin Ducks as highlights. A single lingering Double-crested Cormorant was found along with the more expected 24 Great Cormorants.

Four members of the auk family were present including a Dovekie and a Thick-billed Murre.

A super find was an Eastern Screech-Owl. This species seems to be slowly moving northward into our state. Some Eastern Bluebirds have been overwintering in Maine and that number seems to be increasing. A total of 136 of these blue beauties were tallied.

Two Great Blue Herons, three Winter Wrens, 24 Carolina Wrens, a Hermit Thrush, three Gray Catbirds, an Eastern Towhee, a Red-winged Blackbird and a Common Grackle had not been impelled to move south to more hospitable winter climes.

The unpredictable northern finches were mostly absent this year with a single Purple Finch and seven Pine Siskins.

Let’s head way downeast to Machias Bay where the count was done on December 30. Fifty-five species were counted. A dozen waterfowl species were present, with the 527 Buffleheads being most abundant.

Only three Red-throated Loons were present along with 27 Common Loons. Grebes were scarce with just seven Horned Grebes and five Red-necked Grebes.

Only three species of gulls showed themselves. No rare gulls this year.

Both species of waxwings were present: 42 Bohemians and 47 Cedars. One Northern Flicker and six Red-winged Blackbirds were the only lingering birds.

Northern finches put on a good show with two Pine Grosbeaks, 54 Red Crossbills, 97 White-winged Crossbills, three Pine Siskins and two Evening Grosbeaks.

Off to the northwest to Grand Lake Stream where 21 species were counted on December 15. Enough open water was present to support 12 American Black Ducks, 12 Mallards, three Hooded Mergansers and two Common Mergansers.

Four Common Ravens outnumbered the single American Crow. A single Tufted Titmouse and two Northern Cardinals are evidence of the continued northward expansion of these two species in the state.

The only finches on the count were 10 American Goldfinches.

Now to two inland CBCs in central Maine: Augusta and Waterville.  The Augusta count yielded 49 species on December 17. Six species of waterfowl were led by 375 Canada Geese. Mergansers put on a good show with 37 Hooded Mergansers and 117 Common Mergansers.

Two Common Loons found enough open water to cause them to linger. Iceland Gulls are always a good sighting and the two here were unusual for this winter in Maine so far. A single Red-shouldered Hawk was a nice find for the winter in central Maine.

Among the songbirds, the most abundant were American Crows (849) and Black-capped Chickadees (684).

Hardy lingering birds from the summer included two Carolina Wrens, 105 Eastern Bluebirds and two Northern Mockingbirds.

The finch tally included 15 Purple Finches and a dozen Evening Grosbeaks.

The Waterville count was held the following day and produced 60 species. Eight species of waterfowl were found, headlined by two Buffleheads and two Barrow’s Goldeneyes. Unlike Augusta, mergansers were hard to come by, just six each for Hooded Mergansers and Common Mergansers.

Hardy (or foolhardy) lingering birds included a Great Blue Heron, three Northern Flickers, five Carolina Wrens, ten Eastern Bluebirds, a Northern Mockingbird and six Savannah Sparrows.

Northern finches were uncommon with five Purple Finches, three Pine Siskins and 14 Evening Grosbeaks.

The Waterville CBC is usually one of the more reliable counts for Lapland Longspur. This year a single bird was found.

We had a particularly brutal cold spell in Maine from February 3-6, with temperatures falling below -20 °F and winds exceeding 60 mph. The wind chill values approached -50 °F here in central Maine. As we struggle to tolerate intense cold and biting wind chill, we have to marvel at the ability of our wintering birds to deal with such intense weather. Here is a link to a short talk (in Pecha Kucha style) that I gave as an overview of the remarkable adaptations birds have to winter temperature stress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaYZkGA0Et8

This post is a recounting some of the notable events of birds and birding in Maine in 2022. It was an amazing year.

