Please e-mail Frank
Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu Vol. 3, nos. 44/45, Tuesday, November 3/10, 1998
The Editor recently hiked on the Appalachian Trail and observed Nature in the mountains of New Hampshire. Link to trip report.
Quick jumps: | This week's reports | Prior weekly Nature reports | Prior black fly reports | Editor's special Nature report - Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire |
You are invited to report on any aspect of Nature in Maine
Please e-mail Frank
Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu
This week's reports
Report format = Day, date, [time]. Location (Maine Atlas Map number) Report text. Initials of correspondent.
Sunday, November 1. Phippsburg (Map 3) Small Point.
Tortoise Shell Butterfly observed near Head Beach.
- Carolina Wren in Honeysuckle shrubs. Ruffed Grouse walking along trail. R.K.
Tuesday, November 3. Holden (Map 23) A University of Maine Wetlands Ecology Class found these in Fields Pond at the Maine Audubon Nature Center: water scorpion, mayfly, caddisfly, scud, and several species of dragonfly larvae. A fish survey with seine and traps found 8 Banded Killifish, 1 Pumpkinseed Sunfish, 1 Golden Shiner. J.K.M.
Tuesday, November 3. Phippsburg (Map 3) Small Point. Found
Deer Tick (confirmed) on my body: attached, engorged.
- Pair of Ringed-Neck Pheasants
- Exposed sealife at extreme low tide (water in mid-40 degree range) included: Sea Stars,
Anemones, Crabs (Green, Red Rock & Toad), Chiton, Sea Slugs (Dorid), Waved Whelk,
immature lobsters. This is about the same mix of species as found in summer. No seasonal
migration as yet. Though I am not here year round, I have been led to believe that many of
the sea creatures do go to deeper waters. I know that is true for lobsters, and in the
spring it takes a while before we find Sea Stars in large numbers. Sea Slugs are another
story. Those, I find in Spring and Fall, but rarely in Summer. (These are the Red-Gilled
Nudibranchs that I refer to). I was just surprised to find so many viable organisms with
the water and air in the mid-forty degree range.
- Gulls feasting on Sea Urchin, Razor Clams, Rock Crabs, Moon Snail and Hermit Crabs
(large in Waved Whelk) R.K.
Wednesday, November 4. Phippsburg (Map 3) Small Point. Moose tracks in woods (rarely seen in this area.) R.K.
Thursday, November 5. Phippsburg (Map 3) Moose scat, and confirmed sighting of cow
moose and young on Hermit island, Small Point.
- Dead Yellow Rump Warbler found on shoreline. R.K.
Friday, November 6. Orono (Map 23) Caribou Bog. A large adult male moose crossed Forest Avenue heading Northeast to the bog West of Pushaw Lake. M.J.
Friday, November 6. Phippsburg (Map 3) Small Point. First significant frost! R.K.
Friday, November 6. Bar Harbor (Map 16) There are now places where ice remains all day in the highest elevations on Cadillac Mountain. Yet, in south-facing protected gorges and sags, ferns are still green and lush, probably showing the effects of the stone masses radiating daytime heat and blocking movements of cold air from other zones. F.W.
Saturday, November 7. Phippsburg (Map 3) Small Point.
Muskrat in pond.
- Migrating Grackles.
- Forsythia was blooming over in Small Point!
Questions:
- What eats the fruit of Staghorn Sumac? Could deer ingest these?
- Has anyone found a bird nest in Poison Ivy? Are there certain birds that favor Poison
Ivy berries? (On the coast we have a large crop of these berries, in clusters, inviting
customers!) R.K.
Reply to R.K.'s questions:
I have seen flickers, starlings, and robins eating the furry red berries of Staghorn Sumac
in late fall or early spring when food is hard to find. A old reference book, American
Wildlife & Plants, by Alexander Martin, indicates that deer eat sumac twigs and
foliage--it does not mention fruit.
I have not ever found a nest in poison ivy, but I am sure that any vine-nesting bird would
nest in poison ivy when it grows in tangles up trees, as it does in the mid-Atlantic
states. I am sure that any ground-nesting bird would nest among poison ivy shoots, too. I
have not seen birds eating the fruit (poison ivy is not that common in the Orono area),
but the above book says that grouse, pheasant, quail, wild turkeys, bluebirds, catbirds,
chickadees, crows, purple finches, flickers, juncos, kinglets, phoebes, sapsuckers,
sparrows, thrushes, vireos, warblers, waxwings, woodpeckers, and wrens eat the berries of
poison ivy. The book, though old, is still a good reference; the information is based
largely on studies of stomach-contents. Wildlife species are apparently not sensitive to
poison ivy the way people are.
Judy Kellogg Markowsky
Director, Fields Pond Nature Center, Maine Audubon Society
Sunday, November 8. Orono (Map 23) At 10:18 pm in the Northwest sky I saw a fireball meteor about 30° above the the horizon, moving South to North. It was white, and very bright. A glowing trail remained for about 2 seconds. J.B.
Tuesday, November 10. Fort Kent (Map 67) Northern Maine is
experiencing an extended fall season. We have seen a few flakes in the air, and last
Tuesday we had an inch on the ground at the high elevations. The snow fell shortly after
mid-night, and by noon the next day it was all gone.
The birds and animals have not been noticeable in their pattern changes. .The large flocks
of Black Ducks are still here. The Robins have gone past. The winter residents are just
starting to come to the feeders. Yesterday morning I had 6 Bluejays, two Chickadees, and
three Mourning Doves. But winter is near. D.R.