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 …
This is the season for love songs in the bird world! Friends told me of hearing a wren singing outside their house and just this week they heard a phoebe’s call. Migrants are returning and getting ready to nest. Listen to all the sounds of spring. Woodpeckers calling and tapping on whatever surface suits them …
Barred owls seem to be abundant this year. There are many reports in Maine of this owl’s appearance. One sighting recently was especially interesting; it showed a barred owl trying to get to a caged bird in someone’s house. According to the experts the increase in owls is due to the unusual abundance of squirrels …
Friends are important to all men and beasts and the different friendships formed are sometimes astounding! A friend told me about his pigs and a flock of mallards at his farm near Blue Hill. Every morning his dozen or so pigs eagerly look forward to breakfast and every morning a flock of wild mallard ducks …
March came in like a lion and has been roaring ever since. In spite of the snow, ice and cold temperatures there is a change in the air when you go outside. Nature is stirring. Woodcocks are doing their courtship rituals and sky dancing. Great horned owls are nesting. The female often has to sit …
Several questions this week have been about deer antlers. It is always exciting to see a buck with antlers and you just know he is proud of them! White tailed deer shed and re-grow a set of antlers each year. These antlers are shed sometime in the winter. As soon as they are shed, new …
March has arrived along with more snow. This month has the reputation of being capricious — one day will be warm and the next one will be freezing. Whatever the weather, this is the time to watch or listen for woodcocks to arrive. They will be with us throughout the summer. Their courtship antics start …
Swirling snows and frigid winds define February this year. Snow-covered branches on trees and shrubs glisten like diamonds in the February sunshine. With March arriving, we can expect it to be warm one day and freezing the next. The sun climbs higher in the sky and the days grows appreciably longer. The sap will begin …
The north winds still blow and we’re still getting some snow and some of us wish it would end… and are looking ahead to the arrival of spring. No matter the snow, ice or whatever happens, nature has its own timetable and moves at its own pace. Those of us who pay attention to the …
February is living up to its reputation for fickle weather — cold, warm, clear, snowy, rainy, sunny and icy roads. Fat robins usually arrive from the south this month and feed on rosehips. Geese gather together at the Trenton Bridge. Red-spotted newts may appear in minnow traps. Newts are interesting little salamanders but not so …
