Maine Nature News
Vol. 10, no. 21/22 Tuesday, May 24/31, 2005
Quick jumps: This week's report | Editor's Column | From the Press | Home page
Saturday, May 14. Readfield (Map 12) Just wanted to add something I forgot about my kayak trip in Maranacook Lake. (S.Y.'s report of May 14) About half way down the lake is a railroad trestle. On the shoreline in this area was some sign of beaver activity. Numerous trees had been cut down or were in the process of being felled. No beavers or their lodges could be seen. S.Y.
Tuesday, May 17. Bar Harbor (Map 16) I was at Acadia National Park this past weekend and didn't see any black flies until Sunday, May 15. Even then it was a category 1. On Sunday I drove to Mount Vernon and they were moderate but not biting: category 2. M.J.R.
Friday,
May 20. Yarmouth (Map 6) I was
driving on I-295 in the northbound lane at approximately 1:30 pm on Wednesday
afternoon, May 18. On the embankment I noticed (what initially appeared to be) a
medium-sized dog facing down the side of the embankment. As I approached, I
realized that the animal was feeding on something (most likely road kill).
From its posture, it was evident that this animal was a cat: it was eating
in the manner that cats do. But this was no house cat (again, my initial
reaction was that it was a dog). It was very muscular and had an
extremely large tail. The color? Black! (Now, call me crazy, but a large
black cat in southern Maine?)
I forgot to mention location... maybe 15 (give or take)
miles north of Portland. Any other reports that you know of? Any ideas as
to what it might have been? I would appreciate any feedback that you
have. D.P.
Friday-Saturday, May 20-21. Eustis, Wyman Township, Dead River Township (Map 29) Stratton, Bigelow Range. Black fly severity: 1 (none). Matthew
Saturday May 21. Saco (Map 4) Seagull being watched by a seal in the Saco River. Right at the pier in Camp Ellis, Saco. J.P.B.
Saturday,
May 21, 6:52 am. Franklin (Map 24) A
male Indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea) landed on my feeder and had a
taste of the nuts and seeds I have out.
Chestnut-sided warblers (Dendroica pensylvanica) and
Common yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) are singing.
Phoebes are setting eggs. B.G.
Sunday, May 22. Orono
(Map 23) We had a lovely day of birdwatching, without even leaving the
house. We have bird feeders on the back porch, which looks out onto a
magnificent, sprawling old apple tree with overgrown fields and woods behind it.
All the birds love this apple tree.
This morning, a splendid rose-breasted grosbeak was eating
seeds on a table on the porch. Later in the afternoon, a vivid red
cardinal sang and sang from atop the apple tree. All around him came and went a
kaleidoscope of other birds: goldfinches, purple finches, a blue jay, a robin,
mourning doves, chickadees, hummingbirds, and two types of nuthatches. Then came
the best of all - an indigo bunting! We never saw these in the past, but
for the last 3 years they've been coming when the apple blossoms begin to bloom.
It's astonishing how blue they are.
The cardinal has been singing outside my window early in the
morning. I hope he finds a girlfriend. We had fun watching the
cardinals feed their young birds last year. B.J.M.
Monday, May 23. Skowhegan (Map 21) The cold weather this week has black flies down to category 1. We are seeing our summer birds. Indigo buntings sharing the feeder with Rose-breasted grosbeaks and goldfinches are nice. We keep suet out all summer and the orioles and catbirds make good use of that, along with the woodpecker tribe. We seem to have an established pair of red-bellied woodpeckers now. I have to believe that birds already nesting must be struggling. We have a pair of nesting hawks under observation but have not yet made a positive identification as we don't want to bother them. J.F.
Thursday, May 26. Lisbon (Map 6) I found an interesting moth on my back door tonight. It is called an Arched Hooktip (Drepana arcuata). For a picture of this species see this link: http://booksandnature.homestead.com/moth111.html It was very easy to identify from the distinctive forewing wingtips; in fact there are only four known kinds of hooktip moths (family Drepanidae) in North America and one doesn't even look like a hooktip! I think my specimen must have just emerged from its cocoon because it was in flawless condition. The colors and markings were sharp and unblemished and not a scale was out of place. The species, which feeds on alders and birches, is said to be common in our area. A.R.S.
