Explore Nature with Biodiversity Power Hour
With the leaves changing and temperatures dropping, autumn is a wonderful time to explore nature! As the season progresses, we can observe numerous environmental changes. Early in the fall, many flowers still bloom, attracting pollinators. However, as weeks pass, birds and insects begin their migration journeys through and from Maine.
To monitor the seasonal changes at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center in Falmouth, we are hosting Biodiversity Power Hour each month in September, October, and November. During this hour, we will use iNaturalist to record species we observe. iNaturalist is a helpful app designed to assist users in identifying plants and animals and collecting data for scientific research.
Highlights from September
Our September Biodiversity Power Hour was a great success, with beautiful weather allowing us to record 182 observations in just one hour! This included 92 species of various plants, insects, and fungi. A notable sighting was the Red-banded Hairstreak, marking the third record for Maine and the first for Cumberland County, making it the northernmost observation in the state!
Bird Species Observed
We recorded 36 bird species, including:
- Northern Harriers
- Numerous migrating sparrows and warblers
- Bobolinks flying overhead
You can view all our iNaturalist data here and our eBird data here to explore our findings.
Upcoming Power Hours
Join us for the next Biodiversity Power Hours on October 9 and November 6. Pre-registration is encouraged! You can arrive at 7:30 AM for instructions on using the iNaturalist app, or join us at 8 AM as we begin our observations. Alternatively, you can watch this explainer video for a brief tutorial by Staff Naturalist Doug Hitchcox.
If you explore any of our other sanctuaries, we encourage you to upload observations to iNaturalist. Each sanctuary has its own project page—find them all here—and your contributions will help us monitor biodiversity over time.
Get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature while contributing to science!
