Scarborough resident Eddie Woodin recently donated $10,000 to the Maine Audubon towards its Birdathon fund-raiser, which raised more than $50,000 this year.

Woodin donated the money to the organization after learning about the existence of the ivory-billed woodpecker, long thought extinct but spotted in Arkansas in April. Woodin matched dollar-for-dollar every pledge of $50 or more to the Birdathon up to $10,000.

This year 125 people participated in the event and solicited pledges ranging from 10 cents to $10 for each bird species found between May 14 to June 2.

Woodin participated in the event as a member of the Mighty Marsh Muckers team, which counted 146 bird species on June 2 to raise funds for the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center.

In other Audubon news, Scarborough resident Julie Suchecki was named the 2005 Maine Audubon Volunteer of the Year during the organization’s annual meeting on June 15.

In her 10 years as a board member of the York County Chapter of Maine Audubon, Suchecki has served as secretary, established a Web site, recruited members, introduced new people to birding, revamped and edited the newsletter, and created and managed Maine’s largest and most active birding e-mail list.

As a volunteer at Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center, Suchecki designed and painted exhibits, worked on projects and fund-raisers, and designed trail and canoe guide brochures in French as well as English.

Suchecki is best known for establishing and managing the York chapter’s Birding Tree, which began as a phone tree to alert local birders of rare or unusual sightings and has grown to an e-mail list with several hundred subscribers in Maine and beyond.

Eddie Woodin presenting Maine Audubon’s Executive Director Kevin Carley with the $10,000 check.