Program Series 2023
Join Blue Hill Heritage Trust and partners for a spring 2023 program series focused on learning about some of the many amazing migrations that occur on and off the Blue Hill Peninsula and within the Bagaduce Watershed every year. From alewives to horseshoe crabs, bobolinks to monarchs, this place is an important landing spot for breeding, feeding, nesting, spawning, and more. The watershed is like a breathing organism with a constant fluctuation of both land and marine species coming from far and wide and then dispersing again. These migrations help show how our little peninsula is impacting and impacted by not just the local environment and climate but by the environment and climate at a global level. We are all connected: from Argentina where the Bobolink winters to the fields of Hatch Cove in Castine where it builds its nests during the summer; from the continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean where some horseshoe crabs live in the winter to the coves of the Bagaduce River where they mate in the spring. From Mexico where Monarchs overwinter to the milkweed patches in our peninsula gardens in the summer where they lay their eggs. From the Atlantic Ocean where the Alwives live to the ponds and lakes where they spawn every summer. Their journeys are amazing. The Bagaduce River is 12 miles long and one of the richest estuaries in Maine due to its narrow shape and many curves and coves. The watershed encompasses five towns on the peninsula. We will visit natural locations in three of the five towns as well as two neighboring towns during the program to demonstrate the scale of the watershed, its impacts beyond, and the paths that migration takes.
In addition to learning about migration, program participants will also learn about opportunities to take action to help preserve the habitat that these migratory species depend on when they arrive in Maine. Email landere@bluehillheritagetrust.org if you have questions. Registration is required for each event and will be linked to the event description itself.
EVENTS
APRIL 22nd 6:30pm: (Earth Day) A Watershed Moment Film Screening. Join Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Bagaduce Watershed Association for the kick off event for our Migration in the Bagaduce Watershed Program Series. A Watershed Moment is a film created by Tate Yoder for Maine Coast Heritage Trust and Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries. Tate grew up in Penobscot which is part of the watershed. Meet at Bagaduce Lending Library to watch the film, participate in a panel discussion with film directors and have some light refreshments. Wrap up your 2023 Earth Day with us to learn more about alewives and our local watershed. This event is free and open to the public but please pre-register HERE and call 374-5118 if you have any questions! Directions will be provided upon registration.
MAY 27th 12pm-1:30pm: Alewive Migration in the Bagaduce Watershed. Join Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Bailey Bowden at Pierce’s Pond in Penobscot to see a stream teeming with alewives and to learn about the amazing journey of these small herring from the Atlantic Ocean to our lakes and ponds. Learn about fish restoration projects on the peninsula as well and how you can help! This event is free and open to the public but please pre-register HERE and call 374-5118 if you have any questions! Directions will be provided upon registration.
JUNE 3rd 2pm-3:30pm: Horseshoe Crab Migration in the Bagaduce Watershed Walk and Talk. Join Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Sarah O’ Malley at Snow Natural Area in Brookville to learn all about these fascinating arthropods and why they choose (out of four locations in Maine) to migrate up the Bagaduce River to spawn. Learn about ways your actions can help protect horseshoe crab habitat. This event is free and open to the public but please pre-register HERE and call 374-5118 if you have any questions! Directions will be provided upon registration.
JUNE 10th 8:30am -10:30am: Bobolink Migration and Grassland Walk. Grab your binoculars and come take a walk through Hatch Cove’s beautiful bobolink habitat in Castine with BHHT, Downeast Audubon and Laura Lecker from Ag Allies. The workshop will cover practices for improving and managing grasslands for bird habitat, forage production and even pollinators! If you are interested in revitalizing an old field to improve grassland habitat, this workshop is the place to get advice on starting that process. We will also discuss the life history of our steeply declining grassland bird species and conservation practices that can be implemented to help them. In the rich habitat provided by the fields, hopefully participants will be able to view nesting behaviors of bobolinks, savannah sparrows, as well as other wildlife. Since 2016, Ag Allies, hosted by Somerset County SWCD, has worked with land trusts and landowners statewide to increase the nesting success of grassland birds using incentive payments, technical assistance, and education. The program empowers landowners to make sustainable, bird-friendly management changes on their land and improve the chance for nesting success of grassland birds in Maine. This event is free and open to the public but please pre-register HERE and call 374-5118 if you have any questions! Directions will be provided upon registration.
AUGUST 19th 10am-12pm: Monarch Migration in the Bagaduce Watershed FOR KIDS! Join BHHT and local author and conservationist, Bundy Boit,and BHHT staff member, Beth Dickens, for a kids monarch event! There will be a book reading of Bundy’s children book: Milkweed for Monarchs and kids will get to explore the milkweed patch. They will also get to work with Beth on tagging monarchs for research. We will meet at Bundy Boit’s private residence in Penobscot. Directions will be provided upon registration. This event is free and open to the public but space is limited and registration is required. Please use THIS LINK. Email landere@bluehillheritagetrust.org if you have any questions or call 374-5118.
SEPTEMBER 16th 10am-12pm: Monarch Migration in the Bagaduce Watershed. Join BHHT and Carrie Graham from College of the Atlantic’s Dorr Museum of Natural History for a foray into a milkweed patch to learn about the incredible migration and life story of the monarch butterfly. Learn how your backyard can support these butterflies that are now on the endangered species list. We will meet at a private residence and BHHT easement property in Blue Hill for this event and directions will be provided after registering. This event is free and open to the public but please pre-register HERE and call 374-5118 if you have any questions!