Thursday, May 26.
Casco/Sebago (Maps 4/5) Reporting on the
bugs: we got "nufin" here in the Casco/ Sebago and Lakes
areas. A few soggy mosquitoes, half dead ladybugs, and fat house
flies. With the rain, and rain, and well.. rain, not much is
flying around. I've been camping in Poland on the lake and haven't had ANY
issues [with black flies] there day or night, which is quite surprising,
but it's true.
I guess the REAL test will be when the sun shines. It
will be hot, muggy, and soggy, with grass growing like a weed, and well... no
rain. I have an acre pond in my front yard, which often breeds mosquitoes,
black flies, and large frogs. Sitting on the front porch is still pretty
nice at night with the umbrella, glass of whiskey and a hot cigar, and no
bugs. In the warm season it usually it takes more than this before I can overlook the fact that the
bugs are bothering me; but right now hardly half a glass is gone before I
get downright comfortable looking at the rain and no stars. R.S.
Friday, May 27. Mercer (Map 20) Here in the metropolis of Mercer (Southern Somerset County) I would rate the black fly situation as still green (level 1). C.B.
Friday, May 27. Glenburn
(Map 33) We have noticed a different occurrence this spring in the
Glenburn area at our bird feeders. The "bear" has visited only once so
far and the female humming birds arrived a week prior to the males. Usually it
is the other way around.
The black flies are not bad yet but wait until the sun
comes out.
Had a kestrel take a female goldfinch yesterday as I was preparing to
fill the thistle bag. R.F. & E.F.
Saturday, May 28. Caribou (Map 65) During the night some strong, heavy animal succeeded in pulling down a wire stretched from the back of our house to the tool shed, and tore apart the bird feeders that were hanging from it. It might have been a bear reaching up from the ground, or possibly a raccoon that tried tightrope walking out from the shed roof. Neither is impossible, for we had seen a bear looking for acorns on our front lawn about a year ago, and nocturnal raccoons are regular visitors in our residential neighborhood. Until now, any bird feeders hung from the wire had been inaccessible to such prowlers for the past three years. Two foot lengths of pvc pipe slipped over each end of the wire also foiled the gray squirrels. C.B.K.
Sunday, May 29. Windsor
(Map 13) Today started off sunny! Oh after all, we couldn't expect
sun all day, so it's raining now at 4:20 pm. I've been working
outside for the last three days, and the black flies have been at level
three: heavy,
biting and annoying to the maximum extent.
The vegetation has grown quite a
bit. The apple tree in back of the house is blossoming, really opening up
yesterday. It hasn't been as warm as it was this morning in many days, almost
78° F. at 11:30 am.
The tom turkeys still gobble often in the early morning and
evening here! Their territorial instincts are inspired by our turkey who calls
often during that time too! I believe a pair of Canada geese have goslings near
our vernal pools, the adult calls I hear are often stationary and conversational
as well as protective. The vernal pools have remained quite large and much of
the field land here is soft. P.S.H.
Sunday, May 29. Caribou
(Map 65) After a day of nearly continual rain showers, there was a dryer
interval just before sunset that seemed to bring out more birds. While
watching our feeders in the back yard, we were treated to the sight of two new
species (at least for us). The first was an unmistakable Swainson's thrush
(Olive-backed thrush) that landed beneath the feeders and briefly foraged for
spilled seeds before flying away. Not long afterward it returned and
repeated the same behavior.
Next came another unfamiliar bird. It was somewhat smaller
than a robin, olive-brown on its back, with a large burnt orange area on its
throat and chest. Unlike the illustrations in the Peterson's filed guide, this
one had a white belly, grading to deep yellow-orange under its tail. With its
sharp pointed dark beak it first took some suet, but then began exploring all
the flower buds on an apple tree only eight to ten feet from our window. We
thought it might be looking for nectar, and its next move seemed to confirm
that, because it hopped down to a hummingbird feeder and intently investigated
all the artificial flowers at the feeder holes. We had ample time to look it up
in the book, and concluded that it was a slightly atypical female
"Baltimore" oriole. C.B.K.
