Nature
observation trip on the Appalachian Trail in VermontThe Editor and his son made a backpacking and Nature observation trip on the Appalachian Trail in Vermont. Click here for the report. Narratives and pictures are included.
Vol. 5, no. 29, Tuesday, July 18, 2000
Nature
observation trip on the Appalachian Trail in Vermont
The Editor and his son made a backpacking and Nature observation trip on
the Appalachian Trail in Vermont. Click here for the
report. Narratives and pictures are included.
Quick jumps: | This week's reports | Maine wild blueberry report | 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-Thursday, July 11-13. Allagash Lake (Map 55) While camping
on the northwest shore of Allagash Lake my wife and I enjoyed seeing a variety of wildlife. In
the mornings does could be seen feeding on aquatic plants
in the shallow water; one to the west of us near the inlet of Allagash
Stream and one just east of us
along the beach and sandbar. One
morning we could observe a buck feeding in a swale to the west of us, though it was at least a
quarter mile from the doe.
A raccoon paid us a visit both nights we were camped there,
each time arriving at 2:00 am to
raid our cooler. The first night he
was successful, stealing a fair amount of food;
the second night a twenty pound stone I'd placed on the lid frustrated his
efforts, though he made a bit of a
racket trying to both knock over the cooler and drag it away.
During the day, once the sun had heated the sand, I observed
3 different garter snakes at different
times sunning themselves. One was a
large specimen about 30 inches long with
a suspicious bulge several inches behind its head that hinted at a
recent meal.
The birds we saw included four crows (that continually made the rounds
of the different campsites, cawing incessantly!), five least terns, three
loons (a pair and a single), and a
bald eagle. Flowers bloomed near
the lake included wood sorrel,
hawkweeds, and twinflowers.
From dusk well into the night we were
serenaded, if you will, by several bullfrogs (whose tadpoles, already
with legs, were plentiful in the shallow waters near shore -- no deformities
seen). All the
bullfrogs we saw were gargantuan in size, from six to nearly 8 inches
from nose tip to vent.
A couple of the males we saw had extremely bright yellow throats.
Also heard at night, but
never seen, were the isolated calls of a few mink and green frogs. Where Allagash Stream slows and deepens before emptying into
Allagash Lake the bull frogs were
particularly plentiful.
Also seen along the stream were
common mergansers and one brood of black ducks.
At one oxbow we startled a
broad-winged hawk.
At one point above a beaver dam while I was
standing up to get a better view of the stream's channel, I saw in the
clear water a beaver swim past us
on its way upstream. Though we
never saw any moose at the lake or along the stream their tracks were plentiful.
We did see several (eight) on the gravel haul roads we
used to access Allagash Stream. Also
seen on the roads were several hares
(eight, most of them near Telos Gate), four more does and a black bear, a
large one that was not skittish. In
the vicinity of Umbazooksus Lake we observed a
red-tailed hawk, an osprey, and a northern parula.
I don't think we saw one black fly on our Allagash
trip, though the mosquitoes were horrid at dusk into early evening, then
vanished as the temperature cooled. On
Wednesday night midges made their presence known for a short while.
D.W.
Sunday, July 16. Topsfield (Map 46) I saw 6 pairs of Northern Pearly Eye butterflies. One pair was on a fresh coyote scat. The other pairs were demonstrating behavior that I presumed to be courtship. One butterfly was hopping around on the ground in a zigzag line around the other butterfly. As (presumably) he did this, his wings were in a mostly vertical, closed position. Regularly, he would open his wings just a little, and then snap them together. J.K.M.
Monday, July 17.
Fort Kent (Map 68) I assume the black fly report season is
over. Just in case it is not, there don't seem to be any left here, so it
will be [level] 1.
Wildflower Report: I saw the following wildflowers come into bloom
last week, July 11-17: Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium),
wild chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), harebell (Campanula
rotundifolia), a member of the bluebell family, and black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia
hirta). Periodically, e.g. last week, I find flowers not known to me and not
represented in my Peterson's Field Guide to Wildflowers. Until I
discover a more comprehensive guide, these will have to remain unreported. E.T.
Monday, July 17. Brunswick
(Map 6)
Flowers recently blooming (* indicates a new one for my lifelist):
Purple Loosestrife; Staghorn Sumac (tree); Evening Primrose; Mountain
Watercress*; Yellow Loosestrife (aka Swamp Candles)*; Boneset; Water
Hemlock*; Canada Lily; Day Lily. Also seen were bright red berries on my
local Honeysuckles.
Insects seen: Virescent Green Metallic Bees (Agapostemon virescens)
attracted to my wife's Evening Primrose; Cricket Hunter wasps (Chlorion sp.); Long-horned Beetles (Prionus sp.).
A.R.S.
Monday, July 17.
T2 R9 WELS (Map 50) River Pond.
During
a short evening paddle in and out of
River Pond from the West Branch of the Penobscot River, my wife and I saw 3 moose, all yearlings (we saw 3 more along the Golden Road, one of which
was a bull). On the river we
saw one loon, which was being very vocal, and one
beaver near the outlet from River Pond.
Wildflowers we noted along the shore that we could identify included:
swamp milkweed, fringed loosestrife, shinleaf (the first I've seen this year), oxeye daisy, and
buttercup. No black flies, but the
horseflies were quite a nuisance. D.W.
Tuesday, July 18.
Phippsburg (Map 6) Flowers popping into bloom down along the shore
included the following: Swamp Candles, Meadowsweet, Common St. Johnswort, Queen
Anne's Lace, Wintergreen and Wood Lilies.
On a walk in the woods yesterday we observed White Admiral
Butterflies and 2 Mourning Cloaks doing a "love dance in the sky".
We found several Garter snakes and Red Backed Salamanders.
Recent rains had brought out the slugs and land snails in full force.
Mushrooms including Chanterelles, Russulas, Amanitas and
Boletes. Slugs dined on the
mushrooms, but one fat fungi had been placed on a lower tree branch presumably
by a Red Squirrel. The squirrels
were feasting on the spruce cones - we peeled back the green scales to see the
seeds he was after - they were equipped with red wings!
Another interesting observation was finding Sow Bugs with
young - some appeared to be carried by the adult in the under-a-rock nursery.
Is anyone else wondering why there aren't more Monarchs?
My Milkweed is attracting Hummingbirds, butterflies of other sorts
including skippers, but none of the orange and black variety.
R.K.
Maine
Wild Blueberry Report for July 12-18, 2000
Your participation is welcome! Please e-mail Frank Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.edu
Early ripe fruiting stage:
Southern Penobscot, coastal Hancock Counties
Unripe fruiting stage: Washington and interior Hancock
Counties
No reports: other Maine counties