This past summer was the fifth and final year of the Maine Breeding Bird Atlas. Remote, unsampled areas were a focus of the final year of field work. The project used 7.5-minute topographical quadrangle maps (over 660 in Maine) to divide up the state, each divided into six nine square-mile blocks.  At least one block in every quadrangle was completed, a mammoth effort ensuring that the entire state is adequately covered.

You can see maps of all the bird species by googling Maine Breeding Bird Atlas. The field work is just the beginning. The coordinators will now devote themselves to analysis of the maps. This atlas allows us to see changes in Maine bird populations since the publication of the first Maine atlas, based on field work from 1979 to 1983 and will provide a solid basis for comparison of changes in future atlases.

A parallel project is the Maine Winter Bird Atlas, now in its final year. Google Maine Winter Bird Atlas to see how you can contribute. Even a few hours of birding make a difference.

Avian Haven in Freedom administered wild bird care to 3200 injured birds and 75 turtles. Twenty new volunteers joined the team at the facility and there are now 350 drivers who transport injured birds to the facility.

As far as rare birds in Maine in 2022, the Steller’s Sea-eagle must be the undisputed star. This vagrant from eastern Asia appeared at Five Islands in late December of 2021 and delighted hundreds of birds until early March. The sea-eagle was, of course, a first record for Maine. Many birders from out of state came to the Midcoast to see the eagle, a significant boost to local merchants and lodging establishments.

We know the sea-eagle next moved to the north shore of Nova Scotia and spent much of the summer and fall in Newfoundland. It has recently been seen in the French islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, well west of Newfoundland. Amazingly, it was resighted in the Arrowsic area on February 4, 2023 and is still present as of this writing!

Technology played a role in the success of seeing the sea-eagle as birders used the group-messaging app called GroupMe. Observers posted information on the location of the bird so other birders could see the sea-eagle.

We know have a GroupMe group called Maine Rare Bird Alert that is used to share information about rare birds in Maine. I find this app to be extraordinarily useful. It’s free and works on IOS, Android and Web phones.

A Barnacle Goose that appeared in Rockland in November of 2021 lingered into 2022, moving around the peninsula and then reappearing at a farm in Warren in April. The closest breeding population of these geese is Greenland. There are ten previous records for the state.

Henslow’s Sparrow is a grassland sparrow nesting in the Midwest eastward to New York. A secretive bird, its presence is usually first detected by the buzzy tzelick song in the breeding season. Gordon Smith recognized the song from his car at a rural intersection in Brunswick on July 5. A pair stayed until August 2, providing the first solid evidence of breeding bird in Maine. There are three earlier single-day records for the state.

Northern Lapwing is a jazzy plover found in Europe and Asia. One appeared in Thomaston on December 11 and a flock of five appeared in Hodgdon near Houlton between December 11 and 16, providing the sixth and seventh records of the state. Broad-tailed Hummingbirds occur at high elevations in the western United States. One appeared in Freeport at a hummingbird feeder on November 7 and is still reported present as of December 22. Distinguishing young hummingbirds is difficult but this one was captured by a bander to confirm the identification. It is the first record for Maine.

Birding is an activity that brings joy to many Americans. A survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claimed that over 15 million U.S. citizens are birders. Their definition is a rather lax one, requiring that a person taking just a single trip away from home qualifies as a birder. The number of hard-core birders (members of bird clubs or ornithological societies, users of eBird, enthusiastic bird listers, regular travelers to birding destinations) contains only a fraction of those 15 million people. Nonetheless, interest in birds is high in the U.S.

That interest in birds means there is a vibrant market for books on birds and birding. The number of new titles can seem overwhelming. Today, I want to provide a brief review of two recent bird books by Maine authors.

The first is Loon Lessons: Uncommon Encounters with the Great Northern Diver by Dr. James Paruk. Dr. Paruk is one of the leading experts on Common Loons, having studied these birds from Washington and Saskatchewan to the coasts of California, Louisiana and Maine. He is a Professor of Biology at St. Joseph’s College in Standish, an adjunct Professor of Biology at the University of Southern Maine and a Research Scientist at the Biodiversity Research Institute.