Monday, May 30. Ellsworth
(Map 23) On the west shore of Green Lake I would rate black fly activity
as a level 1, though neighbors who have removed much of the natural habitat from
their yards (and have few birds) are complaining about level 2 activity.
Again, this morning there were 2 great blue herons feeding in
the sandy edge of the lake. They always fly West when leaving the area, so could
there be a nest in the area?
Lots of hummingbirds at the feeders. The lake is
unusually high, though as one might expect. So I worry that loons'
nests will not be productive. The water level has fluctuated greatly this Spring
and I have not heard any loons for several days.
A mink and an otter still make fairly regular rounds across
the water front especially when we are sitting out on the dock and
talking! S.L.S.
We just visited New
York City for my son's graduation. In an urban center far from the forests of
home it would seem that Nature was left far behind. But I had
forgotten what I long ago learned: everywhere and always, immediately where
humans' activity ends, Nature's begins.
Every piece of exposed soil, every building ledge and
cornice, and every vacant lot was somehow alive with flora and fauna. New
York has one of the best public transit systems in the world, yet is a city of
walkers. On foot to shop, walk their pets, or to exercise, New Yorkers are a
stark contrast to the almost eerie absence of people on the sidewalks of our
towns and cities.
Once I turned off my Maine-bound and car-focused bias, I began to
see "The Big Apple" as it really is: an island of trees and of
buildings like cliff-walls; of street-level and rooftop gardens and parks; of
water fountains and walkways. Nowhere did this come home to me more than while
walking in Harlem. The view down every street was graced by planted trees, many
in flower. People watered their tiny bit of spring color in plant boxes and
vest-pocket gardens. The air and ground were filled with fallen petals.
There I was walking in late May, with no mosquitoes… no black flies… no deer
flies and no no-see-ums!
I'm not trying to discount the very real ups and downs of urban
life. On the other hand how could I call this city a barren
urbanscape ever again when I had seen free-living robins, rock doves, chipping
sparrows, grackles, herring gulls, starlings, gray squirrels Canada geese,
mallard ducks, painted turtles and field mice? Would it be fair to call a
city "Natureless" that has hundreds of parks and scenic walkways? The
2100 acres on Manhattan set aside as green space amount to 15% of its
total area. Ironically our own state parks and public lands total about 5%
of Maine's land area.
Abigail Curtis, Of The News
Staff
Bangor Daily News, May 13, 2005, page B4
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK. Ominous piles of fallen rocks loosened by April's heavy rains were marked Wednesday by orange traffic cones on the sides of Acadia National Park's famed Park Loop Road near Jordan Pond. Park officials are warning drivers to slow down on the Park Loop Road because of dangers posed by falling rocks. They said it will be about a month before the slope dries out and the most dangerous period ends for motorists.
The heavy rains have affected the opening dates for other park roads. Of all the fire roads on the west side of Mount Desert Island, only the Seal Cove crossroad from Route 102 to Southwest Harbor will open as scheduled on May 15. Other fire roads will open a week to 10 days later, according to Merle Cousins, Acadia National Park acting roads supervisor. Cousins said Wednesday that this season has been worse than most in terms of road safety because of the above-average 8.65-inch rainfall in April. The statewide average is approximately 4 inches, according to a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Caribou.
"The primary roads, the paved roads, are more susceptible to the falling rocks," Cousins said. "The water actually washes out the rocks up above and starts little rock slides. Occasionally, some of the big ones will come down." Boulders as large as cars have been known to tumble down onto the roads, Cousins said. He did not remember any incident when a large boulder has hit a vehicle.
In previous seasons, the road maintenance crews have taken preventive measures by intentionally dislodging some of the loose stones. That can't happen yet this year. "It's really too dangerous to get in and work" on the slope, Cousins said. Drivers speeding over fallen rocks on the road have been known to damage their vehicles, he said. The loop road's 35 mph speed limit is often ignored around Jordan Pond. "That is a place that has a tendency to get a little bit of speed," he said.
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