Please e-mail Frank
Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.maine.edu Vol. 3, nos. 26/27, Tuesday, June 30/July 7, 1998
Quick jumps: | This week's reports | Prior weekly Nature reports | Black fly report for June 17-23 | 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.
Friday, June 26. Caratunk (Map 30) One late afternoon this
week, I came upon a turkey vulture picking at roadkill in the middle of Route 201, just 3
miles North of Bingham. Until I drove closer, I wasn't sure if I was seeing a large raven
or a wild turkey. I know turkey vultures have nested just NW of The Forks around a site
called Granny's Cap, but I'd never seen one until this week.
How is the high water in the ponds affecting loon nests? Water in Pleasant Pond, Caratunk
is up over several docks. Merganser ducks are back. A camp owner here watched a mother
duck with 13 babies head into the pond one morning only to be surprised by a loon that
came upon them. The duck gathered her babies back on shore. The next day the mother duck
was seen paddling around in the same area- without any babies. A fox in the night maybe?
We don't know.
This weather is great for the slug families. Is there anything short of drought for two
months that will get rid of the slimy, gross creatures??? Pans of cheap beer in my gardens
are filling with rain more than with slugs! Yuck!! B.Y.
Sunday, June 28. Wells (Map 3) In this short time of high
summer between spring and fall migration, birds are busy with nesting. Common Grackles are
gathering in small family groups, an American Robin is brooding a second batch of eggs,
the Northern Cardinal and House Finch are showing their nestlings the feeders in the
neighborhood, and Blue Jays are having a quiet time while nesting. Shinleaf (Pyrola
elliptica) is in bloom.
Black flies are rated 1 (non-existent), but mosquitoes are emerging from the many stagnant
puddles after 2 weeks of rain, drizzle and fog. N.M.
Thursday, July 2. Winter Harbor (Map 16) Schoodic
Peninsula unit of Acadia National Park.
Frazer Point: very few seabirds, as it is low tide. Wildflowers in bloom on the point:
gill-over-the-ground, mouse-ear hawkweed, orange hawkweed, red clover, rugosa rose and
yellow rattlebox. Bumblebees, beetles, and some kind of wasp that I could not identify
were all feeding on the Rugosa roses, indicating the variety of natural pollinators that
are out there.
Moose Island: black ducks, cormorants and herring gulls were seen at sea, and crows on
land on this small island. Blue-flag iris were in bloom in the wet places – moisture
obviously enhanced by all the recent rains. F.W.
Monday, July 6. Orono (Map 23) Funnel-weaving spiders have their webs in lawns everywhere. Dew-covered, in the early morning sunlight the webs are especially conspicuous. F.W.