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| after sunrise rockland harbor |
Welcome to the Vinalhaven Sightings Report – August 4 2019
Brought to you, with love and the support of MCHT and VLT
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| spotted salamander larva |
Highlights : Vernal pool sampling, dragonflies, butterflies especially
Monarchs, Redstart with young, yellow warblers with young, flowers including
Indian Pipes and Common Bladderwort, damselflies, and so much more!
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| painted skimmer |
Business: Lots of photos in this one. Hope your eyes are ready…
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| widow skimmer |
Contact us:
Hey – we love it when you contact us (yes, even you!), so share what you are
seeing , send in your photos and stories and we’ll plaster them all over this
blog. In a way you’ll be famous. In most ways you probably won’t be. vinalhavensightings@gmail.com is the email for you to remember! Or
better yet – to use!
Tiit trick:
Click on the photos to have them fill up your universe (or computer screen!).
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spotted salamander larva with leg out
this is the vernal pool update! |
Skua plug –
Hey – it’s not too late to get out on the water for a boat ride, see some
island and learn/observe a bunch load of stuff with Captain John Drury onboard
the Skua. Here’s a link to his wonderful blog “Sightings from Skua” – for
recent sightings and for reserving your spot on the hottest pelagic show in
Maine! Or something like that ….
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| northern bluet |
last minute update! - This just in from John – a recent trip beyond Seal turned up roughly 450 Ocean Sunfish! On one trip! I guess
you can tell them apart on the way back since they are facing a different
direction? Anyway – prior “record” on the Skua was about 7 ocean sunfish from
what John remembers. So, get out there today! Never know what you might find!
Upcoming events:
VLT bird walks continue – Thursday mornings either at 7 or 8am. Check the vlt
website for times and dates! Impressive lists being sent in from the birdwalks
– don’t want to miss….
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| American redstart |
Break in the action - When we see you next…..well, it may be September, unless we are
feeling giddy from the road. Never know. Enough the break and go outside and
look at some stuff!
Sightings: Where
to begin? There is so much going on these days – dragonflies, butterflies,
mushrooms, birds….so let’s start with birds…
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| American redstart underside |
Couple of bird list from the Thursday
morning bird walks – looks like there has been a lot being seen!
Lanes Island: Amer redstart, Amer goldfinch, Common yellowthroat, Black-capped chickadee,
Catbird, Cedar waxwing, Alder flycatcher, Red-breasted nuthatch, Yellow
warbler, Common crow, Purple finch, Amer robin, Herring gull, White throated
sparrow, Song sparrow, Flicker, Common eider, Black guillemot, Double-crested
cormorant, Lesser yellowlegs.
State beach - greater yellowlegs, semipalmated
plover, common tern, black-throated green warbler, osprey, bald eagle, raven
Love getting these lists. Fun outings,
lots to see, and then it gets shared right here - some pure citizen science,
documented here for all eternity! Catch the next bird walk you can!
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| begging Redstart fledgling |
And since we are talking Lane’s and birds – that said, coffee breaks happen in
lane’s island, well, once a day or so (when we are out there) and the watching
is often good while the water is getting to a boil. Last week I made coffee
three times in the parking lot (have I ever come clean with my love for
coffee?) and each time a pair of American
Restart (young and a responsible male) made all kinds of racket in the
trees above the parking lot. I say responsible because in each case a male was
feeding a young fledgling on indeterminant gender (not that that’s important!).
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| first spring male Redstart, that was feeding young |
What was cool was that one day it was
an adult male feeding a youngster and the next it was a firs spring male – not
so sharp with the black and orange pattern – feeding a begging fledgling. Most
likely young from two different nearby nests but shows that first year male
redstarts can be successful in rearing offspring. Good for you young Redstart!
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| one young yellow warbler |
The yellow warbler saga has played out rather well, as two fledglings
were spotted in the proximity of the skewed nest, and a third could be heard
close by. Still begging but close to be on their own. I had one of them in my
hand once.
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| and a second young yewllow warbler |
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| black swallowtail |
Butterflies – Eastern Black Swallowtail spent “a
small chunk of a time” along the shoreline of Lane’s, which was cool.
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| atlantis fritillary |
Hey – Numerous fritillaries, and lots of Red Admiral and White
Admiral butterflies around, both of which have “chevron” like patterns on
their wings filled with their respective, namesake color.
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American lady butterflies have two large circle on the
bottom of their hindwings |
Here’s a tutorial on
the to Lady butterfly species we have – American
Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) and Painted
Lady (Vanessa cardui).
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American ladies have four dots on the top if its hindwing
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Armbrust Hill
– a bonus of spending time on the lane’s island trails system is the proximity
to Armbrust Hill. Don’t get me wrong, Lane’s is a top treasure island-wide for
me, wildlife and calmness wise, but when it comes time for lunch sometimes you
want to go somewhere other than where you work. So, I’ve been having these ~20
minute lunch sessions by the frog above the medical center. Quick math says
that’s about an hour of total time spent by the pond, and the sightings are
impressive both in quality and quantity. So productive….
