Please e-mail Frank
Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu Vol. 4, no. 22, Tuesday, June 1, 1999
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You are invited to report on any aspect of Nature in Maine
Please e-mail Frank
Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu
Report format = Day, date, [time]. Location (Maine Atlas Map number) Report text. Initials of correspondent.
Saturday, May 22. Cushing (Map 8) a one-year-old gray treefrog was found. J.K.M.
Sunday, May 23. Holden (Map 23) At the Fields Pond Nature Center in Holden, green frogs and two garter snakes were seen and a pickerel frog was heard. .J.K.M.
Tuesday, May 25. Edgecomb (Map 7) Not many [black flies] at 9:00: level 1. A.G.
Wednesday, May 26. Auburn (Map 11) Do you have a 4th
category for the flies? They are the worst I've seen, although they seem to come in waves.
A few days even my husband found it unbearable to be outside for long. I've only seen one
case of bite acquired cellulitis at the hospital thus far.
The beaver have totally transformed the landscape of our stream, taking down many trees
and creating a large shallow, somewhat scummy pond. I'm sure we'll have an intense
mosquito population to look forward to as well! F.B.
Thursday, May 27. Georgetown (Maps 6/7) The black fly count remains a "1" for Arrowsic, Georgetown, and Wiscasset. Odd, but the numbers are very low. They are present, but not anything close to a bother. Last week, 7 miles East of Churchill Dam on Pleasant Lake, I can tell you that they werre a "2." Folks who just returned here from the St. John and the Allagash reported that they were "not as bad as they can be." I call that a "2" on your scale! D.H.
Monday, May 31. Wells (Map 7) This is the first day in Wells over 70 degrees. There are a few mosquitoes. In Alfred May 28, it was the same at 8 AM. Delorme map 3. But then, My clothes and my face and hands are doused with insect repellant out of concern for deer ticks and Lyme disease, so I am not a good indicator of black flies. N.M.
Tuesday, May 25-Monday, May 31. Phippsburg
(Map 6) Reports from various locations, all in the Phippsburg area.
Tueday. May 25. Small Point. Found and drew a
12 Spot Skimmer who tolerated a short confinement, then back to freedom. Overnight rain
caused the pond water to rise and cover the blooming white, Lance-leaved Violets. It was
amusing to see toad tadpoles wiggle in among the violets. Must have been an unusual
encounter for them! The violets seemed not to be affected by submersion. A Toad trilled in
a cattail swamp. Found a Catbird nest with female incubating (in a mass of Blackberry
shrubs). Watched a White-throated Sparrow jump to reach Dandelion seed heads. He would
grab the head, pick the seeds, then have to jump again when the stalk popped out of his
grasp. Very amusing.
Wednesday, May 26. Phippsburg. Pink Ladyslippers are in their
prime -- one was visited by a moth. Found a patch of Wolf's Milk Slime - a most peculiar
fungi.
Thursday, May 27. West Point. Observed
my first Monarch Butterfly, a male, that flew and alighted on a lilac blossom. My
Milkweed plants are knee-high. Also saw a Painted Lady and Coppers [butterflies]
attracted to blooming Mouse-ear Hawkweed.
Friday, May 28. West Bath. While parked at the Hamilton
Sanctuary, Praying Mantis egg mass erupted! The babies mostly escaped the car's interior.
I mistakenly thought the egg mass was empty...
Monday, May 31. West Point. Temperature on the
shore reached 80 degrees. The sea water temperature was 65 as the tide started out. I had
my first swim up the cove (in a wet suit!) R.K.
Tuesday, June 1. Garland (Map 32) In the headwaters of a tiny stream in Garland, Two-lined, Dusky, and Spring Salamanders were all found hiding under rocks at the water's edge. J.K.M.
Tuesday, June 1. Fort Kent (Map 68) Black fly level
is 2 as of Tuesday noon, June 1, at Little Black Lake.
Robin and garden news: The two robin eggs I mentioned in my last report have hatched and
are rapidly growing as Mom (and I suppose Dad) Robin is stuffing insects and worms into
the gaping yellow triangles that seem to make up the biggest part of their heads. I am
surprised that that both my neighbor's and my repeated lawn moving right past their nest,
only about 5 1/2 feet above the ground in an eight foot tall spruce, did not permanently
discourage my feathered friends from completing their parental duties. Maybe they sense
that I really care about them and wish them no harm.
Now that our garden is seeded, it is once more bone dry around here. Predictions of
thundershowers each of the last three days have so far totally missed the mark. If they
don't come true today, I will definitely have to wield my garden hose in order to make the
seeds germinate and grow. What an unusual year! E.T.