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| lilacs are raging |
Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report – June 18, 2019
Brought to you, in part, by the kind support of VLT and MCHT
Highlights – Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Lady Slippers,
Warblers, first slime mold of the season (for me), otter latrine
news, and so much more….
Business:
contact us – sightings, photos, attitudes, ideas, email addresses – send them
all to vinalhavensightings@gmail.com .
Tiit trick –
click on photos to enlarge. Fill your screen with images of lady slippers and
other blossoms. Be warned – sometimes closer views.
Public service announcement – There are lots of mosquitoes in the woods these days. Bug
netting, even if it only covers the head and ears, can go a long way to
Sightings from Skua – http://sightingsfromskua.blogspot.com/
. Check out the latest post from the John Drury – Harlequins, Tropicbird, Puffins Seal Island. Book your trip now! Great
Stuff!
Sightings -
Wolf's milk slime....
Flowers – yep,
we are starting with flowers – Lady
Slipper alert… Huber Preserve is loaded with ‘em, they are blooming under
the pitch pines above the basin, reported at Fish Hook and Fox Rocks preserves
, and can be found on most other preserves on island.
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| this years and last years |
Over the years we (the royal “we”)
have reported of the Pink Lady Slipper’s connection and dependence on fungus to
grow (the “ol’ mycorrhizal”, as we say in the biz), we probably may have
labeled the flowers as “deceptive” as they “lure pollinators by color and odor
from the sepals and lateral petals” while offering little or no nectar.
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| pod still closed |
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| seed pod opened |
We may have talked about how their
seeds are wind carried and some of lightest in nature. They come with no
nourishment for the future plant, and require that connection with Rhizoctonia
fungus to begin the years long growth processes before the plant can even think
about producing a flower. With my new lens, and apparently a new perspective on
flowers, I have been enjoying last years seed pods, some open…some closed. But
all looking – to me – like a cross between “the alien” and gonzo from the Muppets.
Bunchberry, aka dwarf dogwood. (Cornus canadensis) - Cool ground cover nicknamed...
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| Bunchberry |
...after both its fruit stage and its
floral bloom. Whatever you want to call them, we love the bunchberry because it
doesn’t have a white flower even though it looks like it does (some call that
being deceptive). The white things are actually sepals, and the flower itself is
tiny and green. Always a favorite, these flowers grow off an underground
rhizome that may send up clone plants over an area of a couple of yards. So when you find large mat of Bunchberry it
be all from one, two, or not many rhizomes. Way cooler than just a purtee
flower.
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| starflower |
Starflower –
they have no nectar.
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| huckleberry |
Black Huckleberry – a cool member of the Heath family, not the tastiest fruits if you ask
me (you didn’t, I know). Makes me miss those red huckleberries in Oregon! But
if you like bland with a whole bunch of seeds this is the fruit for you. The
flower, however, reminds me of a blood soaked blueberry flower. Blueberries
being another favorite Heath member that produce a much tastier fruit. Not sure
why I am dwelling on this….no fruits at the moment! Fox Rock and Basin preserve
trails are great for Huckleberry – probably along all trails come to think of
it.
Golden Heather
– member of the Rock-rose family (what
family?), this may be the rarest of flowers I come across on Vinalhaven trails.
Rare in that I only know one spot – there are undoubtedly more out there –
along the Williams/Wharff Quarry Trail
in the Basin Preserve where there are a handful of patches. Below the pitch
pines, right at the highest view on the loop there.
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| golden heather |
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| elderberry |
Elderberry – bloomin’
fun
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| yarrow |
Yarrow -
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| Calderwood island oak tree |
Calderwood Island - here are two shots - Swainsons Thrush was a highlight
Otter latrines
– working the MCHT trails as of late I have come across 4 “new” trailside otter
latrines – 2 on the basin platform
trail, one on the Basin Wharff Quarry trail, and one on the Carrying Place
preserve trail. River otters are famous (in my mind) for marking “our”
human trails, but not helping out with trail maintenance. For whatever reasons,
it has been thought (in my mind once again) that these small, seldom marked
(maybe 2 times a year) are to communicate
with dogs that are walked on these trails, rather than to communicate
with other otters. Those latrines are usually closer to water or dens. The
marking areas along trails are often close to small streams that cross “our” trails,
even though two of the four latrines I crossed
paths with over the last couple of weeks have just been on medium sized rocks
along trails. 
Anyway, the trails are open to all
species with the goal of getting as many people and things using them as
possible. The fact that otters feel ownership of the trails is quite a
compliment. Plus they don’t put their spraint in bags and leave them by the
side of the trail, which we also appreciate. Anyway – look for piles of crab
exoskeleton pieces or fish scales and bones when on the trails – you might just
have found some otter sign! Congratulations up front!
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| alder flycatcher |
Also at Lane’s
– quick views of a Yellow-billed cuckoo.
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| yellow warbler |
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| female redstart |
With migration going on and Lane’s position at the southern end of
the island, just about anything could show up there. What have you been seeing
at Lane’s these days?
And of course, here are some of Leif….
