Please
e-mail Frank Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu Vol. 3, no. 52, Tuesday, December 29, 1998
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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, December 24. Bar Harbor
(Map 16) On Dorr Mountain we startled a ruffed grouse which was
in the midst of giving the classic territorial wing drumming. We
must have come upon him sooner than he (and we!) anticipated, as
he quickly flew into the air in front of us. Perhaps the sound of
our arrival was masked by the boulders on the trail.
Hare trails are everywhere.
There is glare ice in most shaded areas, and pockets of snow
behind boulders. Big ice stalactites have formed at the edge of
precipices and overhanging rock ledges from meltwater. J.W.
Friday, December 25. Orono (Map 23) Most snow has melted. But an inch or so remains frozen on the ground these last few days. I just noticed a network of what appear to be collapsed mouse or vole tunnels all over the front and back yards. It looks as if the critters made these right at ground level and thus these did not appear until almost all the snow was gone. F.W.
Sunday, December 27. Milford (Map 33) While skating along the Sunkhaze Stream I found where an Otter made mud tracks as it came out of the stream by a beaver dam and bounded across the ice. In nearby coniferous woods, I saw Fisher tracks in the snow. Clear-ice imprints of Muskrat tracks were seen in the milky ice of the stream. A dead shrew (probably a Masked Shrew) was found on top of the stream ice. Fox, beaver and coyote tracks were also found. J.K.M.
Sunday, December 27. Bar Harbor
(Map 16) Kebo Mountain and environs. A few red squirrels were
active, feeding in the trees until they stopped to scold us, in
defense of their territories. Birds noted included a raven, black
capped chickadees, and an unidentified species of buteo hawk that
circled near the summit.
There is some ice in flat, shaded spots and on some ledges.
Otherwise the trails around here are bare and dry over frozen
ground. Although most streams are iced in, brooks in moderate to
steep grades are flowing freely, appearing to defy winter!
Hulls Cove. There is some sea ice in the ocean coves on the North
side of Mount Desert Island. Several eider ducks, mallards and
herring gulls were seen in the waters of Hulls Cove. F.W.
Monday, December 28. Camden (Map
14) No snow on the ground at all in Camden.
The Megunticook River just west of Camden has ice about 2-3"
thick.
Birds at feeders are unchanged from last year: a pair of
cardinals, a goldfinch flock (6-8), titmice, chickadees, hairy
and downy woodpeckers, flock of mourning doves (8-10). Normal
numbers. B.G.
Tuesday, December 29. Fort Kent
(Map 67) This is a sad year for the birds at our feeders. I must
admit that I am not the only one in the area that is experiencing
this situation. The number of Chickadees is down slightly (from
5-6 to 3-4); the Bluejays (from 13-15 to 4-5). I have seen a
woodpecker only once. There are no finches (but we usually only
get them in the summer). The only exceptions are the Mourning
Doves. Usually we have a wintering pair. This year we have 13!
But the Doves, I believe, are the result of little snow cover and
the use of "Scratch feed".
Snow cover is light for Northern Maine. We have 10-12 inches on
the ground. Because of the warm weather, the snow is hard and
crusty.
Ice on the lakes is quite thick. Yesterday morning I took my
auger onto the pond next to the house and went down 12 inches and
did not hit water. All of the local lakes, even the larger ones
(6,000-8,000 acres) are ice covered. D.R.
Tuesday, December 29. South
Thomaston. (Map 8) At present, there is no snow on the ground in
the midcoast area. We had one storm with perhaps 2-3" but it
has since rained/melted off.
All the small ponds in the area are iced over but I would not
venture onto any yet. The larger lakes still had open water as of
Christmas Eve. Our bird count is rising steadily, but mostly
chickadees, house sparrows, bluejays, starlings, and mourning
doves. I did see one chipping or savannah sparrow yesterday. A
neighbor has a red bellied sapsucker at her feeder. D.S.
Tuesday, December 29. Wells (Maps
2/3 ) Two weeks ago there was a dusting of snow on the driveway,
just enough to show the tracks of a fox. Right now it is snowing
again, and may be measurable by tomorrow (12/30).
On Sunday (12/27) there was smooth ice for skating on small ponds
in York County.
On the local Christmas Bird Counts, there was a high count of 91
species in Portland. Some other counts have been record highs,
perhaps influenced by the warm weather, which has allowed
songbirds to linger. At my yard feeders have been: 2 Hairy
and 2 Downy Woodpeckers, 2 White-breasted and 1 Red-breasted
Nuthatch, 1 Brown Creeper, 4 Black-capped Chickadees, and 2
Tufted Titmice, 4 American Goldfinches, 1 Song Sparrow and 8
Mourning Doves. N.M.R.