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| painted ladies, on the other hand, have four small black dots on the underside of its hind wing |
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| and four dots above - none blue |
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| what a July for monarchs! |
No one seems to remember a July full of Monarchs quite like this one. in my experience the fall, southern migration tends to be when Monarchs are at their thickest along the coast.
This July is nutty with Monarchs!
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| caterpillars are made! or something like that |
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| and when two monarchs love each other.... |
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| adult male green frog |
Green Frogs of
different stages abound….
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| green frog eggs |
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| this one still has a small tail |
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| eastern pond hawk male |
If you are interested in dragonflies
and damselflies there is no better/easier place to access. Here’s a sample of
what I’ve been seeing by the pond!
Eastern Pondhawks – with their cool green faces…
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| eastern pondhawk femals |
All green females!
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| Blue Dasher male |
Blue Dashers –
males similar to the pondhawks – but with a white face
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| blue dasher female |
Females look way different.
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| painted skimmer |
Painted Skimmers
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| painted skimmer from atop a clothespin! |
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| chalk-fronted corporal |
Chalk-fronted Corporals – may be the most abundant dragonfly up at the
pond
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| twelve spotted skimmer |
Twelve-spotted Skimmer
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| twelve spotted skimmer face on |
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| widow skimmer male |
Widow Skimmer
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| female widow skimmer |
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| common whitetail |
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close up of whitetail face shows two deer fly
wings sticking out of its mouth |
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| white-faced meadowhawk |
Common Whitetail
White-faced Meadowhawk
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| cherry faced meadowhawk |
Cherry-faced Meadowhawk –
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| mating cherry faced meadowhawk |
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| dot-tailed whiteface |
Dot-tailed Whiteface
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| dot-tailed whiteface |
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| mating red-waisted whiteface |
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| red-wasted whiteface |
And the Red-waisted Whiteface –
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lots of hot action in the salt marshes when seaside
dragonlets are arpund |
And then there is the case of the Seaside Dragonlet – observed in a local salt marsh,
Seaside Dragonlets are the only Odonata in North America that can lay eggs in
salt water. Salt pannes – shallow pools that collect salt water within a marsh
system – are preferred habitat for these small dragonflies. With osmosis and
all that makes me (the royal “me”) wonder how salty the eggs must be. Anyway,
never seen – not heard of these before – so that was a different kind of bonus.
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| this seaside dragonlet has a funky right hind wing |
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| baneberry. do not eat this stuff |
Plant stuff –
there are some cool flowers out these days – Baneberry – the plant that killed that doofus from “into the wild” –
all berried up and looking scrumptious on North Haven this week. Have only seen
one patch on Vinalhaven – but there is sure to be more around!
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| indian pipe, old and new |
Indian or Ghost pipes – everyone’s favorite parasitic plant is lining trails with its ghostly
white glow. Drop and get a closer look! Its fun! I swear
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| dodder vines |
Another favorite parasitic plant is Dodder, whose vines are starting to take over sections of Lane's Island - and that's not a bad thing!
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| dodder viney tendrils |
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| common bladderwort |
(Armbrust Hill) Common Bladderwort is in bloom – cool yellow blooms on a seriously
firm stalk, rising out of the water above the plants’ carnivorous assortment of
bladders ready to take in any copepod or small critter that dares to tread
near.
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| bladderwort with female eastern forktail |
Funny to say that because as I snapped
photos of Bladderwort, a female Eastern
Forktail damselfly landed on the Bladderwort and proceeded to work its way
down the stalk, submerging itself as it sliced into the stalk and laid eggs
within the carnivorous plant. That’s the part that gets me – almost seems
counter intuitive to lay eggs on a plant
that will try to eat your offspring. Who am I to question?
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you can see the forktail's abdomen under the water as she
slices the bladderwort stem to put an egg inside. |
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| just the wings above water |
Cool to see how low the Forktail
would go. Did the forktail use the surface tension to allow her to lay eggs and
enter the water almost completely while not getting wet in the least? May be
the case, the female flew off with no drying necessary!
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| scrambled egg slime |
Slime molds –
still lots of sign of slimes….another drizzle or two might go a long way, but
days of 150 patches clicked are commonplace this summer. here are a couple of scrambled egg slime and a dried chocolate tube slime from recent
ventures…
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| thinning chocolate tube slime |
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| bitter bolete |
Mushrooms –
lots to see out there these days, even with the heat and lack of moisture.
Couple of Boletes – Bitter Bolete
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| bitter bolete pores |
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| bitter bolete with its cobwebby stalk |
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| totally dig the violet brown bolete |
And the Violet-brown Bolete
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| violet brown boletes |
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| blusher button |
Amanitas - Blusher – Amanita rubescens – here’s a
column I wrote for the St. George Dragon newsletter – sums up a little of the
Amanita scene these days….
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| blusher |
Maine summers get hot (broken record,
I know). Great time to be an insect, or anything cold-blooded really. For
warm-blooded humans, though, these are the “sweaty days”. And as an observer,
it’s hard not to notice that “things” in nature often slow down a little with
the heat (and sweat). Not quite to a halt, but close to mid-winter levels of
activity – a steady, but non-overwhelming pace. The difference, of course, is
how incredibly comfortable winter is.
