Maine Nature News

Monday, July 19. Medway (Maps 43/44) My wife and I paddled from the boat landing adjacent to Rt.157 to the mouth of Salmon Stream and saw a pleasant assortment of birds. Right after launching we explored a narrow logan and saw a female Wood Duck with at least three chicks. Two Black Ducks also shared the shallow water. Further on down the river we saw one Kingfisher and a couple Eastern Kingbirds. About 2 miles below I-95 we saw a lone Bald Eagle perched high in a pine on the southern shore. A short while later an Osprey flew by us high in the sky, headed downriver. In the calm water on the SW side of the large island below the mouth of Salmon Stream we saw two adult loons with one chick.
    Along the way we enjoyed the color of common arrowhead and pickerel weed in bloom. I also noticed one lone harebell in bloom on a small ledge on the edge of a cove. On the SE side of the large island we saw scores of damsel flies, some of them quite blue, some more of a yellowish-green. Some were flying, joined together; most were bunched in raft-like fashion over marine plants just below the surface. I'm not too sure of damsel fly identification...possibly they were Variable ("violet") Dancers?
    There used to be an active eagle's nest on the large island and visible from the bridge over Salmon Stream. It appears to be gone now, though new growth from the nearby trees might be obstructing the view. D.W.

Wednesday, July 21. Phippsburg (Map 6) Small Point. The Broad-winged Hawks have successfully fledged three offspring. Today, we had an encounter with these "youngsters" near the nest where they were hatched. The young hawks could be found in early afternoon on the ground, on branches nearby - just sort of hanging out waiting to be fed. We were able to approach the birds for photos as they observed us with "tolerant curiosity" (or so it seemed). One camper had a long "stem" of a kelp and placing it on the ground, made it wiggle like a snake. A bird hopped down on the ground and landed on the reptilian-looking object with its talons. It proceeded to peck at the kelp, while an observant camper remained at a distance of an arm's length. It was one of those magical encounters with a young bird still learning the skills of a predator, but more intent on feeding its voracious appetite than remaining hidden from potentially harmful creatures. Hopefully, it will learn to distinguish kelp from snakes before too long! It was a handsome bird , and for the young campers who witnessed the event, it was a never-to-be-forgotten moment. Later, we found a dead Garter Snake on the road and left it for the bird to find on its own. R.K.

Friday, July 23. Orono (Map 23) During the week of July 16--23, adult Barred Owls were feeding their noisy fledgling in a backyard bordering on Orono Land Trust forest. J.K.M.

Saturday, July 24. Lambert Lake (Map 46) I saw an American Painted Lady butterfly. I also found 3 Two-Lined Salamanders under rocks on the lakeshore. J.K.M.

Saturday, July 24 .Topsfield (Map 45) On Route 6 near Lambert Lake.  A large bear scat was seen on a logging road, and also a Red Eft (larval Newt) was crossing Route 1.  J.K.M.

Saturday, July 24. Brunswick (Map 6) This is a roundup report for the week. Found a small (approximately 1.5"), attractive caterpillar on the side of my house above my wife's flowers that I identified as a Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia). The range given in the Audubon guide indicates it is only periodically found in this area but I will stick with my identification. Photo is on plate 20. Caterpillars are very hard for an amateur like me to identify unless it's one of the most common because most guidebooks show only adults and a few larvae. Peterson's First Guide to caterpillars is good for a start but is not comprehensive.
    The Nursery Web spiders from last week have all dispersed. All that is left are the ragged remains of the nest and a number of baby spider exoskeletons. The mother remained to guard the nest until the last of her brood had gone.
    Page 10D of the 7/24 Portland Press Herald had a picture of a dragonfly perched on a swimming snake. The photo was reportedly taken on the Androscoggin in Turner. The snake is Identified as a milk adder but my sources indicate the only two aquatic snakes in Maine are the northern water snake and the ribbon snake. The picture is not clear enough for me to tell, and I have not yet bought the new book Maine Amphibians and Reptiles.
    Seen at Bay Bridge Landing by my wife and heard by both of us: Marsh Wren.
    Seen at Popham Beach: Least Tern. Yes this is not a groundshaking sighting but it was a first for my wife and I and these little birds are adorable and quite distinct from the Common Terns. A.S.

Sunday, July 25. Brunswick (Map 6) Dozens more of the caterpillars of the Variegated Fritillary seen feasting on pansies. This adds more weight to my earlier identification since plants of the pansy/violet family are a main food source and host for their eggs. A.S.

