WILDLIFE

Andy Tabor launches the Keoka loon nest each spring, complete with loon buoys.  The males fly north, following the ice melt, often making a flyover to check whether the ice has gone out.  They are followed by the females a week or two later and courting begins immediately.  Contrary to popular belief, loons do not mate for life but, a pair bond does last about seven years.  Read more...

Keoka is fortunate to be home to a pair of bald eagles nesting in a tree on the Kokosing property.  These creatures of habit are selective about food sources, perches, nocturnal roosts, and especially nests.  Read more...

Maine has a very diverse landscape and consequently a myriad of habitats suitable for various bird species. At least 29 inland breeding species of birds reach the northern limits of their breeding distribution in Maine, 28 species the southern limits, and 2 species their eastern limits.   Read more...

Mammals are the class of animals that have fur or hair and produce milk for their young. In all, Maine has 58 species of wild mammals that currently live within its borders. This does not include mammals, such as seals and whales, that must live in ocean environments or domestic mammals like cattle, dogs, and people. Maine has a wide variety of mammals because of its geographic location. We are far enough north to have habitat conditions that support species commonly found in Canada (e.g., the Canada lynx and American marten) and far enough south to support species found in southern deciduous forests (e.g., gray fox and opossum).  Read more...

Keoka Lake’s gravel and boulder shoreline provides excellent habitat for both smallmouth and largemouth bass.  Although brook trout are stocked annually, oxygen levels in the deep, cool water during August and September are often below levels needed to sustain a healthy trout population.  Keoka also supports populations of yellow perch, chain pickerel, hornpout, smelt, eel, white sucker, minnows and pumpkinseed sunfish.  Read more...

Among Maine’s inland (nonmarine) reptiles are seven turtle species and nine snake species. Maine’s 10th snake species, the timber rattlesnake, is extirpated, with no credible evidence of the species available since the mid 1800s.  Read more...

Maine is home to 18 species of amphibians, including nine frog and toad species, eight native salamander species, and one exotic salamander, the mudpuppy.  Read more...

Maine has more than a 1,000 species of insects.  Some bite but none are considered poisonous.  Read more...

As filter-feeders, freshwater mussels provide a vital service to Maine’s lakes, ponds, rivers and streams by removing suspended particles such as algae, bacteria, and detritus from the water column.  Read more...

There are currently approximately 2,100 plant species recorded from Maine.  Approximately one third of those are not native.  Of those plants that are not native, only a small fraction are considered invasive, but these have the potential to cause great harm to our landscape.  Some plants are rare and protected.  Read more...