Please e-mail
Frank Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu
Vol. 2, no. 48, Tuesday, December 2, 1997
Quick jumps: | This week's reports | From the Press | Informal plot of Nov.5 local earthquake intensity | Prior weekly Nature reports | Prior Black fly reports |
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. .
Thursday, November 27. East Orland (Map 23) Craig Brook
National Fish Hatchery. Spotted a small flock of redpolls feeding on weed seeds on the
shore of Alamoosook Lake. Perhaps six of them in all. Also saw an immature bald eagle
today.
The deer rut is in full swing, with several scrapes noted on the hatchery along obvious
deer trails. The best ones were found under small conifers, perhaps 3-4" in diameter,
on which branches started four feet above ground. Dirt and snow was pawed away in an oval
2-3' wide beneath the tree, bark was rubbed off the tree trunk, and overhead branches of
the fir or spruce were noticeably broken in one instance, from chewing and rubbing with
facial glands. Deer tracks and droppings are everywhere, and beds are visible in the snow.
C.P.D.
Friday, November 28. Old Town (Map 33) Brooks are still running, in contrast to the frozen state of the nearby Stillwater River. Coyote scat seen on trail. It appeared to contain a lot of fur or hair, possibly from a hare. F.W.
Saturday, November 29. Old Town (Map 33) Several deer seen this morning in the woods near the University farm. Children accompanying us on our trail walk spotted a coyote (I did not see it), probably the one whose sign was seen yesterday. F.W.
Saturday, November 29. Orland (Map 23) Noted a flock of snow buntings today flying alongside Rte. 15. Looks like a good year for irruptive species! C.P.D.
Tuesday, December 2. E. Orland (Map 23) Toddy Pond near
the dam: Ice has come and gone in varied patterns, leaving only a few patches on the south
shoreline. The berries I see for hundreds of yards on that other shore may be those of the
smooth winterberry (Ilex laevigata.)
At least a dozen hooded mergansers are in temporary residency at this end of the lake --
we've seen many here for weeks. W.D.
"Big herd, searches mark deer season; doe law contributes to healthy population"
by Diana Bowley
Excerpted from the Bangor Daily News
Monday, December 1, 1997, pages A1-2
...
State game biologists estimated that the kill this year would be 30,000 and it it looks
like it's going to be that or higher, according to [V. Paul Reynolds, spokesman for the
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife]. Post-winter estimates indicated that
the deer herd was between 250,000 and 300,000, he said. "Overall, the deer were very
plentiful," he added.
Reynolds said the deer herd was in fabulous shape, which he believed was a result of a
combination of weather factors and good management. "The any-deer system, the doe
system, that everyone hated in the beginning has really given the department the ability
to carefully and thoughtfully manage the deer population," he said.
"Boothbay Harbor residents seek relief from beaver babies' dams; busy building upstream causes heavy flooding"
by the Associated Press
Excerpted from the Bangor Daily News
Monday, December 1, 1997, pages B1-2
The first beavers who moved in four years ago were nice enough neighbors. But their
dam-building progeny have been something else, and now this town is ready to roll up its
welcome mat.
...
Beavers have made a huge comeback from being trapped almost to extinction 100 years ago.
Today Maine has about 60,000, up from 50,000 in 1993, says state wildlife biologist Allen
Starr.
The animals dam streams to a depth of four to six feet around their houses, to provide
enough open water beneath the ice to reach winter food supplies. As the beavers topple
trees along the stream, they create more dams to get at trees farther away, especially
poplar.