Please e-mail Frank
Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu Vol. 4, no. 45, Tuesday, November 9, 1999
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Please e-mail Frank
Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu
Report format = Day, date, [time]. Location (Maine Atlas Map number) Report text. Initials of correspondent.
Wednesday, November 3. East Millinocket (Map 43) Despite all the rain that fell this autumn (and is falling fast today) Shaggy Mane (Coprinus comatus) mushrooms are not making much of an appearance in the local neighborhood. I've only seen two this season where I've usually seen a few score by now. The specimens I did see were both small and never reached normal size before maturing. Usually by this date their season is about over and the ones I find have to be picked early so they are not lost to frost. D.W.
Thursday, November 4, 8:30am. Macwahoc (Map 44) While walking through a clear cut, I saw a Bald Eagle circling above me. It may be the same one I observed a week ago since it is in the same area. Also, the Gray Jays were out in force. Three of them followed me out of the clear cut into the field like tamed birds waiting for a handout. Also observed a large doe feeding on mushrooms. Flushed two grouse. One appeared to be a Spruce grouse because of the dark color, though I didn't see the head clearly enough to check for the red patch. S.MC.
Friday, November 5, 1:00pm. Millinocket (Map 43) Bird feeders have been very busy, especially the thistle seed feeders and suet. The suet is hammered daily by the downy woodpeckers. Also, among the visitors this afternoon, as usual, are the chickadees, purple finch, American finch (fewer now) and the white-breasted nuthatch. The mourning doves were out earlier feeding on the seed dropped by the other birds. S.MC.
Sunday, November 7. Lee/Springfield (Map 44) I saw my first Northern Shrike of the season on the Lee-Springfield town line. This uncommon winter bird is smaller than a mockingbird and looks a little bit similar. It has a hooked bill and kills mice and small birds. Its feet are not strong like a hawk's feet, so it sometimes impales its prey on a thorn, or on a wire fence and pulls it apart. J.K.M.
Sunday, November 7. Bowdoin College Grant East (Map
42) Gulf Hagas Mountain. On the way to, and during a maintenance trip on the Appalachian
Trail we found fresh scat of deer, moose and weasel and many moose prints, but sighted no
animals.
Interestingly, at 1000 feet elevation puddles, streams and the soil
were unfrozen. From 2000 feet and up we found thick skims of ice on puddles and
stream edges. There was hoarfrost with crystals up to 1-1/2" thick in any
exposed forest soil. On the mountain snow flew in the air but did not amount to
much. Where the snow fell on green moss -- a very pleasing color and texture
contrast -- it was easy to pick out at least two kinds of crystal, which included some
grauple (half-formed snow) and hexagonal star crystals. F.W.
Monday, November 8. Skowhegan (Map 21) This morning, while hanging out the clothes I enjoyed the sight and sound of 7 separate skeins of Canada geese speeding down the sky, easily 200 or more. Last night's chilly temperatures must have hurried them on. J.F. and R.F.
Monday, November 8. Newfield (Map 2) While riding my bike
on a back road in Newfield lately, I saw a yellow spotted salamander on the road. I turned
around to check it out and possibly bring it to school to put in a terrarium but too late,
a pickup had flattened it. I also seemed to spook a woodcock into flight near the side of
the road.
There were very light flurries here in West Newfield on Sunday, Nov. 7,
1999. Question: About 2-3 weeks ago, many white pine trees were having their 2nd and 3rd
year needles turning yellow and falling off branches. Do needles usually change color and
fall like this all at once? B.D.
About your question on needleleaf loss: yes, that is my understanding. Most "evergreen" needleleaf trees lose about half of their leaves in the autumn about the same time that deciduous trees lose theirs. This annual fall is less conspicuous than the color change and loss by the hardwood species, but it does form my favorite layer of soft stuff on the forest floor! F.W., Editor
Tuesday, November 9. Topsham (Map 6) The Highlands. A Fox Sparrow was feeding on the ground near one of my feeders on November 8. According to the Audubon book their range does not extend into the U.S. in the east. Being a new Maine resident, I don't know if this is an unusual sighting. R.P.
Tuesday, November 9. Phippsburg (Map 6) Small
Point. The wind finally blew at more reasonable rates. One could look into the wind
without tears obscuring the scene. The leaves are everywhere; even on beaches where they
mix with the torn free seaweed. The wind and waves have shifted and carved the sand,
mostly covering rather than uncovering sealife debris. I walked to check out a form on the
beach, which turned out, to be a deer head attached to a long twisted piece of fur and
skin. It was not a pretty sight - probably a remnant of the hunt, thrown into the sea.
On a happier note, I found myself looking for bird nests now that the
foliage has blown their cover. There seem to be fewer than last year, but some may have
blown free of their anchors. Of course, those "cemented" with mud last several
years, but I find and remember the nests of previous seasons. There is one that was built
on a Spruce branch with a protective "roof" from a branch above. It's lasted 3
years so far.
The last blooms of the season include the Rugosa rose and stray
Honeysuckle flowers. However, it was a delight to find a large patch of the yellow flowers
of Wild Radish thriving and flowering in a sandy, Southern exposed spot. The fruit of
previous blooms kept rodents bustling. A Chipmunk was up in the Multiflora rose dining on
its fruit, and a Red Squirrel scampered away with a bright red sprig of Winterberry.
Though these days have a definite "gray" to them, here and there a colorful
berry or a lingering, eye catching, flower conjure up the beauty of previous seasons. R.K.