The book is logically arranged into 12 chapters. The first chapter describes the various skeletal, muscular and physiological features that make a common loon such a great diver. Next, four chapters cover reproduction (courtship, nesting behavior, calls, and vigilant defense of eggs and chicks).

A chapter on loon behavior includes a detailed discussion of the foot waggle and its probable function. This behavior is also seen in diving ducks, grebes and mergansers. Interesting stuff!

Two chapters cover loon migrations and winter ecology. We learn about habitat selection, fidelity to wintering sites and diet during migration and during the winter.

Three major threats to loons are exposure to mercury, lead and oil spills. Jim covers these threats thoroughly in a chapter that is alarming but hopeful. The final chapter is a look forward for how our changing planet will affect common loons.

Jim’s writing is crisp and clear. Twenty color photos and some black-and-white figures augment the text. I appreciate the references at the end of each chapter, allowing the reader to find original sources to explore a topic more fully.

The second book is Duet: Our Journey in Song with the Northern Mockingbird by Phillip Hoose. Phil is an award-winning writer who lives in Portland. His earlier books include two birds books, one on Red Knots and one on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

Duet explores the poorly known but significant relationship between humans and the Northern Mockingbird. The mockingbird is renowned for imitating convincingly the sounds of many species of birds and other natural sounds.

The book is arranged in chronological order. Phil begins with a chapter on mockingbirds and native Americans. The mockingbird appears in many myths and legends, particularly with respect to the development of languages.

We learn about Christopher Columbus marveling at the song of the nightingale at various stops in the Caribbean. Nightingales are not found in the New World and Phil believes Columbus was hearing northern mockingbirds with their varied repertoire.

In 1712, the English naturalist Mark Catesby visited North America and painted 220 species of plants and animals. His paintings included what he called the mock-bird.

Who knew Thomas Jefferson was a mockingbird fan? He had a number of these birds as pets.

The early 19^th century was a heyday for American ornithology with the work of Audubon and Alexander Wilson. We learn of their interests in the mockingbird.

We discover more about the inspiration of northern mockingbirds for songwriters and novelists, and about the role that mockingbirds played in bird conservation.

The book is lavishly illustrated with many photos of birds, people and related objects. I learned much from this delightful book.

An important assessment of the bird populations in the United States has just been published. Titled State of the Birds Report: United States of America 2022, this publication was produced by a consortium of governmental agencies, non-government conservation organizations and professional ornithological societies. I am pleased to see that one of the participating organizations is the Biodiversity Research Institute based in Gorham, Maine.

As you no doubt suspect, this report is alarming. Since 1970, the United States and Canada have lost three billion breeding birds, a loss of 25% of our breeding birds.

Seventy species are at a tipping point. Without significant intervention, the risk of extinction of these species looms large. For the purposes of this report, a tipping point species is on a trajectory to lose 50% of their population in the next 50 years.

Declines of our bird populations is pervasive. Bird populations are showing declines in every habitat except wetlands.

Grassland birds are suffering the greatest declines in their populations. Most of these 24 species are on the eastern Great Plains but one of the six tipping point species, the Bobolink, occurs in Maine and is declining here.

Eastern forest birds show a 30% loss since 1970 but the curve has leveled off since 2009. Stopping the decline is great but we need to get the curve on an upward trajectory. The tipping point species in this habitat (including Bicknell’s Thrush Evening Grosbeak) have declined by 63% since 1970 but the rate of their decline has slowed a bit.

Two species of concern in the eastern forest are the Wood Thrush and Cerulean Warbler. The former occurs in Maine. A partnership called the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture involving over 50 organizations from Alabama to New York has helped to stabilize the Cerulean Warbler populations and increased the growth of the Wood Thrush populations.

Seabirds are declining around the world. One study showed a 70% decline in seabirds since 1950. In the Gulf of Maine, Atlantic Puffins are at the mercy of climate change. Since 2012, the Gulf of Maine has experienced four periods of marine heatwaves. The preferred fish prey for the puffins decline due to the warmer temperatures and the puffins cannot find sufficient food to feed their chicks. The summer of 2013 was particularly severe with a nearly 90% reduction in fledged young.

