Tuesday, April 2, 1996
Quick jumps:
This week's reports | Reports from the press |
Monday, March 25. Orono (Map 23) First pussy willows of the season in bloom. K.W.
Monday, March 25, daytime. Garland (Map 32) Pussy willows blooming in our area. Best maple sap flow of the the season so far (or subsequently up to March 31) -- about 1.25 gallons per tap. M.J.
Monday, March 25, 8:40 pm and 10:35 pm. Garland (Map 32) Geese were heard flying overhead twice this night! The light of the not-quite First Quarter Moon doesn't seem to be enough to explain this occurrence. The honking of the geese seemed particularly strident, almost distressed. M.J.
Tuesday , March 26, morning. Orland (Map 23) A pair of hooded mergansers, the first we have seen this season, is diving here. W.D.
Tuesday, March 26. Fort Kent (Map 67) This morning, I was impressed with the sighting
of our first Redwing Blackbird and Grackles. ...
I have kept informal records on the arrival of birds since 1992. Of course, my favorite
bird is the Tree Swallow. They are due to arrive in Fort Kent on April 26. You might
wonder about my reason for speculating on that date: 1990 - April 27 ; 1991 - April 26 ;
1992 - April 28 ; 1993 - April 28 ; 1994 - May 4 ; 1996 - April 19. Please note that the
birds always perch on the same telephone wire at 6:45 am on these days. Peru to Fort Kent,
arriving on Delta schedules. As you can see, Nature has a lot to offer! D.R.
Tuesday , March 26. Otis (Map 24) Ruffed grouse drumming, blue jays calling. B.G.
Wednesday, March 27 6:15 am Orland (Map 23) It was 20 degrees, headed to near 0, and windy and what appeared to be a robin landed in the grass. W.D.
Wednesday, March 27, 7:30 am. Orono (Map 23) A flock of 40 to 50 red-winged blackbirds were seen in a tall oak near my home. This is the first flock I've seen this year; last Friday, March 22 I saw a single blackbird in a fir on the University campus. F.W.
Thursday, March 28, 7 am. Orono (Map 23) Three robins, all males, were ground-feeding; several purple finches at the feeder. The first of the season for each species, at my home. F.W.
Thursday, March 28. Otis (Map 24) Fox sparrow in yard. Evening grosbeaks at feeders (had during the past two winters, but they departed late fall this past winter). B.G.
Saturday, March 30. Garland (Map 32) Mourning cloak butterfly seen flying around for several seconds in our dooryard. M.J.
Saturday, March 30. Otis (Map 24) First grackle and red-winged blackbird in yard. B.G.
Monday, April 1, 7 am Garland (Map 32) A flock of 200-300 starlings, the first of the season, were noisily bathing and cavorting in a slough by the road near our home! M.J
Monday, April 1 Orland (Map 23) A turtle about 8-10" in diameter sunned itself on a rock near the shore a hundred yards across the [Toddy] pond. It sunned for more than an hour. (We long ago judged that skinny dipping here is not wise: snapping turtles we have seen are bigger than this turtle.) It had a smooth shell and held its neck out, duck-like, for many minutes. Eight mallards have returned now to this open water, which reaches past the boat landing, a total length of about 300 yards. We have not seen the hooded or common mergansers for several days. Our beaver(s) continues its/their presence; we see it/them swimming around our shore trees at dusk. W.D.
Tuesday, April 2. Otis (Map 24) Animals are on the move. Have seen deer crossing the road (in Cherryfield had to stop to allow five deer to cross), raccoons in my yard, pond is still frozen but weakening (wouldn't walk on it). Again most news surrounds the arrival of the birds. The blue jays also disappeared from my area this past winter. Still have redpolls, but numbers are decreased. Fox sparrow was around for several days, he/she could be migrating through. B.G.
From the press
Bangor Daily News__March 27, 1996, page 1
"Porpoises in distress rescued from cove; Brunswick police, resident race ebbing
tide" by The Associated Press
Summary: Two 4-foot porpoises, appoximately 70 pounds each, were stranded in mud in an
estuary near Woodward Cove, Brunswick (Map 6). Greg Early, New England Aquarium, Boston
was consulted for the story: "[S}pring is when young harbor porpoises move closer to
shore in search of the small fish they feed on. They're coastal critters. It's not so
unusual to find them stranded on the shore. They're prone to swim up small estuaries and
bottom out."
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