Tuesday, July 27. Fort Kent (Map 67) Today, after dinner, I went for a walk up a road that leads from Little Black Lake, where I live, over a range of hills down to the small town of Daigle. At the top of the road, before it drops off steeply to Daigle, I always end my walk and enjoy the view following Highway 161 south through a beautiful green valley of fields and woods flanked by equally green hills stretching to the lake country of Cross and Square Lakes far in the distance. When I reached the top today, about 8:30 p.m., the sun had already set and the sky was covered by a veil of transparent clouds. Dusk was already beginning to darken both the sky and the countryside.
    What caught my attention as I was looking south was the top portion of a perfectly round, deep orange moon rising not over the horizon as usual, but out of a cloud bank, invisible to my eye, low in the sky. Its bottom edge was parallel to the horizon and as straight as a ruler. Never in my life do I recall having seen such an orange-colored moon. Soon it had risen high enough to display its full glory, a giant orange suspended in the darkening yet still light sky. And behind me, all along and above the visible horizon was the fading pink of the sunset. When I began my walk back, for a moment the full orange moon became flanked by the silhouettes of dark conifers along the skyline, a truly romantic view that I will not quickly forget. And then, as I descended towards Black Lake, but still high above it, the moon fell below the ridge line, but a new pleasure greeted my eye. Far below me, the lake, nestled between the darkening wooded hills that surround it, was covered with a cottony white layer of fog that stretched partially up the hillsides, giving the whole picture an appearance as though the clouds had fallen on the lake and settled on it in the form of a concave lens. When I got home I had a really good feeling. Once more the road that I walk so often had enriched my life with a beautiful, memorable experience. E.T.

Wednesday, July 27. Brunswick (Map 6)  Another sign of the progression of summer -- several beautiful Black-and-yellow Argiope spiders (Argiope aurantia, also called "garden spiders") seen in their usual sunny spots hanging upside down in the center of their large webs. The largest specimen was about 7/8" long.
    Other critters seen: (1) a specimen of Primrose Moth (Schinia florida) resting on a flower of its food plant, wild Evening Primrose. This attractive moth is termed "uncommon" in the Peterson field guide (page 144, plate 29). (2) a Yellow-legged Meadowhawk dragonfly (Sympetrum vicinum). (3) several individuals of the spider Amaurobius sp., which are similar to the more familiar Funnel Weavers. My source indicates they are found under logs or stones but the ones I see have constructed funnel webs in the nooks and crannies on the side of my house.
    Flora continues to be slightly ahead of schedule, although I readily admit this is very subjective. One wildflower which has me puzzled is identical to Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) in every way except the leaves. My field guides say it has deeply disected leaves but all of my specimens are simply lanceolate. A.S.

Thursday, July 28. T9 SD/T10 SD (Map 24) The East shore of Donnell Pond certainly seems a good place for amphibians and reptiles. I heard and saw many bull frogs, green frogs and pickerel frogs in the water and on the shore, always where there was aquatic vegetation. In nearby woods I saw small American toads and a leopard frog. On Black Mountain I saw an Eastern garter snake, about 16" long.
    Given the hot, muggy weather I was not surprised to see very little moose sign up in the mountains. But I heard one moving lugubriously through the water of Rainbow Pond, below Caribou Mountain, obscured from my view by dense growth of alders and other trees. Probably a good, cool place for a moose in this weather!
    Deer flies were near nuisance level, but I was able to keep up with them due to their inability to keep track of both upper limbs of their prey. (Secret method: put one arm on your head as a decoy. When the deer fly starts to bite, hit her with the other one!)
    Blueberries at all altitudes here are at the very last of the fruiting stage. Just about all have ripened and been eaten by birds, bears and other creatures.
    The nearly full moon illuminated the overcast night sky, occasionally breaking through some holes in the clouds. On the water the loons set up an eerie and beautiful chorus, comprised of various kinds of calls, proceeding from individuals in many directions.
    This was the first time I spent such a long time camped near aquatic plants. Except for the pickerelweed, none were familiar to me. It was fun to draw the various shoreline wildflowers and challenge myself to identify them later. F.W.

Saturday, July 31. Codyville (Map 45) I found tadpoles of Gray Treefrogs about to metamorphose from a gravel pit pond; I also found a road-killed Red-Bellied Snake. J.K.M.

Sunday, August 1. Lambert Lake (Map 46) I saw on a camp porch 10 small (1/2" long) wasps, all of the same species, each with a paralyzed spider. The wasp held the spider in its jaws, by the end of the spider's abdomen, and ran with it in random directions, and sometimes took off and flew. I could not figure out where the wasps were going. I believe the wasps had or would lay an egg in the spider, and the wasp larva would develop inside the paralyzed spider. If anybody checking the Maine Nature News website could shed more light on this, I would love to hear. J.K.M.

Monday, August 2. Fort Kent (Map 67) The blueberries are winding down even in Aroostook County. Actually I picked 1.5 gallons on Saturday evening. This has been the third Saturday in a row that I have picked. The first had about 50% of the berries that were blue. The second weekend, most of the berries were blue. Last Saturday, it was hard to find any white berries. The more mature berries are softer and you can see a slight drying up of the skin. August 10th is known in Northern Maine at the "Blueberry Feast". This is when all the families would get together and make a trip to local patches. This year, the berries ripened early (two weeks). There will be very few berries left by the 10th. D.R.