A friend of mine was looking out her window this past week and suddenly saw a porcupine running out of the woods at high speed, at least it was high speed for this usually slow-moving creature. Every once in awhile, it would look back and then kept going in a rush across the wide lawn …
The song of a hermit thrush is like none other and very special as the day ends. You hear its lovely song far more often than you see the bird itself. Hermit thrushes are very shy birds living in both deciduous and evergreen forests. They seem to crave privacy. The hermit thrush slightly resembles the …
May moves right along spreading color and beauty and beautiful sounds to the outside world here on our island. The delicate first leaves on our trees are special now and still let us get good views of the returning nesting birds. Later, when the leaves are fully out, it will be hard to see the …
The peeper chorus is at full column theses spring nights. It sounds to me like hundreds of sleigh bells ringing in our wetlands large and small. Each of our amphibians has a different voice, and it’s always fun to pick out a familiar voice in the swampland chorus. There are many electronic aids such as …
New spring migrants arrive every day, and new plants are coming in woods and fields. Spring is moving along and very welcome here on Mount Desert Island. The leaves of Canada mayflower are poking up, and coltsfoot is in bloom, as is leatherleaf. This last mentioned leatherleaf, Chamaedaphne calyculata, is really an evergreen shrub growing …
Spring is a wonderful time of year for nature writers; there is so much going on in the natural world. Brant geese recently have been seen at the Trenton Bridge. They appear there each year in March and April, and some linger into May. They are smaller geese than the Canadian geese we see here …
A large bird was flying low over a field at the side of the road and then crossed in front of a friend of mine in Lamoine this past week. She was seeing a beautiful avian glider called the “northern harrier” or “marsh hawk.” This large hawk has a beautiful flight. It glides low over …
Great blue herons have arrived once again into our area of Maine; the sights and pleasures of a new spring season are slowly appearing. These magnificent herons are with us for many months and are seen along the shore areas and in and about island ponds, lakes and streams They are big birds, standing about …
My son and his family found lots of amphibian activity the end of last week on a rainy night walk. When frogs and salamanders decide to look for their breeding ponds, they usually pick a warm, rainy night to their liking and head for the nearest breeding ponds. A beautiful wood frog appeared along the …
Greet each morning with great expectations these new April days, for migrants are arriving slowly but surely, and all forms of wildlife are getting ready for new families and new life. It can be very exciting if you take time to notice what is happening around you on this island in Maine. A friend told …
