The Wonders of Pollination

Awe-inspiring video records the wonders of pollination. The film begins at 3 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqsXc_aefKI

Thrush Identification

Here is a thrush that showed up in our yard yesterday in the midst of an enormous wave of diurnal migrants. Robins by the hundreds flew over or settled in our yard to chow down on our banner crop of crabapples. Several Hermit Thrushes fought for a place in the cafeteria line as did this darker thrush which we have identified as either a Gray-cheeked or Bicknell's Thrush.
I am no expert on either of these thrushes but would love your thoughts.

Here are some more photos hastily shot through my Nikon ED spotting scope with my Nikon Powershot camera.

The dark feathers above the left eye are the result of either disease or physical damage. The right eye and face area have no such markings.









Compared to the Hermit Thrushes this thrush is a cooler darker brown. When viewed from the rear the tail is barely distinguishable in color from the dark brown back being only slightly "warmer" in color and decidedly not the "reddish" color of the Hermit Thrush tail.

The face is uniformly grayish and unmarked with a faint if any eye-ring. Some photos above, to my eye, exaggerate the reddish tinge on the wings from what I observed.

Spots on the throat fade to dusky gray smudges which extend along the sides of the breast and belly.

This is not an easy identification. Possibly it is impossible to determine which of the species it is.

To further make that point, when I started birding these species were thought to be one--the Gray-cheeked Thrush. More complex analysis has determined that the Bicknell's Thrush is the more rare thrush found at altitudes of over roughly 3600 feet in the higher mountains of northern New England and New York state. Yes up at those altitudes where the dense Black Spruce is stunted and impassable.

The Gray-cheeked Thrush is a thrush of the far northern boreal forest where Black Spruce often overtakes our more common Red Spruce as the dominant coniferous species.

Either of these two species is rarely seen in migration. This sighting in my yard is highly unusual and lucky product of ten years of landscaping for wildlife.

Paddling the Saco River at Bar Mills

Last month I finally had the time to explore the Saco River above my survey site in Bar Mills. I put in at the boat launch above the dam and paddled upstream past the supports of the old rail line.

Rough-winged Swallows had nested this spring in the crevices between the granite stones of the pilons but their young had hatched and they had moved out.




Dozens of Barn Swallows however were still foraging over the river as were many, many Cedar Waxwings.

The Saco River is further south than my usual explorations. Having found an American Chestnut on a recent paddle, I had my mind open to the possibility of other unfamiliar trees that might grow along the Saco.

This large-lobed compound leaf with the glossy surface caught my eye. It looked positively tropical compared to the usual Balsam Fir and Beeches that I am more accustomed to.

In the center of the leaves is a fruit growing that may give away the identity to this deciduous tree the lives only in the southwestern part of Maine.

Perhaps a look at the bark will give a better clue to its name:

Ah, yes now I remember--The Shagbark Hickory!

The Shagbark Hickory was not a common tree in Portsmouth, New Hampshire where I grew up but there was one not far from my house. As children we used to collect the nuts, mostly because they were such a rarity. We were told that they were good to eat. Their shells were so hard however that any effort to crack them resulted in a paste of nut meat and shell that was not very appetizing.

Another tree overhanging the water was more familiar:

The Boy Scout manual always suggested using the wood of this tree for carving but I had no idea in my youth of where to find one.

The Basswood favors the warmer micro-climates of Maine. There are a few growing on the south side of the ridge where I live. Of the 16 species of trees on the 3 acres I own there are no Basswoods. I am on the north side of the ridge and over here it is all Balsam, Red Spruce, Red Maple, Yellow Birch, etc. A half-mile walk to the Desert Road takes you into a horticultural zone one notch warmer than my neck of the woods.

A paddle up a small tributary of the Saco brought back fond memories of my youth. Tall Silver Maples made a canopy over the quiet stream.

Silver Maples are common too at Songo Locks on Sebago Lake and along the Dead River in Androscoggin County. When I see them I think Veery, Yellow-throated Vireo, Baltimore Oriole and other birds that favor edges of wet woodlands and river bottoms.

Silver Maples still form a canopy over the street where I grew up. When I was young Baltimore Orioles nested in their arching branches. Baltimore Orioles are famous for nesting in Elms but as they have been killed off by Dutch Elm disease the Silver Maple provides good alternate habitation. Why they are not more widely planted as roadside shade trees in suburban areas I do not know.

Silver Maples have the familiar "palm and fingers" look of the typical maple leaf, however they lobes are more deeply cut toward the center of the "palm".

A couple of my favorite wetland plants grew along the tributary.

The Royal Fern favors wet locations with some direct sunlight. It bears "cinnamon" spores much like the Cinnamon Fern but on a more lacy, delicate and upright plant.

