Freeport Wild Bird Supply

06/19/2026

We have been enjoying watching a clutch of recently fledged Eastern Bluebirds learn to navigate life (especially the mealworm feeder!) at our home. They will lose their speckles later in the summer.

06/18/2026

This was fantastic. Give me all the thrushes next!

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06/17/2026

Aerial insectivores need our help!

Watch a Barn Swallow work a meadow on a summer evening and you'll understand why people fall in love with them. They sweep low over the grass, bank hard, skim the surface of a pond — catching insects mid-air with impossible precision. It is one of the great free performances in Maine's natural world.

And it is becoming increasingly rare.

Barn Swallows, Bank Swallows, Cliff Swallows, Tree Swallows — these birds belong to a group called aerial insectivores, and across North America they are in steep decline. In Maine, the situation is particularly urgent. Maine's Breeding Bird Atlas documents that Bank Swallows and Cliff Swallows have each lost roughly half of their historic breeding range in our state. Both are now listed as Threatened. Every other swallow species here carries a designation of Special Concern.

These aren't rare birds found in remote corners of Maine. These are the swallows nesting under bridges you cross every day, in the riverbanks along roads you drive every week. Their absence, when it comes, will be felt.

The causes are complex — flying insect populations are crashing due to pesticide use and habitat loss; nesting sites along riverbanks and on old barns are disappearing. But there are real things you can do:

🐤 Reduce or eliminate pesticide use — every insect is food
🐤 Protect wetlands and open foraging habitat
🐤 Leave active nests alone and in place (removing them is a federal crime under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act)
🐤 Keep barns accessible where swallows are nesting
🐤 Install Tree Swallow nest boxes
🐤 Keep cats indoors and dogs on leash during nesting season — ground-nesting aerial insectivores like Whippoorwills are especially vulnerable

Wildlife rehabilitation can't reverse the broad forces driving these declines. But when an injured swallow, flycatcher, or swift reaches us — birds that have already beaten difficult odds — we give them the best possible chance to return to the wild and contribute to the populations that remain.

That work depends on your support. If the story of Maine's aerial insectivores moves you, please consider making a gift today: avianhaven.org/donate

We have volunteers across the state ready to bring birds to us. To report an injured bird, call (207)382-6761.

06/16/2026

Bugs = birds.

96 percent of all terrestrial North American bird species rely on insects. If we conserve insects, we can also conserve birds. Learn how.

06/15/2026

New Tour(s) Announcement!

Sorry for the delay on scheduling these tours, but we now have set dates. Derek will once again be onboard as Guest Naturalist for this special “Whale Watch & Birding Buffs Combo” Cruise. The itinerary will include a visit to Eastern Egg Rock as well as whale feeding grounds. Nesting colonies and pelagic sightings will be highlighted. Around EER at this time we can expect to find Atlantic Puffins, Common Terns, Arctic Terns, Roseate Terns, Laughing Gulls, Double-Crested Cormorants, Common Eider, Black Guillemots, with a chance of Razorbill and Common Murre. Off-shore sightings may include Northern Gannets, up to 4 species of Shearwaters (Great, Sooty, Cory's, and Manx), and Wilson's Storm Petrels. Who knows? Perhaps the wandering TUFTED PUFFIN will be spotted! Sorry, no chumming this time, but we tend to get a little more time around Eastern Egg, and if there’s enough of us, a little more freedom to chase birds offshore!

More details are at the link below, and you can sign-up directly on the Cap'n Fish's site. And as a reminder, I will be on board the 9:00am trips each of the two dates.

Derek will be onboard for this special Whale Watch & Puffin Combo Cruise. The itinerary will include a visit to Eastern Egg Rock as well as whale feeding grounds. Nesting colonies and pelagic sightings will be highlighted. Around EER at this time we can expect to find Atlantic Puffins, Common Terns,...

06/14/2026

There's no way Blue Jays don't know the camera is there!

06/13/2026

Keep your feeders up in the summer! "A well-maintained feeder, stocked with appropriate seed, positioned thoughtfully, and cleaned regularly, provides genuine benefit to wild birds. The research supports this conclusion..."

A well-maintained feeder, stocked with appropriate seed, positioned thoughtfully, and cleaned regularly, provides genuine benefit to wild birds. The research supports this conclusion far more robustly than critics acknowledge.

06/12/2026

June is a great month for birding in Maine, and this June has been very good so far with rarities around the state. Meanwhile, staying closer to home for much of the week, my observations of note over the last 6 days included the following.

The Great-crested Flycatcher has been the “king bird” of our driveway, declaring dominance over the kestrel house we placed on an abandoned telephone pole. They have nested in it for the last three…

06/11/2026

Me today.

06/11/2026

Our August 9 Summer Shorebird Workshop with birding expert Derek Lovitch, co-owner of Freeport Wild Bird Supply, is designed to help participants appreciate the diversity and beauty of the 35+ shorebird species that regularly appear in Maine. Learn more and sign up now. 👇

With more than 35 species of shorebirds (a diverse group including plovers and sandpipers) regularly appearing in Maine, this workshop is designed to appreciate the diversity and beauty of this fascinating family.