Shorebirds show dramatic losses in the past 30 years. Ten of the 29 species considered are tipping point species, including regular Maine migrants like American Golden-Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher and Whimbrel). Protecting these species is daunting because these birds are long-distance migrants. Habitat destruction on their arctic breeding grounds, their southern wintering grounds and their migratory stop-over areas represents a multi-pronged threat.

Wetlands give us cause for hope. Many species of waterfowl have bounced back thanks to conservation programs, wetlands restoration and funding provided by duck stamps. The 22 species of dabbling ducks and diving ducks have increased by nearly 50% since 1990. Seven species of geese and swans are currently near historic population levels, increasing six-fold since 1970. This increase is primarily due to their use of agricultural fields and urban habitats. Think Canada Geese!

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is an important tool for conservation of species under threat of extinction.  The ESA has been the fulcrum for recovery of some bird species including Brown Pelicans, Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons devastated by the DDT crisis. But we need to act to maintain our bird populations before they reach Threatened or Endangered Status.

Just as a rising tide lifts all boats, conservation measures to protect and sustain birds benefits other wildlife as well. A diverse biological community is a stronger and more stable community.  Bird conservation promotes environmental justice, ameliorating environmental inequities by improving habitats that have been particularly harmed by human activities.

Will they come or not? With winter approaching, it’s time to think about northern finches. A suite of finch species breeds mostly to our north in the expansive boreal forests of Canada and Alaska. Like other finches, these northern finches depend on seeds from conifers and other trees for their sustenance.

We know that seed production by trees varies greatly from year to year as well as place to place. When seed production is high on the breeding grounds of northern finches, they forsake migration and tough out the extreme northern winter. No problem if food is adequate.

But in years when seed production is poor, those birds are forced to migrate south in search of food. We call these movements irruptions.

Seeing an irruption of crossbills, redpolls or Evening Grosbeaks depends on low seed availability in the north and high seed production in our area. Abundant seed crops here are not guarantee that we will see northern finches. They might find sufficient elsewhere and our productive seed crop may be untapped. Good for the trees but not for seeing northern finches.

For years, Jean Irons and Ron Pittaway, and now Tyler Hoar, in Ontario have been examining the spatial distribution of seed crops in northeastern North America to lend insight into the likelihood of good finch irruptions.

Let’s start with the crossbills. Our two crossbill species are among the most specialized foragers in North America. Their peculiar, crossed bill is perfect for inserting between two overlapping scales of a conifer cone. They then use their spear-like tongue to extract the seed at the base of the lower scale. Their bills are do their single job well but function poorly in feeding on other types of food. So, crossbills must find adequate cone crops.

White-winged Crossbills have smaller bills and weaker jaw muscles than Red Crossbills and hence specialize on smaller cones. Black spruce are the favored cones with hemlocks providing a second choice. Other cones are used only in desperate times.

Hoar reports that spruce cone availability in western North America is high and relatively poor in our part of North America. Expect few white-wings this winter.

Red Crossbills can accommodate bigger cones with their sturdier bills. They use a wider diversity of cones than white-winged crossbills and even the toughest, largest cones can have their seeds stripped by red crossbills.

However, the situation is quite complicated with Red Crossbills. Researchers have identified ten distinct types of red crossbills, based on morphological differences as well as distinctive call notes. See the Finch Research Network to find information on identifying the types of Red Crossbills.

Here in New England, we expect to see the Northeastern Red Crossbill and occasionally Appalachian Red Crossbill with medium-sized bills. But, in some years, we see an influx of mainly western morphs like Ponderosa Pine Red Crossbills with their massive bills and Western Hemlock Red Crossbills with small bills.

Red spruce and white pine cone production was strong this summer in Maine so we expect good numbers of northeastern Red Crossbill types this summer although they may migrate further down the eastern seaboard as our cone supplies are depleted.

