Maines chickadee license plates will start disappearing this week [Video]

The time-worn chickadees that have been featured on Maine plates for more than 25 years will start disappearing Thursday as they’re replaced with dark green pine trees and navy blue stars.

The long-discussed pine tree license plates based on the original 1901 state flag will be phased in over the next year as people renew their car registrations.

While the plates will have a distinctly Maine look, they’re being manufactured by a Canadian company. The state had to shift the manufacturing of the new plates away from the Maine State Prison, where plates are usually made, in order to make the number of plates needed on a shortened timeline, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Waldale Manufacturing of Nova Scotia won the bid to make 1 million sets (2 million individual plates) for the launch of the pine tree plates. The state will pay the Nova Scotia-based company $4 per set for standard plates and slightly more for vanity plates.

The switch …