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Wild
blueberry report for July 28-August 6, 1996
Wild blueberries are in unripe fruit stage: Aroostook , Franklin, Oxford Counties
Wild blueberries are in early fruiting stage: southern Penobscot County
Wild blueberries are in middle fruiting stage: Hancock, Washington, York Counties
No reports: other Maine counties
This week's reports
Sunday, July 28. E. Orland (Map 23) Great Pond Mountain: Our progeny ate blueberries from wild plants halfway up this mountain. They reported that ripening to eatable stages should continue for several day there. W.D.
Monday, July 29. T9 R14 (Map 55) Wild blueberries are PLENTIFUL in Northern Maine. I happened to be out fishing in the Allagash (Ross Lake) and there were some bushes on the edge of the lake. I had seen the bushes several weeks ago so I wanted to look at the progress. I did see ONE blue one, but the rest were all white. The blue one was average size, but the plants are loaded. D.R.
Monday, July 29. Fort Kent (Map 67) The ripening date of the wild blueberry crop seems to be consistent with other years. There is an old saying in this area that August 10th is the "Blueberry Holiday". Perhaps it will be a few (not many) days late this year. D.R.
Monday, July 29. Milbridge (Map 17) Eastern garter snake seen here on one of the
islands. How did it get here, swim?! Numerous deer signs: trails and scat. The channel is
about 3/4 mile across to the mainland and is sometimes very calm; and I do know that deer
will sometimes swim such distances to seek better feeding territory.
All low places are wet and springs flowing full, unusual for this time in the summer. Sea
spinach, sea rocket, goose tongue and beach peas were all plentiful and tasty. In flower
were: buttercup, moth mullein, oxeye daisy, sea lavender, thistle and yarrow. Blueberries
are in middle fruiting stage. Cranberries have unripe fruit with orange or red coloring on
a single side. Lots of mosquitoes: area residents say this year has the most in a long
time.
Nine harbor seals basked in sunshine on a near-shore rock that seemed to offer at least a
half mile of isolation in all directions from human disturbance.
At low tide mussels are plentiful in the rocks, among seaweed. Periwinkles prey on some of
the mussels by drilling through the shell. Both mollusks are edible, except for mussels
damaged by periwinkles. The clam rakes of fifty and more years ago had longer teeth, and
wider spacing than those in use today. I'm told this is because larger clams were found in
those days. I verified this for myself. The depth of clams below the air hole on the
surface of the sand was roughly in direct proportion to their size. I found almost none
larger than 4-1/2 inches and none below a depth of eight inches (the old rakes had
ten-inch long teeth.) I noted a large starfish in a tidal pool. It measured about 12
inches from tip of one tentacle to the tip the opposing one. F.W.
Monday, July 29. Milbridge (Map 17) Thistles visited by bumblebees and three species of butterfly: one with mainly orange wings, edged in black with rows of squarish black spots; another with black wings, with a single white vertical stripe down the middle of each wing along an axis parallel to the body ; and a smaller, pale yellow species. They fed on this one patch in a meadow for hours. K.W.
Tuesday, July 30. Winter Harbor Map (17) Blueberries are ripe. Blackberries are still green. F.W.
Tuesday, July 30. Sullivan (Map 24) On the upper ledge of a small breakwater that protects a downriver pier of the "Singing Bridge" (which carries Route 1 across Taunton Bay, above the reversing Sullivan Falls) cormorants, herring gulls and rock doves shared the narrow ten-foot shelf without apparent conflict. K.W.
Wednesday, July 31. Alfred Map (2) Black fly rating of 1. A funny thing happened while
I was talking to my neighbors. They were constantly harassed by black flies but none
bothered me.
This has been quite the week for deer sightings for me. I have seen 20 or so in the last
week. While on a walk one morning I had to wait for 20 minutes while this deer fed and
then 200 yards away I had to wait again for another deer to feed. She walked around a
ridge and I went the other way and we met again. This time only 20 yards apart. She fed on
leaves while I fed on blueberries. The wind swirled once and her head jumped up viciously,
but the wind quickly came back into me and she went on feeding for another 10 minutes
before she meandered off into the thickets.
I've been eating wild blueberries for about two plus weeks. Some places there are lots
ready, other places there are lots not ready yet. All in all I'd rate it middle fruit
stage, and kinda sparse where I have been. Wild raspberries are common and delicious, or
were as the case may be. Raccoons and woodchuck have been a pain. The raccoons come right
into the house. Time to trap and transport elsewhere.
Wild turkeys are hanging out around here. There are two groups: one is a hen with four
chicks; and up on the ridge there is a tom and a jake. I'm sure there are others, but
these are seen daily. J.L.
Thursday, August 1. Batchelders Grant (Map 10) All streams running high for this time
of year. Water temperature noticeably cool for this date. Many streams showed signs of
flash flooding. The foot bridge across the Wild River at the trailheads of the Hastings
and Wild River Trails, which was suspended at least fifteen feet above the nominal summer
river level, is destroyed. I am still trying to find out if this happened in the March
rains -- thus bringing the possibility of ice-jam damage, or during the June rains. Also,
on nearby Evans Brook, some streamside trees of age 30 to 50 years were undermined and
toppled, possibly showing that such a flow had not happened in a long time.
Caribou Mountain. [five-petaled flower?] Dew drop and Indian pipe are in flower. Also saw
and American toad about 1-1/2 inches body size. The lush forest vegetation (perhaps due to
the presence of the relatively loamy soil) along with the humidity, and the water dripping
off the leaves after the morning's rain certainly gave the impression of a rain forest.
There are ripe blueberries at the summit--a surprise for this altitude (about 2000 feet).
Friday, August 2. Batchelders Grant (Map 10) I wanted to get a more accurate handle on
the size of our legendary Maine mosquitoes and found a cooperative one sitting still on a
tent screen. Her(?) wing-span measured 1-1/2 inches and "stance" measured from
front legs to rear was 2-1/2 inches . I'll continue to look for the ones that people
allege are the size of small float planes!
Found a redback salamander (about 2-1/2 inches total length, brown head and back, with
orange underbelly) roadkilled on Route 113 in Evans Notch. Also, hundreds of small toads
(our kids stopped counting at one hundred thirty-one!) were crossing from one side of the
road to the other. Even with the light traffic on this mountain road, I am sure many of
these amphibians will not survive, though -- amazingly -- I did not actually find any that
were roadkilled.
Yellow avens, a short wildflower, is blossoming and fruiting (a green burr) at the same
time. F.W.
Saturday, August 3. E. Orland (Map 23) Toddy Pond near the dam: We and visitors believe the mosquito nuisance is much worse than average. They attack much earlier in the day, even at midday in the shade. W.D.
Sunday, August 4. E. Orland (Map 23) Toddy Pond near the dam: No loon chicks have been spotted this year by 2 monitors on this the outlet half of what is called First Toddy. Some feel the very loud (significantly louder than motor boats) sea planes sporadically coming and going here, as one did today, disturb the loons. The loons certainly cry in apparent protest or fear, even when these planes simply approach this lake. Also, the water level has been higher than the average for the past decade, and this may have caused a change in loon nesting locations or success. W.D.
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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