Tuesday, July 9, 1996
Quick jumps:
This week's reports | Reports from the press | Downeast Birdline -- transcript of current telephone message | Weekly black fly reports for May-June, 19961 |This week's reports
Saturday, July 6. Orono (Map 23) In the fields and road edges the following wildflower
species are in bloom: birdsfoot trefoil, common milkweed, hop clover, orange hawkweed,
rabbit-foot clover, tall meadow rue, wild madder, yellow hawkwood, yellow wood sorrel, and
of course, lupine. F.W.
Sunday, July 7. T7 R9 NWP (Map 42) Chairback Mountain. Pollinating: only bumblebees are
feeding on ground flowers and flowering bushes. Yellow jackets, though not uncommon this
season, seem to be feeding elsewhere. In flower: common wood sorrel. In fruit: clintonia
(blue bead lily), bunchberry. Both still at the early tiny, unripe green stage.
Reptiles/amphibians observed: two common American toads, one pickerel frog, one Eastern
garter snake.
Getting curious about the coniferous: today on the Mountain, I note that many spruces have
a big crop of cones on the upper branches. The odd thing is that many adjacent trees of
similar size, and in simlar circumstances to these, have no cones at all -- in fact less
than half of the sizable trees on the mountain (15 feet and taller) have cones. Why? Are
cones biennial? Is there a pollination issue? F.W.
Monday, July 8. Fort Kent (Map 67) First, the blackflies are finally winding down. It
has been a normal season. Fireflies are back and have been back for the past two weeks.
They are a real sign of summer.
Frogs appear to be in the same numbers as previous years. I have a pond at the house and
have ample frogs. I have minnows in the pond and yesterday pulled out a live-bait trap. Of
course there are usually 10 or so tadpoles. But it is always interesting to see some
tadpoles with legs (changing times).
Bees and yellow jackets are DOWN noticeably. Last year's banner year was a problem. I got
stung half a dozen times while mowing. I also noticed that Yellow Jackets have a real
liking to styrofoam insulation. I have some 1 inch styrofoam sheets and they turn that
into popcorn looking crumbs.
Stream levels are still very high (so are lake levels).
Fruit and nuts are PLENTIFUL this year. The hazel nut trees were bloomed heavy this spring
and must have been well polinated. I received a call last week from an old woodsman who
commented that we would have a HEAVY crop of nuts this year as there were lots of fruit in
the trees. I have not heard abour beechnuts. The apple trees have lots of fruit this year,
and my one plum tree is loaded with fruit. D.R.
Monday, July 9. Alfred (Map 2) Black flies 1- none or hardly any. Fireflies are all over the place. Lightning blew out my pump. Spring passed quickly. J.L.
From the press
_Bangor Daily News_ Wednesday, July 3, 1996, pages C1, C3
"Waxwings enjoy their socializing; birds like berries."
by Mary Anne Lagasse "... Cedar waxwings, also know as cedarbirds, are avid fruit
eaters that seldom bicker with their fellow diners. Some birdwatchers tell stories about
seeing rows of a hald dozen or more cedar waxwings sitting on branches of trees, passing a
tiny berry from bill to bill up and down the line until it's eaten. 'They are famous for
their appealing way of social fruit-eating,' said Judy Markowsky, a veteran bird watcher
and director of the Maine Audobon Society's Fields Pond Nature Center in Orrington. These
birds won't come to bird feeders, but the garden and orchard visitors are attracted to
berry-bearing trees and shrubs, ...
These birds are often seen darting over ponds and lakes, acting like flycatchers during
insect hatches."
_Bangor Daily News_Thursday, July 4, 1996, pages A1-2
"Chasing Dragonflies; Enthusiasts enjoy insect's aerial, aquatic
natures "
by Diana Graettinger "Considered the most accomplished aerialist in the insect world,
the dragonfly can flit about at 40 miles an hour, reverse direction in midair or hover
like a Harrier jet. Speed isn't everything. Some migrate great distances. One species
travels from Cape Cod to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
'They also display quite quickly any changes in climate. ... They love the sun, they love
the heat, and they move further when it is warm,' he said. 'There is some indication that
there is colonization of certain species going on in Atlantic Canada and that may have
implication for the environment.' [Paul-Michael Brunelle, a member of Dragonfly Society of
Americas, from Nova Scotia]"
Downeast Birdline -- transcript of current telephone message
Downeast Birdline -- transcript of current telephone message
Maine black fly report in map form
Weekly black fly reports for May-June, 1996
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