Maine Nature News
Vol. 6, no. 27, Tuesday, July 3, 2001

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Tuesday, June 26. Woodstock (Map 11) Black flies are about a 2 in Woodstock.  B.E.

Friday, June 29. Levant (Map 22) With the exception of a few days in late May, black flies have been very light in Levant (Map 22) all season.  I attribute this to the breeziness and relative dryness of this Spring, plus the fact that there are many more birds than usual in the neighborhood.  Can anyone suggest why that last should be so?
    A fawn visited our back yard a few days ago, a spindly-legged darling with white spots still sprinkled over its coat.  I didn't see any sign of Mama, but assume she must have been nearby, out of sight in the woods.  Later that day I checked my vegetable garden for signs of nibbling, but didn't see any, at least so far.
    E.T.'s stories of encounters with foxes reminded me of two I've had in years past.  In one case I was walking an abandoned railroad track as evening approached and saw a red fox about a tenth of a mile ahead of me on the track.  It turned toward me, then turned back and trotted ahead of me for 50 yards or so before turning aside into the woods.  On the second occasion my husband and I were driving home along a country road late at night when two fox pups suddenly darted out of the woods into our path.  They froze while we screeched to a halt, then ran ahead of us for thirty or forty feet while we followed at a snail's pace (or a baby fox's).  Finally they gave up the race and scurried back into the woods.  From these experiences and what E.T. told us about racing a fox on a bicycle, it would seem that a fox's first response to a perceived threat is to try to outrun it, rather than to evade it in some other way.   M.B.R.

Sunday June 30. Caribou (Map 65)  I was surprised to see two goldfinches foraging in a really prickly rosebush by our back steps.  One of them was pulling petals off the flowers and wadding them up to carry away as if for nest materials.  It struck me as an odd coincidence after I'd just read that goldfinches are terrible about keeping their nests clean. According to the report, instead of carrying away the waste produced by the nestlings, the parent birds let it accumulate and dry on the rim of the nest!  Maybe that's why they wanted the rose petals -- to make their filthy nest smell better!  C.B.K.

Sunday, July 1. Detroit (Map 22) I haven't heard any crickets as yet. Black flies haven't been bothersome at all.  But I did get bitten by one last week.  Mosquitoes have been about a 2+.
    I was interested to hear that hummingbird or hawk moths have been seen .
    I have only seen one this year.  That was in the lilacs, where we usually seem to see them.  The first time we one was about five years ago.  J.B.

Monday, July 2.  Lee (Map 44) Black fly level = 1.  T.P.

Tuesday, July 3. Talmadge (Map 35/45) Black flies are settling down to a two.  Mosquitoes are much worse.  Field strawberries are providing well this year.  Blueberries and raspberries are starting to ripen. 
A snapping turtle has moved into our pond.  There are a lot of rabbits on the roadsides in the morning and evening.  The water at the swimming hole we go to is warmer than usual for this time of year.  R.T.F.