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. 32, Tuesday, August 8, 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 | Special Nature Report from Nahmakanta Lake | 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.
The following report was inadvertently omitted from the July 25 weekly report. It is included here and has been added to the archival copy of the July 25 report, accessible via the index.
Wednesday, July 19. Falmouth (Map 5) Seem to have an abundance of wildlife, wildflowers, and berries this year. Witnessed new families of downy and hairy woodpeckers. The young have just now learned how to get seed from my feeders. Have several ruby throated hummingbirds. Have yet to find their nest. Several robin nests. Although, one hawk and several crows bother the birds constantly. Have a pair of cat birds nesting nearby. Was visited by a red tailed hawk. He stayed around for 2 weeks. Photographed him quite often as he would always perch on the top of the pole for my birdfeeders. Beautiful bird to observe "up close and personal."
Will have a bumper crop of black and red raspberries. The plants are all along my driveway and the backyard. Easy picking. Bee balm, liatris, Indian paintbrush, buttercups, selfheal, white lawn clover, white yarrow and other plants that I can't identify all in bloom. Nature paints a beautiful palette. Have been attending bird banding at the Maine Audubon Society in Falmouth. Witnessed banding of juvenile common yellow throats, flycatcher, oriole so far. Fascinating to see this up close and to be able to photograph them before they are released. L.S.F.
Sunday, July 30. Sebois (Map 43) Saw 6 loons in one group and what appeared to be a pair further up the lake. Also, while we were fishing, an eagle got her "catch" within arms length of our boat. S.M.C.
Tuesday, August 1. Moose River (Map 39) I have been watching the blueberries that grow around the edge of my field. So far I haven't attempted to pick any as the white berries are more numerous than the ripe berries on just about every bush. Another week should make a big change. We had a terrific hail storm not too many days past which broke quite a few leaves off my squash. The plants have now recovered nicely. Bugs, weeds, and hail make gardening a challenge. S.H.
Wednesday, August 2. Milford (Map 33) "Flowers" this week in bloom include the ghostly Indian Pipe. It only comes up here when we have a wet season. Is it a flower or a mushroom? Others blooming are: yarrow, jewelweed, black eyed susans, daisy fleabane, St. John's wort. The goldenrod is just starting. Frog orchis is almost in bloom (it's hard to tell as the blossoms are the same color as the stems). Are the lovely blue flowers along the Bangor interstate exits chicory? K.T.
Wednesday, August 2, 6:45pm. Millinocket (Map 43) Our busy humming bird feeder seemed to be the cause of a territorial dispute this evening between two male ruby throats. They chased each other and then as they both approached the feeder started "sparring" with each other, making small "chirp" noises. Later, the a female came alone to drink. S.M.C.
Thursday, August 3. Caratunk (Map 30) In the Caratunk/The Forks area it is about 50/50 ripe blueberries. If you go further north I believe they are just starting to ripen, though this hot weather should speed things up. There have been a number of years around here that I have picked blueberries the last week of September, usually above 1000 feet elevation. C.B.
Monday, August 7.
Brunswick (Map 6): Some wildflowers I noted were
blooming recently (* means one I've never identified before): Chicory *;
Fireweed *; Pearly Everlasting *; Common Fleabane *; Turtlehead; Common
Burdock *; Steeplebush; and a flower in the mint family which could be
either Hemp-Nettle * or Woundwort * according to my Peterson's Guide
To Wildflowers.
I've also seen a lot of the red berries of Bunchberry.
On Sunday while walking along the field edge where I find a
lot of wildflowers, I found a hornet's nest well-concealed in the tall grass,
built around weed stems. It
was very low to the ground and appeared a little too heavy for the supports it
had because it was half-hanging and half-lying
on the surrounding grass. It seemed
an odd place to build one but it was just far enough to the side to avoid the
occasional mowing done there. In my brief examination I could see it was
well-populated with Bald-faced Hornets.
It was about the size of a melon.
