“Summertime and the living is easy … fish are jumpin’ … ” So goes the wonderful song by Gershwin. I love playing it on my violin. Summer is a busy time for all wildlife. Migration for some birds, courting for all, nest building, egg laying and brooding; then family cares as long as necessary. Some …
The gentle lacy look of spring foliage is rapidly changing to large leaves and making the birds harder to see now. More flowers, though, are bursting into bloom and are rewarding to find. Clintonia is one of my favorite wild flowers from flower to fruit. It has yellow bell-shaped flowers hanging on the long stem …
June is a month filled with new wildflower blossoms and you often find them in unusual places. On a road on the west side of this island I saw a spectacular display of cowslip or marsh marigold plants in a wet roadside ditch this past week. The yellow blossoms were very beautiful! Normally you expect …
Feeders are very colorful this month with scarlet tanagers in red and black, orioles orange and black, indigo buntings in dark blue, bluebirds with their wonderful soft blue and a rosy chest and warblers sporting all sorts of designs and colors. It is a feast for the eyes. The sounds of spring are also very …
There were surprises in the wood pile this week! Some family members discovered some interesting inhabitants one day. Several redbelly snakes have apparently been calling this pile their home or at least a refuge. We have only five species of snakes living here and three species of turtles because of our colder temperatures in the …
Notices of new arrivals have almost come to me daily this month. Now IS a great time to watch the birds for they are in their breeding plumage and easiest to recognize. A handsome Blue Grosbeak visited a feeder of some friends this past week in Tremont. I suspect that the Rose Breasted Grosbeak is …
Spring is a glorious time of year with so much going on in the out of doors for humans and wildlife. A summer tanager arrived on a Tremont feeder this past week. Probably most people know the beautiful scarlet tanager with its scarlet red body and black wings. It is often described as a tropical …
Frogs and salamanders are very active now. Even in mid-afternoon. One day I was able to watch many frogs actively engaged in courtship and mating rituals in a small vernal pool next to the road. The peepers and wood frogs have been singing their love songs and the females have come from far and near …
Peepers are getting louder these spring nights and their chorus will swell to mighty heights as the evenings are warmer. It is my favorite sound to hear after a long winter. This little frog has a mighty voice! Take time to listen as they and the wood frogs call in island pools and ponds. A …
In spite of these unnecessary late snow storms and wintry weather, nature moves along in the spring schedule. Migrants are returning. Winter wrens are singing lustily in the Maine woods. More will be heard as we move on in April. The wren, a very small bird, is quite like a feathered ping-pong ball, bouncing about …
