Looking for that perfect gift for yourself or a birder friend? We have nest boxes, hats, bat boxes, and gift memberships.
Nest Boxes
Although most birds prefer natural cavities for nesting, with the correct design a nesting box can serve as a good replacement. Setting up a nesting box in your yard can also provide you with hours of enjoyment watching the birds raise a family.
Mid-Coast Audubon builds nest boxes tailor-made for a variety of bird species including: Bluebirds (bearing the “Approved” stamp of the North American Bluebird Society), Tree Swallows, Tufted Titmice, Nuthatches, Chickadees ($35); Saw-whet Owls and American Kestrel ($35). We also make bat boxes ($30). All boxes are specially hand made. Nest boxes can be purchased by calling Lew Purinton at (207) 549-5257 or emailing Lew.
For information on where to place your nest box, when to install it, and how to maintain it, visit the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife website.
Tip Your Hat in Support of Birds
Mid-Coast Audubon has some beautiful, top quality hats available so you can show your support for bird conservation. Wear it proudly while you are birding or around town, or give one as a gift! Adjustable back; one size fits most. Khaki with green, blue or pink brim and lettering. $25 plus tax and shipping. Call Lew Purinton at (207) 549-5257 or email Lew.
Birdseed Sale – Spring and Fall
Twice each year we host a birdseed sale, for members and the public. We offer a variety of seed to fit all your needs – black oil sunflower, Meaties, Sing Along (a seed mix), and suet blocks. All seed must be pre-ordered and then picked up at one of two sites – Rockport and Newcastle – where Mid-Coast Audubon Board members will help load it in your car. Watch for the updated event pages for the spring (mid-March) sale and fall (early November) sale.
Bat Boxes
Maine is fortunate to have eight bat species, and much of the work of protecting crops, gardens, and backyards can be attributed to the Little Brown and other bats. They are year-round residents of Maine. Although not active in winter, bats can be found in every Maine town, snugly resting next to a warm chimney, often without the home owner’s knowledge of their presence.
Bats are Maine’s greatest resource in controlling insects, since a bat may consume half its weight or as many as 2,500 insects in a single night. Bats forage widely over garden areas, open fields, streams, wetlands, and ponds. All are desirable habitats. Maine has plenty of flying insects from May through September but there is a housing shortage for bats.
That’s where Mid-Coast Audubon and you come in. Chapter members produce bat boxes designed for our latitude and made from native white pine at an affordable cost of $35. We make the boxes you put them up! Almost everyone has a suitable location for one or more bat boxes. Bat boxes should preferably face south, mounted at least 10 feet above ground and free from obstructions below the box.
To get a bat box from Mid-Coast Audubon please call Lew Purinton at (207) 549-5257 or email him. Lew can provide more information about bats, and help you get a copy of Mid-Coast Audubon’s publication Maine’s Bats ($5 pp).
Photo by Paul van Hoof
Gift Membership
Give your friends or loved ones a gift membership and enjoy all the benefits – especially knowing that you are protecting in Maine’s wildlife and habitat!