Nature Notes: A Maine Naturalist Afield

Author: Rob Speirs
Host: Celeste Mittelhauser
Producer: Glen Mittelhauser
In this episode, Celeste reads an essay by Rob Speirs exploring whether the apparent increase of rare birds in Maine reflects real change or simply more observers equipped with better tools. From early phone trees to modern platforms like Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird and Merlin apps, he traces how advances in communication and technology, combined with a growing and increasingly skilled birding community, have transformed the detection and documentation of avian rarities.
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