Pickerel Weed is common in the shallow waters of lakes, ponds, marshes and quiet streams. The glossy upright leaves and deep blue plant make it an attractive flower. On this day it was attracting a lot of bees and other pollinators as well.

There must be a pickerel lurking somewhere.

The last "southern" tree on the trip was almost overlooked. It sent me to the field guide for confirmation. I had noticed some rough-barked trees along the bank and had written them off as White Oak which is an uncommon but regularly found tree in Maine. The largest White Oak in the state is just off the road in Vienna and the local people are so proud of it that they have cut a path through the woods so that you can see it from the road.

But when I caught a close look at a branch hanging over the river I noted that the lobes were not deeply cut like those of the White Oak. This was a Swamp White Oak found only locally in southern Maine.

The Swamp White Oak prefers the damp borders of rivers whereas the White Oak definitely likes to keep its feet dry. It is typically found on well-drained ridges and hillsides.

In the last two weeks the Maine outdoors has definitely taken me to school on our native trees. I had never identified the Swamp White Oak before and it had been along time since I had seen an American Chestnut, certainly never the size of the one I found in Poland, Maine (see earlier post).

The avian highlight was a new Maine state bird for me. As I paddled along the shore a brown bird on longish legs was working along the sandy shore of a bank undercut by the river. By the bobbing rear end I initially thought it was a Spotted Sandpiper which are common along rivers and lakes in Maine at this time of year.

A closer look revealed that it was a smaller bird and I had to paddle close to determine exactly what bird species it was.

It was a Louisiana Waterthrush. As the name indicates this species is only common to the south of Maine. In Maine we are more likely to see the Northern Waterthrush which is common in wet, shrubby edges of lakes and marshes.

I have looked for Louisiana Waterthrushes before. In fact the brook on which I found the American Chestnut, I explored years ago searching for Louisiana Waterthrushes and instead found the intriguing canal and millsite. I am still not convinced that Louisiana Waterthrushes are not found there and I will look and listen again next spring.

I have never regretted a day spent in the outdoors. Certainly this day was replete with discoveries.

I guess I was not the only mammal on the river. A mink likely left this scat behind.

Amazing Video of One of Maine's Favorite Birds

The Osprey is probably one of Maine's favorite birds, taking second place perhaps after the Common Loon.

Here is some amazing video of Ospreys--the Fish Hawk--doing what they do best:

http://www.arkive.org/osprey/pandion-haliaetus/video-00.html

And they have a beautiful latin name too--Pandion haliaetus. Its fun to say.

Photo above by Kirk Rogers.

While Walking in the Woods...

I found this tree while walking in the woods. What do you notice that is different about this tree?

Superficially it has the leave shape of perhaps a White Ash. Yes, there were white ashes growing nearby. It also has the shiny, smooth toothed leaves of a Beech. There were those nearby also.

Let's take a closer look at the leaf:

Long, tapered sharply toothed leaves are typical of this uncommon tree once abundant in southern Maine.

These leaves are much longer than the nearby Beech leaves.

American Chestnut

This tree is an American Chestnut. And this tree is exceptional in its size.

The largest American Chestnut that I have ever seen in the wild.

American Chestnuts were once one of the most abundant hardwoods of the eastern forest of North America making up to 40% or more of the forest cover. Their nuts were one of the main foods of the extinct Passenger Pigeon. Then the blight hit and within a short time they disappeared from the forests. Almost.

There are still trees sprouting from the stumps of trees now dead for a hundred years or more. By the time they reach about 15 feet and perhaps 2 inches in diameter they are killed by the blight.

I know of several clumps in Brunswick, but I was very, very surprised to find a tree of this size in the woods in Poland. There were also two other clumps that were struggling with the blight and did not come close to this size.

American Chestnut was a very valuable tree. It is very weather resistant. There are still telephone or telegraph poles standing in Maine made from American Chestnut and I believe there are some granite/chestnut fence posts existing in my neighborhood.

It is encouraging to find a tree of this size surviving. There are people who are breeding resistant strains of American Chestnut and it is possible that the American Chestnut will once again regain its status in the eastern forest.

For more information on the restoration efforts in Maine click on the following link:

http://www.me-acf.org/Home.html

"Toto, I've a feeling we are not in Maine any more."

Here are some photos from our outstanding vacation in Montana. Text to follow:

Ennis Lake, Montana

American White Pelican, Kirk Rogers photo

Ennis Lake, water and wading bird hotspot.

American White Pelicans, Kirk Rogers Photo

American Avocet, Kirk Rogers photo


Axolotl Lakes, Trail Ride

Varney Bridges, Madison River, Montana

Sandhill Crane

Ruby River, Alder, Montana

Ennis Lake Drive

Ennis Lake, Sunset, Dan's Birthday Present--Priceless!