Pine Siskins prefer the cones of eastern white cedars. In the northeast, we have a strong crop of these cones so siskins should be around for at least the first part of the winter. Many will move south as cones are depleted here.

Common Redpolls specialize on birch seeds. Birch seed crops in the boreal forest were poor this year so look for a moderate flight of these delightful birds into Maine.

Evening Grosbeaks are enigmatic, but Tyler Hoar believes we will entertain these charismatic birds this fall and winter. Fingers crossed!

Purple Finches will likely winter south of this year. Pine Grosbeaks, a fruit-eating finch, will likely appear this winter because of our great mountain ash berry crop.

In the last post, we explored how artificial intelligence, a field of computer science, can be used for bird identification. In particular, the app Merlin can identify with remarkable accuracy bird photos and bird sounds. The free app is available from your iPhone or Android app store.

Today, we will explore another software product, iNaturalist (iNat for short), that also uses artificial intelligence to train the software to identify organisms. iNaturalist first appeared in 2013 and has grown remarkably both in terms of the sophistication of the software and the number of users.

iNaturalist is a community-focused program. A user either uploads a photo or records a sound. You fill in the date and location of your record. You can either type in the name of the organism if you know it or ask the AI (artificial intelligence feature) of iNat to take a crack at the identification. Click Submit and you have uploaded your first iNat record.

iNaturalist is a collaborative endeavor. When you first post a photo, your record is tagged as Needs ID. You need another naturalist to either confirm your identification or suggest an alternative if she thinks you have misidentified your organism. If there is no dissenting view, another person agreeing with your identification upgrades your record to Research Grade, a confirmed record.

iNaturalist is used for all types of organisms. As of this writing, there are over 113 million records in iNat, showing over 396,000 species. Over 15 million bird photos and recordings have been posted, representing 10,320 species (virtually all the species in the world).

iNaturalist has powerful search tools allowing any user to find records of particular interest. For instance, a quick search reveals that there are over 44,000 records of birds in Maine, covering 392 species. Over 4,500 naturalists have submitted records of Maine birds. The most frequently photographed birds, in decreasing order, are Herring Gull, Common Eider, Common Loon, Mallard and Bald Eagle. 

I see that Weston Barker has photographed the most bird species in Maine with a whopping 274 species. Fyn Kind is not far behind with 261 species.

iNaturalist has a powerful search engine that allows one to home in on particular areas (from the World down to counties), specific dates or date ranges, usernames, and conservation status. Scores of researchers have downloaded iNat data for use in scientific articles.

iNat provides a great way to expand your natural history knowledge. Let’s say you are out in the woods photographing birds and see a particular fungus growing on a log, a wasp at a flower and a salamander under a log. Take a photo of each and post it to iNat. You can use the iNat AI to suggest a name for each species or rely on other observers with expertise in that group of organisms to nail down the species.

iNat comes in two platforms. One is web-based so point your browser on your computer to iNaturalist.org

You will be asked to register for a free account. First choose a username. I use herbwilson as my username, but many people prefer to remain anonymous and choose usernames like fm5050 or grizzlymarmot. You then upload your photos, and you are off.

Alternatively, you can download the iNat app for your Android smartphone or iPhone. It’s easy to add records using the app. You take a photo and ask the iNat AI to identify the species. The app reads your location and date from your phone. You click Submit and the record is added to the iNat database.

As with the Merlin app, you should always be skeptical of the identifications made by the AI of iNat. Some species are identified with amazing accuracy, but other groups have lots of similar species, so errors can occur. Those errors are reduced by the review process of fellow iNat users who examine your Needs ID records.

Some flashy moth and butterfly caterpillars are abundant now. The link below will take you to an article recently republished in The Bangor Daily News. The article first appeared in October, 2019. Aislinn Sarnacki interviewed me and Charlene Donahue of the Maine State Museum for the article. I hope you enjoy the piece and the pictures.

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2022/10/08/homestead/flashy-fall-caterpillars-in-maine/