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Danger!  Caws the Crow...

5/31/2020

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    The adult crow sounded it’s alarm call.  I assumed it was because I was walking on the path nearby hoping to catch a glimpse of the babies.  Despite my best efforts to position myself so that I could see through the ever enlarging leaves, I could just make out the tangle of sticks and brush that make up the nest.  I decided to continue on along the trail on my way to pick dandelion buds as a side dish for supper.  In the woods alongside the path I noticed a dark spot on a tree. When I raised my binoculars to get a better look the adult crow gave a warning cry again.  The black spot on the tree was one of the largest pileated woodpeckers I had ever seen.  The adult crow, cawing profusely the entire time, careened down toward the woodpecker barely missing it by inches.  I could hear the crow’s wings flap as it made it’s advance and then again as it steered its black body expertly and landed on a nearby branch.  As the crow sat eyeing it, the woodpecker made a plaintive peep in it’s direction as if to say, “what did you do that for?”  I didn’t have my camera because you only see things like then when you don’t bring it.  We have enjoyed listening to the crows this week.  The babies have definitely hatched and as mentioned above it is becoming increasingly harder to observe the nest as the leaves become larger and begin to fill in the forest.  We can hear the crows from the yard and the adults alarm calls are frequent.  I have noticed them when I walk on the path, when a car drives by and at seemingly random times as we work or play in the yard at a distance.  I assume that at these times the crows are perceiving a threat that is not likely human and I feel a bit of connection to a world that I can’t see as the cries make me aware that something is happening in the woods. 
    This week I have noticed more signs of larger frogs.  As we walk along the edge of the pond we only occasionally hear the frogs leaping into the pond.  It seems more often now that we notice the tall grass that frames the pond and grows up from the water wiggling back and forth as what I assume is a large frog making its way back into the pond.  I predict that in the next week or so, twitching grass near the edge of the pond could indicate that a baby duck is hiding.
    The apple tree that sits near the pond has blossomed.  The pure white blossoms are accompanied by the buzzing of large bumble bees in their pursuit of nectar.  The blossoms also offer a lovely fragrance as we walk around the far edge of the pond.  I have noticed different scents emerge this week as well.  The smells change and merge as we walk around the trail.  At the end nearest the house the breeze brings a sweet fishy smell, that I have noticed on other waters and I always assumed was fish, but now I realize it makes more sense that fish smell the way they do because of the water.  I wonder if certain vegetation give the water it’s pleasant odor?  As we progress around the pond, the air is filled with the aroma of pine.  Red pine trees form the border of the pond path on one whole side and they smell absolutely heavenly this time of year.  Finally, as we round the far edge the fragrance of the delicate apple blossoms is detected and mixes with other smells as the path opens up and is bordered on this other side by lawn and fields that offer no wind break and thus allow air to flow freely.  
    This was an unusually hot week in northern Maine. The temperature reached 90 which is practically unheard of in May in Maine let alone in northern Maine.  I enjoy the warm weather and the bugs don’t bother me so I spent a great deal of time near the pond this week.  On Tuesday afternoon as my children and I were looking for frogs, we heard a “ka-chunk” off in the distance.  The unmistakable sound of the American Bittern.  We have had them visit the pond in the past and we even have a had a nesting pair.  We were somewhat disappointed but relieved as the week progressed and we didn’t see the bittern.  Bitterns are fun to watch. When they feel threatened they point their beaks to the sky and move their necks back and forth to look like a weed swaying in the wind.  They eat frogs, and small fish, so they aren’t necessarily a friend to someone that wants to keep a stocked pond.  In the past we have sent the kids out to scare them away and much to their frustration and our humor the bitterns just fly a little ways and then land again, thrusting their beaks toward the sky pretending to be weeds.  I think that the crow ate all of the grackle eggs or perhaps the baby birds.  The grackle flits around seeming lost.  I just now watched a cow bird leave the area where the grackle has its nest.  Cowbirds are often held in contempt by bird lovers for their habit of laying their eggs in other birds nests.  The cowbird eggs and babies are often larger than the other baby birds and the parent will take care of the cowbird to the detriment of her own offspring.  I wonder in this case though if an egg deposited in an empty nest can be considered a blessing.  I am excited to keep an eye on the nest to see if I am correct.
      We also noticed dragonflies for the first time this week.  I watched one hunt.  It hovered low over the pond and then dipped into the water head first creating tiny ripples, a bug smaller than itself its prey.  One of the most fun, and one could argue the most terrifying things, to find near a body of water is the spent casing of a dragonfly nymph.  Dragonflies start their lives in the water.  After a year or sometimes more of living under the surface they will crawl up onto the land and attach themselves to vegetation or other objects and the adult dragonfly will emerge out of the back of the nymph exoskeleton.  When my daughter was very young we happened upon the emerging of several dragonflies.  When they first break free of their casing their wings are curled.  It takes time for the wings to straighten out and the body to harden before the dragonfly is able to begin exploring its new world.  I wonder if they can tell what the weather is?  It doesn’t seem as if it would behoove them to try to emerge and dry their wings on a cold rainy day.  Another exciting discovery this week was a goldenrod crab spider eating a honey bee.  I didn’t have my camera for that observation either, but I ran quickly back to the house to get it.  I did some research and learned that this type of spider can change colors according to its surroundings.  I didn't know that spiders can do that and when I come across another one, I plan to do some experimenting.  Unfortunatly, it isn't often enough that we see moose on our property. This past Friday morning though, was an exception.  This time of year the mother moose are getting ready to calve and they will drive away last year's young in anticipation of this year's.  The moose we saw appeared to be a victim of this custom as he kept turning and looking behind him.  He seemed somewhat unafraid of us and confused as he ambled through the field toward Canada.  To start his new life as a Canadian moose, I presume.       
    This next week is predicted to have more seasonable temperatures.  I am wondering if the blossoms will be gone from the apple tree by week’s end.  Its a shame that the existence of these beautiful flowers is so short.  I guess it reminds us to enjoy what the present has to offer.  I am also wondering if the smells that have been so apparent this week will not be as noticeable this coming week as the humidity and hot weather subside.  The peepers are still loud in the evening but I think that with the cooler weather
they will quiet some. ​

