Please e-mail Frank
Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu Vol. 3, no. 20, Tuesday, May 19, 1998
Quick jumps: | This week's reports | Prior weekly Nature reports | Black fly report for May 13-19 | 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.
Tuesday, May 12. Caratunk (Map 30) Black Fly Report in Caratunk, Maine is a 2. R.Y.
Wednesday, May 13. Holden (Map 23) Black fly rating = 2 (moderate). P.S.
Wednesday, May 13. South Orrington, (Map 23) Black fly
rating = 1 (few).
Also of note, yesterday (May 12) I noticed our bats are back.
Lilacs are blooming in Orrington, which is 2 weeks earlier than normal. P.S.
Friday, May 15. South Thomaston (Map 8) Black fly severity = 1. Got bit once while digging rocks out of the lawn. D.S.
Friday, May 15. Warren/Thomaston (Maps 8/14) This is actually something I observed 2 or 3 weeks ago and meant to send in but forgot about doing 'til now. Driving North on Route 1 on the bridge over the St. George River between Warren and Thomaston, I saw 8-10 Eagles circling downriver from the bridge. There were too many to count as I drove. The most I'd ever seen at one time was 4 in the past. D.S.
Saturday May 16. Alfred (Map 2) Black fly report = 3
("Pain in the keester.")
The joys of collecting samples from vernal pools around southern Maine. My son, Mark, and
I have spent hours collecting all kinds of goodies using canning jars stolen(Freudian
slip) borrowed from my wife. Cool insects etc. collected include log cabin caddis flies,
water striders, wood frog tadpoles, frog egg masses, water boatsman, mosquito larvae,
tadpoles and tumblers to flatworms or leaches... all kinds of "stuff," including
some small almost transparent little red bugs I can't identify. What a ball we had. J.L.
Saturday May 16. Bald Mountain Township (Map 30)
Bushwhacking down to the Appalachian Trail, I was reminded what the forest does when left
mostly on its own: trees grow and fall every which way; dead branches and limbs crisscross
at all heights; vegetation grows in and on everything. To understate it: walking through
the trailless New England woods can be a little challenging in some places. Even though
the AT is a wilderness trail, with all its roots, rocks, and wet spots I appreciated
having a clear path to walk on!
Many moose prints on the Trail, more than human prints!
Brooks and streams are moderately full. The forest floor still has lots of moisture,
including water lingering in vernal pools.
Wildflowers in bloom now: painted trillium, red trillium, starflower and Canada mayflower
(wild lily of the valley.) Blueberries seem to have abundant flowers, but I have no sense
yet of what fruit set there may be this year. My informal impression is that the
pollinators are conspicuous by their absence.
Black flies were a 2 to a "2.5," enough to make one miserable if you stopped
walking.
Birds heard giving territorial warnings to me as I passed were: ruffed grouse, woodpecker
(species?) and blue jay.
I saw my first Eastern garter snake of the year near a stream bank. F.W.
Sunday, May 17. Caratunk (Map 30) One no sooner gets over
cabin fever then we go stir crazy from swarms of black flies. Rating in Caratunk, Maine
today a BIG 3 !! I thought they were going to carry me away today.
Tourists heading for the hills next weekend need to be vigilant as they drive. The deer
and moose are being driven out of the woods by the bugs and are in the roads. Last week, I
saw moose three times on 201 in different locations between Caratunk and Bingham. One
moose had just been hit and the pick-up's window was gone. No one too badly hurt, but the
moose had to be destroyed. R.Y.
Sunday May 17. Milford (Map 23) On Sunday May 17, tracks or signs of bear, moose, and coyote were seen in the Sunkhaze National Wildlife Refuge. Also, Spotted Salamander egg masses and Wood Frog tadpoles were seen in a vernal pool there. J.K.M.
Sunday May 17. Old Town (Map 32) Saw while walking in the woods a not-too-common wildflower: the fringed polygala. K.W. and J.A.
Monday, May 18. Newburgh (Map 22) On a scale of 1 to 3 the
black flies are a 1 (according to my husband) as he thinks they are not as bad as last
year but I would give them a 2, as I got bit up doing the garden and there is always a
good sized swarm of them around me if I stand in one place for more than a minute :)
The mosquitoes are out and starting to become a nuisance and would rank at least a 2 going
on to a 3. The Spring Peepers are still peeping but not as much as they were a couple of
weeks ago.
The Viburnum and the Purple Trilliums are already past bloom. The lady slippers are just
starting to flower and probably will have a nice bloom upon them within the next few days.
The Blue Bead lily is now in bloom as well as the Canada Mayflower, Dandelions, Bunch
Berry, Winter Cress, and a few others that I have yet to identify. The dogwoods, apple
trees, and lilacs are in full bloom as well. S.W.
Monday, May 18. Stockholm (Map 68) Flies in Stockholm area: Black flies: 3 (woods and open fields) Most observed wildflowers in Stockholm: Canada Violet, Wild Sarsaparilla, and Wakerobin. M.S.