I know he was being territorial, but I like to imagine it as avian curiosity about our human world.

What is the value of a fishing permit when the 18 stocks on that permit are in various states of collapse or rebuilding?

The news, reported by the Mount Desert Islander, that the schedule for cruise ship visits to Bar Harbor for this spring, summer and fall shows "the town on track to set a new record … with 140 scheduled port calls," is an economic indicator of sorts.

Receding ice in the Arctic is the dramatic, even shocking result of climate change, climatologists say. But despite what may be understood as environmental catastrophe, open waters in the previously ice-bound region present opportunity. Those opportunities include new shipping lanes, oil and gas exploration and even tourism.

The key to success "is a single harvester, with fire in the belly, skin in the game and a sense of delayed reward."

According to a 2014 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Maine ranked 27 on a list of 30 coastal states for water quality at beaches.

Earlier this year, I found myself among the most committed of preservationists at PastForward, the annual conference of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. I was invited talk about impact investing for the purposes of proactive preservation.

Some good news, some worrisome signs sums up the findings of a long-term comprehensive study of water quality in Casco Bay conducted by the Friends of Casco Bay. The nonprofit group unveiled its report "A Changing Casco Bay" at the Ocean Gateway on April 28.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources will hold a public hearing May 14 on a proposal to dredge Beals Harbor and Pig Island Gut Channel. The hearing, set for 6 p.m. at the Beals Elementary School, will be conducted to receive testimony solely about the impact on the fishing industry.