Finally something familiar, Osprey Nest, Ennis Lake

Ennis Lake Drive

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Idaho
Black-necked Stilt, Kirk Rogers photo

Snowy Egrets and White-faced Ibis, Bear River MBA, Utah

More photos from Ennis Lake:


Ennis Lake Drive at Sunset







Horse and Mule, Ennis Lake Drive

Exploring the Rivers of Southern Maine

I have been dividing my time between river surveys and trying to get the garden planted. And a thousand other things of course.

Beth and I found some time to explore the Little Androscoggin River in Mechanic Falls. According to Cornell University's "Ebird" Androscoggin County is one of the more ornithologically unexplored counties in Maine.

Last year I spent a day with the DeLorme Atlas of Maine looking for interesting habitats in Androscoggin County. On route 11 just upriver from Mechanic Falls was a put in spot in a habitat that I thought might be good for some "southern" birds such as Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Blue or Golden Winged Warblers or Yellow-throated Vireo. I had no idea how far upriver we could paddle in our little Manatee Kayaks.

On a rare sunny Saturday Beth and I headed upstream.

The fog and haze cleared as we headed upstream. This bridge abutment I believe used to support an old rail line. An older friend of mine from Lewiston used to take this rail line with his uncle to fish for bass on the Little Androscoggin.

The first bird of note was an unexpected Black-billed Cuckoo calling its distinctive repeated "cu-cu-cu, cu-cu-cu, cu-cu-cu". Cuckoos are interesting birds that can are not often seen. They move slowly through the foliage. They are specially equipped to eat bristly caterpillars and are most frequently found near outbreaks of tent caterpillars or gypsy moths.

I find cuckoos to be very beautiful with the soft colors and long "droopy" form. The red eye-lining is not visible in this photo from Wikipedia.

We continued upriver in the slow current with trees arching over the river--a beautiful morning and a beautiful paddle. We saw no other people for about an hour. We heard lots of the usual woodland birds like Ovenbirds and Red-eyed Vireo. I had not heard a Veery singing yet this year but their calls were common as expected. They favor wet forested areas along the banks of rivers in Maine.

This Veery photographed by Kirk Rogers is of the Thrush family

We found none of the hoped for birds, however the trip was not without another surprise. As we approached the rapids that ended our paddle upriver we heard the distinct call of a Green Heron. We never did see this bird which prefers wood river banks for its nests. They forage in shallow waters along the banks or backwaters. A few days later Beth and I saw one foraging in the abandonned beaver dam on our Merrill Road walk.

Green Herons are roughly crow-sized and often look dark gray at a distance. They have a distinctive rhythmic wingbeat in flight.

Just before we reached the put in on our return trip we spotted a hen Hooded Merganser in the river. She flushed but circled around as we passed and landed in the river behind us. I am thinking that she had a nest nearby.

Hooded Mergansers often nest in the hollow rotted tops of dead trees in beaver ponds or along waterways. These trees are also the natural nesting areas of Chimney Swifts. Don't be surprised to see Chimney Swifts in the north woods miles from the nearest house. (photo courtesy of Kirk Rogers)

Later in the week I did my river survey at Bar Mills. The water was too high and current too strong for my paddling skills but I took a nice walk along the Saco River.

The Saco drains a much larger area than the Androscoggin and was running with a force much more intimidating for the casual paddler. The river that is a nice float in mid-summer is quite another animal in flood and should be respected accordingly.

Kingbirds, Baltimore Orioles, Yellow Warblers, Northern Rough-winged Swallows and Warbling Vireos were expected breeders along the Saco River.

Rough-winged Swallows lack distinctive field marks--and that makes them distinctive among our native swallows. They nest in holes in sandy riverbanks or, in the case of the Bar Mills "roughies" in crevices between the granite blocks of an old bridge abutment. A pair used to nest in a blocked tile drain in the railroad overpass near the Public Safety building in downtown Freeport--an unusual location far from the nearest body of water. Photo by Kirk Rogers.

The real surprise of the day was the wildflower show. In addition to the Mayflowers I had seen on my previous visit, were these Moccasin Flowers or Pink Lady Slippers.

The Moccasin Flower is our most common native orchid.

Another flower brought back memories of my youth. Bird-on-the-Wing is a low-growing flower that I have not seen in years. Many of these flowers are not so common now that fields have reverted to forests.

Bird-on-the-Wing blooms amid the wild strawberries.

Bird-on-the-wing is one of the first wildflowers that I learned from my mother. It was easy to remember its very appropriate name. My cousin and I used to catch Red-bellied Salamanders under the rotted trees fallen in the pine woods near where these flowers bloomed in York. The Red-bellied Salamander population in Maine is said to outweigh the Moose population. If you go looking for them, please put the rocks or limbs back the way you found them. And leave the flowers where they are. Most of these flowers are protected, becoming increasingly rare and are not easy to transplant.