Enough already!
The oppressive summer heat and its
associated dryness can’t stop fungus from doing what they do, however. Sure,
when the top layers of soil dry up most fungal activity stops within that
layer. Dig a little deeper, though, and fungal mycelium are happily absorbing
nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Many fungus species will then trade
these absorbed treasures with plants, via roots, for sugars made during plant
photosynthesis. It’s the classic “mycorrhizal” symbiotic relationship between plant
and fungus, working together to build a robust forest habitat. We’ve been over
this before, I know. Repetition (cloning) can be the key to getting into the
fungal state of mind and it’s a relationship worth repeating. It’s a
relationship worth repeating.
Summer mushrooms give credence to the
catch phrase “just add water” from the old gray train commercials. A little
rain, or even some thick fog, and woods and yards alike respond with a bloom of
summer shrooms. They may go quickly, sometimes lasting only a day or two before
drying up. Long enough to disperse their spores, and it’s all about those
spores.
For any myco-novice (or myco-newbie)
the number of mushroom species in mid-coast Maine can seem a little
overwhelming, even when focusing solely on “mushrooms that look like mushrooms”
- no shelf or coral or whatever. Organize what you find, however, and you’ll
see that around 80% of mushrooms in mid-coast Maine are members of four
mushroom families – Boletaceae, Russulaceae, Cortinariaceae, and Amanitaceae.
Understanding this gives mushroom observers a place to start when beginning the
identification process.
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| grissette |
And while I am a self-proclaimed
Boleto-phile, in my mind the summer is owned by Amanitas, fungally speaking of
course. Amanita diversity can be good after a summer rain, with a mix of
Cleft-footed (Amanita brunnescens), Tawny Grissette (A. fulva), Grissette (A.
vaginata), Strangulated Grissette (A. ceciliae), Fly agaric (A. muscaria),
Yellow Patches (A. flavoconia), Frost’s Amanita (A. frostiana) and the
Destroying Angel (A. virosa) lining a trails and sprinkled throughout a forest
after a moist summer day. I may be a
sucker for boletes, but deep down inside I am an amanita man.
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| cleft-footed amanita |
In mid-coast Maine The Blusher
(Amanita rubescens) is not a rare summer mushroom by any means. In fact, along
with Yellow Patches it is one of the most abundant (early) summer Amanitas. And
yet, pound for pound, it may be the most overlooked and underappreciated
Amanita. Let’s see if we can change that, shall we.
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| cleft -footed bulbous base with tares |
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| holy blusher |
One issue with Blushers is simply
recognition. David Arora says that the Blusher “in many respects is an
exasperatingly variable Amanita”. That is true. Blusher mushroom caps are
mostly white(ish) to tan(nish) and covered with scales that run a good chunk of
the color spectrum – white, pinkish, brownish, to grayish. All parts of a
Blusher mushroom stains red when torn chewed or incidentally bumped (thus, the
common name “Blusher”). Arora states that “the “blushing” of the cap, stem and
flesh is the one infallible fieldmark for this fickle fungus”. This staining
process may take minutes or longer before being noticeable, and so while the
blushing may be a reliable fieldmark the blushing is on the Blusher’s terms,
make no mistake of that.
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| blusher attacked by amanita mold |
As a family, Amanitas are the
deadliest group of mushrooms in North America. And yet, most Amanitas are
non-poisonous and a few species – Ceaser Amanitas in the east, Corcorra in the
west – are considered “choice edibles”. Field guides describe the edibility of
Blushers as “good, with caution”, which is a standard phrase when mentioning
eating Amanitas to strangers. In other words, you can eat it, but it’s on you
to identify correctly. You are taking your life you’re your own hands. For you
see, even though Blushers are “good”, they need to be cooked thoroughly as they
contain “a hemolytic toxin in its raw state and hence causes anemia if eaten
raw”. Just another mushroom that is edible in certain states and when prepared
correctly. Do your research before eating any wild mushroom!
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| blusher attacked by amanita mold |
When you find a patch of Blushers (or
any Amanita for that matter), it’s a safe bet you’ll be able to find more in
the same general area year after year. Over time you can get a feel for Amanita
populations and dispersal in your area, another step in “getting to know your
neighborhood”. But the knowledge
doesn’t stop there as Blushers are routinely parasitized by Amanita mold
(Hypomyces hyalinus). The mold turns Blusher mushrooms into “a phallic, chalky,
pimpled mutation of its former self” -Lawrence Millman. Molds gotta live too.
So, as you learn about Blusher distribution, you can also learn where the
Amanita molds live as well! The learning, like the music, never stops!
There’s a lot going on with Amanita
rubescens. They are mycorrhizal with trees as a fungus, a non-poisonous, “good”
edible as a mushroom, and seem to have an endless variety of looks while
changing color over time. Blushers are also a great way to learn about
Hypomyces mold distribution, for those interested in mold distribution (you know
you are interested!). A species easy to dismiss, but one worth a second viewing
for sure. And then a third……
that's a lot of stuff -
And in the yard in st george…. preying mantis and Leif's arm.
And Leif on stage at acting camp - having a ball.
See you out there!
