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| Kailyn enjoying her red-backed find photo by Deb |
May 5th,
2015
Thanks to VLT and
MCHT!
"Parula in the Yard!" - Amy Palmer
Highlights – Vernal
Pools!, Salamanders, Owls, Warblers featuring Pine, Woodpeckers, Mushrooms,
Springtails, 2 part mystery section, dragonfly, and a whole bunch of other
stuff
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| this raccoon is alive Spoiler - there are dead raccoon photos later! |
Salutations! While we (the VSR “we”) celebrate Snow Fleas and Tidepool Springtails every year, we acknowledge that there are many unidentified and under/non-appreciated species of springtails roaming our woods, hopping ‘round and helping things decay – puttin’ the “I” in the FBI of decomposition – Fungus, Bacteria, and Invertebrates. And so when we came across a sizable group of springtails crossing the trail we just had to catch a video or two. We with this in mind we say ---- Springtails…we salute you! And so we start with a springtail hopping video…
2 part mystery series
– part I -
Mystery Solved!...
Leave it to longtime VSR reader and all around great guy Mike Windsor (yes, that mild
mannered, strong-chinned and strikingly handsome Scarborough librarian) to have
the scoop on what all that webbing was under the snow.
Mike had to go all the way back to his Wyoming days – and
fortunately did not have to visit his foul mouthed Cape Cod days – to come up
with “Snow Mold”. Now – how cool is that, it sounds like the best of both world
– snow and mold! Here’s what Mike shared, form the mouth of mike…
“Gray snow
mold,
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| lots of razor clam shells washing up these days |
"Apparently it can damage lawns/turf, for folks who care about their lawn. We would often see a pink color to the snow out West when it was melting, although that was caused by an algae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
I can hardly remember snow it’s been so long, but I look
forward to tracking molds under the snow too! Thanks so much Mike for turning
us all onto snow mold. We will never be the same.
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| yellow-rumped warbler on the suet! photo by Sally Conway |
Lists - Warblers – tricklin’ in – John Drury spotted a Pine Warbler on East Main Street… Palm Warbler (Seal Island (thanks again John),
Fox Rocks) …Yellow-rumpeds (scattered around island), and just this morning
Amy Palmer excitedly ran back into
the house and reported “Parula in the
yard!” (5/4)… Black-throated Green – (5/5) Reach road, round pond. Black and
White warbler (5/5) Bike ride! Welcome
back everyone!
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| yellow-rumped showing a little "butter butt" photo by Sally Conway |
Skinhill Sally
was kind enough to send in these shots of a Yellow-rumped Warbler visiting her suet feeder and esaw them ating off the
ground recently. Sally asked if we (the royal “we”) had ever heard of such a
thing and up to a week ago my answer would have been no, but… Funnily enough
just a week ago Steve “southern Maine”
Walker told me about yellow rumpeds going to his suet feeders. Protein hard
to come by these days? What - springtails aren’t nutritious enough for you? Birds
are snobs. Not too surprising though, Yellow-rumpeds are the most diverse
snackers of the warbler family.
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| chipping sparrow photo by Sally conway |
Sally also documented this Chipping Sparrow feasting at her
feeder, and from the sound of it she has not seen them at the feeder much.
While somewhat common on the mainland, Chipping Sparrows are far and few out
here, I’ve maybe seen a handful out here.
More Lists – (4/22)
Skating area - Savannah sparrow, Killdeer…
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| this raccoon is dead... |
Lane’s Island – (4/26) Laughing Gull, 7 Harlequin Ducks, 8 Oldtail Ducks, 279 Black Scoter, 16 Common Loon, 4 Double-crested Cormorants, 16 White-winged Scoters…(5/4) Belted Kingfisher, Flickers, Green-winged Teal – editor note – the green winged teal has been hanging in the “cess pool” kind of area along the preserve driveway on the left for over a week now. It’s the tiny duck there – take a look while you are heading in!
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| ...right where an eagle ate it |
Huber – (4/27) 103
Surf Scoter, 9 Bufflehead, 10 Common Eiders, Brown Creeper, Golden-crowned
Kinglet, Chickadee, live raccoon….(4/28) Dead Raccoon in the tree
Basin – (4/27) Winter
Wren, Brown Creeper, Otter Scratch and mound
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| Downy Woodpecker photo by Jim Clayter |
Ferry ride – (4/30) 6
Tree Swallows
State Beach (4/27) 3
Greater Yellowlegs, 5 Bufflehead, 14 Common Loon, 12 Black guillemot, 1
Red-throated Loon, 6 Red-necked Grebe, 7 Purple Sandpiper, 2 Surf Scoter, 1
white-winged Scoter, 15 Black Scoter, 5 Oldtails, 17 Red-breasted Merganser,
Merlin displaying
continues – Reach Road, School grounds, Ferry Terminal
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| there are plenty of skunk cabbage flowers around these days |
Fiddleheads pokin’-
Skunk cabbage looking
good.
Saw a dragonfly –
Basin (5/5)
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| Natalie and Brandon enjoying photo by Susan Raven |
Kid Stuff –
Thanks again to the wonderful
Perspectives program staff Susan and
Deb for having me over for an
afterschool salamander session a few weeks back. The kids were great, the
salamanders very patient, and everyone had a pretty good time. Next week we are
off to Lane’s for some exploring! Should be a blast! Thanks to MCHT too!)
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| leif helping me explain where to find salamanders photo by Susan Raven |
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| I don't think she's buying whatever I am lying about photo by Susan Raven |
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| the hunt is on! photo by Susan Raven |
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| kids in the woods, looking for salamanders photo by Susan Raven |
Vernal pool action update – “the moist before the dry” – and things are happening quickly.
