Gilsland Farm programs

Unless noted otherwise, all programs are held at Gilsland Farm Audubon Center, 20 Gilsland Farm Road, Falmouth. For reservations and details call 781-2330, ext. 215.

Junior Naturalists’ Club: Wildlife Tracking

This new program is designed for young people ages 10-13 who have an interest in wildlife and natural history. Every other month students will get together and explore a different topic, visiting habitats, searching for wildlife and studying behavior. Feb.’s program will focus on wildlife tracking and reading animal signs. Learning to read tracks and signs can expose you to a whole different understanding of wildlife, from where they live to how they hunt and what they eat. Students will learn the basics of track identification and interpretation while exploring Gilsland Farm and other local natural areas. Participants should bring lunch and dress for the outdoors.

Saturday, Feb. 12, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. $24/member, $32/nonmember. Reservations necessary. Limited to 8 participants.

Nature Book Discussion Group “Ordinary Wolves” by Seth Kantner

A stirring and vivid novel about a white boy raised among natives on the harsh Alaskan tundra, “Ordinary Wolves” depicts the life of Cutuk – a boy equally uncomfortable in the ways of whites and Inupiaq – as he hunts, fishes and lives off the land, far away from the grinding yet beckoning machine of consumer culture. Dispelling all mythical visions of Alaska, this evocative novel leads readers down its true trails.

Monday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m. Free.

Course: Winter Twig Identification

Learn how to identify woody plants by their branchlets and other features that remain throughout the winter. Through lecture, slides, guided keying of specimens and field investigation, botanist Arthur Haines will teach us a host of skills useful for identifying plants in the winter as well as the growing season. This program is designed for both professional and amateur botanists. Be sure to bring lunch and dress for the outdoors.

Saturday, Feb. 19, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. $34/member, $42/nonmember. Reservations necessary. Limited to 14 participants.

Family Nature Walk

Bring your snowshoes or rent them here and join naturalist Gary Roberts for a winter-morning exploration of Gilsland Farm. Gary will show you a different way of looking at things, focusing on plants and animals and their winter survival strategies.

Saturday, Feb. 26, 10-11:30 a.m. Members: $6/adult, $3/child; Nonmembers: $8/adult, $4/child. Reservations necessary.

Naturalists’ Forum

Avid and beginner naturalists meet for a lecture on a different natural history topic each month. Check www.maineaudubon.org after Feb. 15 for this month’s topic.

Monday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m. Free.

Audubon trips

Reservations necessary, unless noted. Call 781-2330, ext. 215, for itineraries, prices and other details.

Tracking Maine’s Elusive Lynx

Rare and notoriously elusive, Maine’s small population of Canada lynx is being closely studied by dedicated biologists who now invite you to join them in the northern Maine wilderness to track these large felines. Led by Mark McCollough, endangered species biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Laura Sebastianelli, ecologist and outreach specialist at Tanglewood 4-H Camp in Lincolnville, participants will travel by snowshoe or cross-country ski into lynx habitat to look for tracks and learn about tracking and survey techniques for the beautiful cats. We’ll also keep an eye out for other wildlife such as pine marten and snowshoe hare. Lodging is at Twin Pine Camps on Millinocket Lake, which combines the amenities of hot and cold running water with the rustic charms of a sporting camp. Participants should be in good physical shape and comfortable walking, skiing or snowshoeing in heavily wooded terrain. Trip includes lodging and all meals.

From Millinocket, Friday evening, Feb. 11 to Sunday afternoon, Feb. 13 Led by Mark McCollough, Laura Sebastianelli. $350/member, $375/nonmember (no single accommodations). Limited to 12 participants.

Nature and Bird Walk

Located on a peninsula surrounded by the Harraseeket River and Casco Bay, Winslow Memorial Park offers great views and easy walking trails. We will look for Barrow’s and common goldeneyes on this morning’s foray. Meet at the first parking lot on the left off Staples Point Road in Freeport.

Freeport, Saturday, Feb. 12, 10 a.m.-noon. Led by a Maine Audubon volunteer. Free.

Wings of Winter: The Cliff House in Ogunquit

The harlequin duck is one of Maine’s most beautiful winter visitors. Its slate-blue body is flecked with white spots and stripes and crimson patches and crests, suggesting its namesake in appearance. Groups of 10 to 20 harlequins can commonly be seen feeding in the turbulent waters along the rocky coastline at The Cliff House, a hotel in Ogunquit. From this vantage point we can also hope to see king eider, purple sandpiper, red-throated and common loons, long-tailed duck, all three scoters, black guillemot, horned and red-necked grebes, and rafts of common eider. If time allows we’ll walk along Marginal Way, also in Ogunquit, and search for other winter waterfowl.

Ogunquit, Saturday, Feb. 19, 9 a.m.-noon. Led by Scott Cronenweth. $10/member, $15/nonmember. Limited to 15 participants.

Casco Bay Winter Naturalist’s Cruise

Enjoy the beauty of Casco Bay in winter. We’ll search the waters from Portland Harbor out to Cliff Island for glaucous and Iceland gulls and other winter residents, such as great cormorant, common eider, all three scoters, red-breasted merganser, bufflehead and possibly bald eagle. You’ll also learn about Casco Bay’s natural and human history. We’ll be aboard a roomy Casco Bay Lines ferry, where you can move freely between the outside decks and warm passenger cabin to enjoy the bay without the summer crowds. Price includes ferry trip and hot soup.

Portland, Saturday, Feb. 26 (weather date March 5) 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Led by Margi Huber, Bob Bittenbender. $20/member, $25/nonmember. Limited to 30 participants.