Please e-mail Frank
Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu Vol. 4, no. 26, Tuesday, June 29, 1999
Quick jumps: | This week's reports | Special report from Fort Kent on hummingbirds | Prior weekly Nature reports | Prior black fly reports | Home page |
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.
Tuesday, June 22. St. Albans (Map 31) The wild strawberries are going but the birds seem to get them as soon as they ripen. Not many wild blueberries here but my cultivated ones did not flower or set fruit. I saw flowers on the few wild ones that are here. H.M.
Wednesday, June 23. Phippsburg (Map 6) Small Point. This is to announce the hatching of 3 Broad-Winged hawks in a Birch tree on the shores of Small Point Harbor. This is the second year in a row that this site has been used. What is most remarkable is the fact that the nest is right above campsites. Campers and hawks seem to co-exist, at least last year and hopefully this year. Nothing like having a front row seat to the action! R.K.
Saturday, June 26. Fort Kent (Map 67) As for strawberries,
they are ripe, but the ones we sampled were quite sour.
Our area is presently blessed with an abundance of wildflowers, all of which seem to have
made their debut earlier this year than in the past. While the dandelions are gone, our
meadows are painted with a wealth of such plants as blooming oxeye daisies, hawkweed, cow
vetch, common buttercup, bladder campion, red clover, and yarrow. We saw one meadow at the
edge of the woods that had so many orange hawkweed (the predominant hawkweed species have
yellow, dandelion-like flowers) mixed in with the other colors that it offered a flower
carpet as beautiful as any I have ever seen even in alpine areas in the Western U.S. What
a great time to be outside in Northern Maine! E.T.
Sunday, June 27. Auburn (Map 11) I am very excited about
seeing my first Catbird at my backyard feeding/bird bath station! I'm sure the Catbird has
been around but I've never noticed it. It flew to my homemade birdbath from the nearby
brush, only perched on the edge of the bath, checked out the fallen seed on the ground and
flew back to the brush. It repeated this behavior quite a few times. What else is there to
do in this scorching heat, but replenish the bird bath and the water dripping into it,
refill the bird feeders with songbird seed, sit in a chair in the shade with my favorite
drink, binoculars, and my camera with the 210 mm zoom?!
I also tried something for the first time: I made that "pshhhhing" noise and
sure enough, the nuthatches/tufted titmice/and some other small bird all flew close enough
to investigate me by coming closer and closer until they were practically overhead in the
tree branches!!! Quite a fun afternoon, even though the heat is a little too much!! D.S.
Sunday, June 27. T1 R9 WELS (Map 43) Ambajejus Lake. While
snorkeling today I saw several bull frog tadpoles with hind legs developed. I handled
several and was relieved my inspections revealed no deformities. The tadpoles were
surprisingly easy to catch if my hand came up underneath them instead of down toward them.
When snorkeling I was hoping to catch a glimpse of a turtle my father-in-law has seen
regularly near his camp so I could identify, it but I didn't see it. D.W.
Sunday, June 27. Orono (Map 23) I fished below the dam in
Orono, above a fast-flowing section of rapids. The water level was fairly low and there
were many rocks exposed. I saw a beaver and osprey, and a blue heron around twilight.
Small mouth bass were in abundance, most measuring between 9 and 13 inches. Caddis dry
flies proved most successful, though I observed no significant hatching of such insects.
Near dusk, the sunset turned pink beside the rising Moon and fish rose frequently, eating
dinner at their customary time in frenetic fashion. J.W.
Monday, June 28. Lambert Lake (Map 46) 2 Two-Lined Salamanders and 2 Leopard Frogs were seen; and also Green Frogs, Mink Frogs, and Bullfrogs were heard at Lambert Lake. J.K.M.
Monday, June 28. Auburn (Map 11) Black flies: level 2 -
they got blood!!! D.S
Japanese beetles have hatched within the last week. Not as plentiful as previous years.
Still a nuisance.
Monday, June 28. China (Map 13) South China. Four wild turkeys were seen at roadside. L.W.
Monday, June 28. The Forks (Map 30) Deer flies and horse flies were moderate and black flies were very few. L.W.
Monday, June 28. Moscow (Map 30) We definitely identified some insects as moose flies. They look like bees and are vicious. L.W.
Tuesday, June 29. Auburn (Map 11) Saw a huge garden snake travelling between my house and neighbor's. Have had a few deer passing through the yard in the last week. And saw Mr. Rabbit hopping away before he had a chance to eat my morning glory seedlings like he did last year!! D.S.
Wednesday, June 30. Wells (Map 3) No black flies, few mosquitoes, deer flies becoming a nuisance. N.M.
Wednesday, June 30. Carrabassett Valley (Map 29) Sugarloaf area. No black flies, no mosquitoes N.M.
Special report on hummingbirds from Fort Kent
For years we have been feeding hummingbirds, and they kept coming to our feeder
regularly throughout the year. Further underlining the unusual behavior of Mother Nature
this year, our avian diners must have decided that it is better to be self-sufficient.
Except for a very brief visit, they haven't graced us and our feeder with their acrobatic
display for almost ten days, even though, after they disappeared, I made sure to change
their "nectar" (colored sugar water) often enough to keep it from fermenting.
One reason could be the coincidence of the breeding season and the great abundance of
alternate food, especially nectar-rich garden flowers such a petunias, lupines,
honeysuckle and others that have been blooming earlier this year than is normal for our
area. But maybe the "hummies" just developed a case of indigestion when, while
they were still regular guests, a few really hot days coupled with inattention on my part
caused the sugar water to ferment.
Here are a couple of interesting facts I gleaned from the web:
While red is their preferred color of food plants, hummingbirds will feed on nectar-rich
plants of all colors (and, surprisingly, a large portion of their diet is made up of
insects and other arthropods.) As long as the feeder has some red on it, putting red food
coloring into the sugar water, as we have been doing, is unnecessary and is, in fact,
strongly discouraged because the food coloring has not been established to be safe for the
birds. E.T.