Please e-mail Frank
Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu Vol. 3, no. 13, Tuesday, March 31, 1998
Quick jumps: | This week's reports | 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. .
Wednesday, March 25. Holden (Map 23) There were Fisher tracks in the snow at Maine Audubon's Fields Pond Nature Center, at the entrance to the Ravine Trail, about 400 feet from the building. J.K.M.
Saturday, March 28. Orono (Map 23) A 71 degree day, there were 2 Woolly Bear Caterpillars crawling around in Orono. J.K.M.
Sunday, March 29. Holden (Map 23) The first mosquito of
the season was seen.
There is an enormous difference between the temperature in the meadow and in the woods,
possibly as much as 10°, on this clear, warm, windy day. Despite the bright, full Sun --
or maybe because of it -- small clouds of fog, probably condensed moisture blowing from
the Pond, were seen blowing up into the forest, following the line of the Ravine. It was
dramatic: the fastest moving fog I have seen outside of the mountains. Rare conditions.
F.W.
Sunday, March 29. Stonington/Isle au Haut (Maps9/15 ) On a
Nature boat trip the following sea birds were observed as we rounded several islands:
black scoter, surf scoter, bufflehead, harlequin duck, common eider, oldsquaw, great
cormorant, black-backed gull, black guillemot, and herring gull. A bald eagle was seen
flying near the islands.
We saw several harbor seals. K.G.W.
Sunday, March 29. Orono (Map 23) I saw a river otter in the Stillwater River. K.A.W.
Monday, March 30. Garland (Map 32) The maple sap run has essentially stopped. The ice storm damage is too minor to account for the skimpiness of this year's run. The sudden onset of unusually early warm weather is more likely. M.J.
Monday, March 30. South China (Map 13) Orioles and Cardinals have returned somewhat prematurely to our area, although their presence is welcome. We've had Robins since the aftermath of the ice storm, our guess is they may have followed the weather(?). The male Cardinals songs are still a welcome sign after a less than desirable winter. S.G. & J.G.
Tuesday, March 31. Orono (Map 23) Many earthworms were in evidence this morning, crawling out of the ground after a soaking rain last night. F.W.
Tuesday, March 31. E. Orland (Map 23) Toddy Pond near the dam: Crocuses bloom. The 60° weather has melted all snow and carried in several bird species. About a dozen turtles of several inches diameter have been sunning across the pond the last half week. The dam keepers have let the water down from a near record high to a very low level. Open water spans to about a half mile up from the dam and is expanding quickly.
The three hooded mergansers visiting for weeks were joined by three golden eyes about the time of the 12 inch snow of 9 days ago. After a few hours in the same waters the golden eyes joined with the mergansers as if one species, though their fishing and diving styles are clearly distinct. Diving a few feet from our windows, the mergansers often brought up shoots or small lanky food of some type and shook it several times before ingestion. One surfaced with what I think was a 3" crayfish, and shook that for minutes. Later in the day a merganser pulled up a medium sized frog from near our shore, again tenderizing it with much shaking. Though golden eyes swam with the mergansers, their dives were lengthy and I did not see them consume food at the surface.
All those ducks disappeared this weekend about the same time that a flock of about 30 ring-neck ducks arrived, huddled, and fished here. Generally the ring-necked stayed and swam tightly together, often in tight pairs, and safely in the middle of a cove. Just within the last hour I have seen no trace of them. This tightness reminded me of the irony in our fondness for watching it, contrasted with the recently popularly published fact that approximately 90% of birds are monogamous, while approximately 90% of mammals are polygamous--why are our hearts equally in 2 different places. The same might be said for our feelings about communality vs. individualism.
Birds around the house: About 2 weeks ago, in warm weather just before the big snow, I saw a bird with a bright-orange-streaked head searching and picking at the shore here--a kinglet? Blue jays have returned after weeks.
Two days ago I spotted the first robin here--though people near the Penobscot report that a few robins never left; they provide their delightful songs from nearby. Several sparrows have returned. Goldfinches, with their beautifully, jazzy bent notes, returned in far fewer numbers after an absence of about 2 months. There's an occasional purple finch, a brown creeper, and white- and red-breasted nuthatches.
And somebody is slapping the waters at night--the return of another beaver despite trappers' efforts?! W.D.