In the past two weeks, I've heard an occasional Cicada call
from the top of a tree but, perhaps because of our recent unseasonable weather,
they're not out in their usual numbers for this time of the year.
I spotted my first Lichen Moth (Lycomorpha pholus) last week,
trapped inside a window screen during the daytime.
These attractive black and
red/orange insects are diurnal. A
good picture can be found in the National Audubon Society Field
Guide to North American Insects and Spiders
on plate 165. A.R.S.
Tuesday, August
8. Phippsburg (Map 6) It
is great weather for frogs and fungi down here on the coast.
I am pleased to report that I have started seeing more Monarch
butterflies and have found three caterpillars so far.
The Milkweed plants are sky high. My
Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans are climbing up the Milkweed! As for plants in bloom,
in the woods I found (and had to look up for identification!) Canada Hawkweed
this week. Also in the woods was Whorled Wood Aster.
In the salt marshes, the delicate pink Seaside Gerardia can be found.
Weeds in my garden and in the blue stone driveway include Red Bartsia and
Rabbit's Foot Clover (plus lots of Lupine seedlings!).
Ripe Raspberries can still be found along with the first
Blackberries. The low bush
Blueberries seem to be in good supply where they get plenty of that elusive sun.
I've heard (second hand) that there is good picking in open areas
(fields) and on hill tops. In shady
areas, they are scarce. I'm still
waiting for the high bush, since I prefer picking standing up!
The fungi are prolific and fun to search out.
I found a large patch of Chanterelles benefiting from the wet weather, I
presume. R.K.
Special Nature Report from Nahmakanta Lake
Monday, July
31-Tuesday, August 1. T1 R11
WELS (Map 42) Nahmakanta Lake. Sometimes
on an outing there are certain things I'll expect, without question, to see.
Sometimes, the most special times, I see or discover something that was
completely unexpected. This recent
canoe trip on Nahmakanta Lake was a special time. We expected to see several moose and at least a few deer.
We saw none. I expected to hear coyotes at least once because the last
couple of times I was in that area I heard them pierce the silence of the night
with their brief but intense yipping and howling.
We heard none.
I did expect to hear loons and we did, intermittently both
day and night.
Their "laughter" was always brief, aborted.
Their wails were likewise brief, but eerie enough as their direction on
the black lake always changed. There
were eight loons that stayed very close together during the daylight hours, as
we could see them almost always
when they weren't diving. What we
didn't expect was for them to come so close.
When we were afloat on the lake in our canoe they would sometimes surface
so closely we could distinguish their red eyes.
Sometimes they would all surface on one side of us and sometimes the
flock would split and we'd see them on either side of us, diving often to feed
but usually returning to our proximity. They
reminded us of the fearless, escorting nature common in dolphins.
Twice, they even swam past our campsite at such a close range.
Something else that was unexpected on this outing was to pull
ashore on an exposed sandbar (the water was slightly down from normal levels)
and see two types of flowering plants I wasn't familiar with at all.
Thanks to Lawrence Newcomb’s Newcomb's Flower Guide I quickly
learned that the tiny but beautiful flowers we were seeing were horned
bladderworts and water lobelias. There
were scores of them. The lobelias
were a distinct violet color, not the white variety.
One last note. Late
in the evening as we sat by the campfire I was surprised
to see what looked like fireflies over the beach next to the lake.
I was looking downward through a
thin cloak of trees. I went to
investigate and laughed when I discovered
no beach aswarm with fireflies, but instead saw the reflections of Libra,
Hydra, Virgo and Leo "alive" on the wavelets on the black lake!
The slight movement of the tree leaves had only intensified the effect.
As the last embers of the fire died I was reminded of the companionship
of the loons and their fervent red eyes. D.W.
Maine
Wild Blueberry Report for August 2-8, 2000
Late fruiting stage: Sagadahoc
County
Middle ripe fruiting stage: central Penobscot County
Early ripe fruiting stage: central
Somerset County
No reports: other Maine counties
Your participation is welcome! Please e-mail Frank Wihbey, Editor: menature@maine.edu