Dear Katie,

There were some great photos submitted in our first month of 2024. The ones you see below are just a sampling! Want to see the rest? Click here to join the Facebook Group.

What are you seeing out there? We'd love to hear from you! Click here for more information about Harpswell Nature Watchers.

I had so many bird visitors this weekend, I think I even spotted a Brown Creeper but it was moving too fast for a good photo. The American Goldfinch, however, seemed to enjoy the spotlight!

(Submitted by Kim Van Zorge. January 28, 2024)

Red-breasted Merganser, Quahog Bay.

(Submitted by Kathy Miller. January 28, 2024)

I was very surprised to see these trees downed by beavers at Little Ponds! There's a large tree just started, I wonder if there's a way to protect it so that they don't down it as well? One of the trees didn't even topple so they can't get the branches, which is usually what they eat in winter! I tried to see if there was a lodge in the wetland, but it must be lower than the cattails... the last photo shows some of the smaller branches they've gnawed on one of the downed trees.

To see the rest of the photos, visit the Facebook Group.

(Submitted by Gina Snyder. January 24, 2024)

The Cribstone Bridge saw quite a lot of spray at high tide with the storm surge today. The lobster place at Cooks looked awfully close to the water. The road at Lowell's Cove was also under water...

Thank you to everyone who shared storm updates in the Facebook Group. For ways to support our community as we rebuild, check with places like the Town Office and Maine Coast Fishermen's Association.

(Submitted by Gina Snyder. January 13, 2024)

The one that did not get away. This may very well be the same Red-shouldered Hawk I saw on this branch a couple weeks ago. That time I went to get my camera but when I got back a few seconds later the branch was vacant and the hawk was nowhere to be seen. This time it gave me time to get my long lenses on both cameras and take a few bad pictures through windows before I quietly went out a side door and peeked around the corner to get these. A moment later I stepped back behind the corner to go back in the house and once again it vanished quite suddenly.

(Submitted by Howard Marshall. January 6, 2024)