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| some Huber eggs |
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| this boy loves his eggs |
In the last VSR we reported that the “big night” of Spotted Salamander migration this 2015 – April 18th - was one of the latest “big night” movements we have observed in our 9 years or so of observing. Most of those last 9 springs the salamanders moved from their winter burrows to vernal pools in late march, maybe 6 out of 9 times. What if 6 turned out to be 9? I don’t mind.
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| "a little blubbery!" |
We use our “favorite” vernal pool - the human dug pit (HDP!) along the Huber Trail – as our litmus test most years to judge pool depth. The pit has had anywhere from 0 – 8 salamander egg cases in it in a year and it drains fairly quickly – over days and weeks – and needs a somewhat frequent supply of rain water in the spring (season) to keep any eggs covered with water.
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| this has nothing to do with salamander eggs but is two eagles macking with a turkey vulture patiently waiting its turn |
We use our “favorite” vernal pool - the human dug pit (HDP!) along the Huber Trail – as our litmus test most years to judge pool depth. The pit has had anywhere from 0 – 8 salamander egg cases in it in a year and it drains fairly quickly – over days and weeks – and needs a somewhat frequent supply of rain water in the spring (season) to keep any eggs covered with water.
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| these are not salamanders at all but are greater yellowlegs in breeding plumage |
Anyway – did the dryness - or even better – did the lowness of the vernal pools inspire the salamanders to “get a move on and get reproducing”? maybe. Is this what “normal” really is and the last 9 years were an anomaly?
Am I over simplifying things so I can fool myself into thinking I understand this? Am I giving salamanders a little more credit than they deserve? Maybe, but they deserve to get a little more than they deserve! And that my friends is entitlement!
Anyway – did the dryness - or even better – did the lowness of the vernal pools inspire the salamanders to “get a move on and get reproducing”? maybe. Is this what “normal” really is and the last 9 years were an anomaly?
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| a small part of long cove |
Am I over simplifying things so I can fool myself into thinking I understand this? Am I giving salamanders a little more credit than they deserve? Maybe, but they deserve to get a little more than they deserve! And that my friends is entitlement!
Whatever the case – now is the time to head out and check
out your favorite and least favorite (and all the favorites inbetween) vernal
pools to see what the eggs are all about!
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| I can be happy the rest of my life with the cinnamon fern |
We also figured that if there were two pairs then Fox Rocks
itself might be a good place to see any territorial interactions. So let’s go, run and see.
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| this silly birch polypore is trying to look like a dryad's saddle! - silly polypore |
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| this is an otter scrape from the basin |
So, it was cool to see/hear the Perry Creek owls again –
it’s been a few years! A return trip the next night and an extensive search for
pellets and scat near where the Perry Creek owls hooted turned up zilch, zippo,
nada. For owls to be roaming around far from young at this time of the year
makes you wonder if their nest failed with the winter we had – they do start
sitting on eggs in Feb! Always a treat to see owls…
Also represented – at least 6 Woodcocks were displaying up
at Fox Rocks. It feels weird hearing
woodcocks in May. There is still one at Lane’s, pretty comfortable conditions
to go watch. Much warmer than April 10th.
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| this is otter poop from the Basin |
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| "rather fond of those split gills these days..." |
“..the peculiar manner in which the gills split lengthwise
is unique. The “split” gills are actually two adjacent plates which separate
and roll up in dry weather, thus protecting the spore bearing surface.
Specimens sealed in a tuber in 1911m then moistened 50 years later, unrolled
their gills and began shedding spores!”
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| harbinger of spring? black hairy cups |
And another old favorite – Hairy Black Cup! (Pseudoplectania
nigrella). Often one of the first mushrooms to pop up each spring, this little
beauty can be seen in the moss on rocks, logs and even on the ground in much of
the coniferous woods around the island.
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| these little nuggets are special |
And now, with the help of “Mammal Tracks and Sign” by Mark Elbroch I have seen the error of my
thoughts (not ways) and feel like a moron that I never put this together. But it’s
a freakin’ false truffle! Of course!
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| oh false truffle, I will not eat you, |
For years we (the royal “we”) have known about False Truffles
being in our woods by seeing the mushroom of the Cordyceps fungal species that
is parasitic on False Truffles! Little did I realize I was also seeing the
false truffles every now and then. It is a thought with some of the deer
scrapes over the last few years have been from deer in search of these “tasty”
nuggets. tasty for deer I guess! don't really hear about humanoids macking on these
2 part mystery series
– part 2 - Mystery! To be solved…
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| this is an "EFBODS" on the ground |
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| and here's one in a shrub! |
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| there is a diaper in this picture, see if you can find it! |
So does any of this poop bagging remind you of any friends
of yours? Or maybe an alter ego of your own that you only let out on full moon
nights? If you have any info on the “HPB” I would love to know more about this!
Humans can be so interesting and so boring at the same time!
And let us not forget human waste in the catastrophe that is
“dropping bagged poop along trails”! One of us (the royal “us”, as in
sapiens…our species?) would not be outdone by the HBP mentioned above and
decided to stuff a full diaper along the trail on Lane’s Island. This is
awesome! I mean, how long are those trails anyway? Are you really ever further
than 15 minutes from the parking lot? I know, obviously a kid was there that
would slow things down (damn kids! Sorry Leif!), so it might have been a 20 minute
walk back to the car. I am curious here though - how is stuffing a full diaper
under a shrub along the trail the right decision to make ever? Fortunately for
us, the diaper was not an earth friendly poop bag, and so in theory the
treasures inside would remain trailside forever!
But we can’t end on that note! Here’s a video of Leif
explaining what it must be like to be stuck in one of the salamander eggs...
and don't forget to take it easy!
at least every now and then..
see you out there!
