April is here once again. Birds that change their plumages in the winter are now back in their breeding plumages. The guillemot’s change is a dramatic one. I remember the first year (l972) that our family moved here seeing a winter guillemot and thinking it was a new species for me. I soon learned to know the …
How nice it is to hear some bird songs when I step outside these days. Anyone as old as I may remember the cacophony of bird songs we could hear in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70’s! It was a glorious sound, but in recent years as was predicted in the book “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson, the spring bird …
Bluebirds were seen this week in a blueberry field on the island. It is encouraging to have had more reports of these lovely birds in recent years for they were seriously in decline a few years ago when English sparrows took over their nesting sites and even killed bluebirds sitting on eggs in their nests. A strong campaign …
Although I have not heard them myself, woodcocks are back. This time of year is when this strange, plump and seemingly neck-less bird with a very long bill performs his ritual “sky dance” in order to woo his chosen female. As is usually the case the females seem to ignore the whole thing, but he …
March is here and it is a capricious month, warm one day and freezing cold the next, but the changes in nature as winter gives way to spring are evident to wildlife. The sun climbs higher in the sky now and days grow appreciably longer. Sap runs, pussy willows bloom and the wintertime bills of …
February is a fickle month. It is full of surprises. On a warmer sunny day, you may even see a mourning cloak butterfly in a sunny spot. A warm day will ring them out of their hiding places, but as soon as the cooler air comes back they retreat to their warmer hiding places again. …
It’s February; it’s cold and it’s Maine! Humans and wildlife do what they have to do to survive. Winter is still with us and many of us look forward to warm sunny days. The recent full moon was a beautiful sight at Seawall and many local residents were there to enjoy it. A full moon …
Nature is full of surprises and they appear when you least expect. On a little road trip this week off the island a friend and I were surprised to see an adult bald eagle sitting right next to the busy road. It wasn’t hurt but had landed there to inspect a dead deer that had …
We are now in a new month. Frigid winds and swirling snows may still keep many of us indoors. Birds and mammals still abroad in fields and forests battle the elements to stay alive but thoughts of warmer days to come and seed catalogues are being read and garden plans are being made mentally and …
What a lovely scene it was — three deer browsing on the seaweed on the causeway at Seawall Beach. This is a favorite location for Islanders to visit frequently at all times of year. The ocean itself often puts on spectacular displays of waves, crashing on the shore and rafts of birds feeding just offshore …