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Bumblebees and willow trees

5/24/2020

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PictureTadpoles in the remaining egg masses
     As we were walking this week my daughter suddenly exclaimed “Oh, I was trying to figure out what is different. The trees have leaves!” The winter-like cold gave way to an almost early to mid-summer feel as this week progressed and nature changed quickly in response. Last week I thought that we would see the leaves begin to grow larger slowly and that the trout lilies would begin to blossom. The size of the leaves of all of the different types of trees has increased very quickly and the trout lily flowers have come and gone.  
    The spring peepers have been active for weeks now, but there were many days this past week when they peeped during the day as well as in the night. As the weather has warmed they have ceased their work in the day and their night chorus is deafening. We have done some experimenting to see what makes them quiet down the quickest. We mostly believed that it was noise, but after we tried being loud and yelling, they only quieted a little. One of my research assistants tried jumping up and down on the ground and the peepers stopped their peeping completely for a while. The “plip, plips” that we heard in the pond last week as the small frogs hopped out of sight beneath the bent, tan-colored cattail leaves of last summer that line the edge of the pond, have turned into “plop, plops” as the larger frogs have emerged from their winter abodes beneath the mud at the bottom of the pond.  By the end of the week the clear get that holds the frog eggs together was completely gone.  As the week progressed, we watched it deteriorate.  We are concerned that algea blooms in the ponds may be a sign of pollution and that it might be effecting the eggs.  At one point we decided to poke the egg masses with a stick to be sure that the tiny tadpoles were alive.  Upon being poked, some of the comma-shaped tadpoles wriggled their tiny, shiny, black bodies and drifted slowly toward the bottom of the pond.  They were all very much alive!
    One morning as I sat observing the pond, I heard the low drone of many buzzing bees. I noticed that a willow tree at the pond’s edge was being visited by around twenty or more bumblebees. I did some research and found out that the bees were getting nectar from the emerging catkins on the branches. It turns out that willow trees are an important early source of food for bumblebees.  
    Although we can’t see the nest, we think that the baby crows have hatched. The constant evening chatter that comes from the nest seems to be being made by more than one or two birds. We have observed the adult crows bothering the grackle nest. At first I thought the crow was probably just trying to steal the eggs from the nest because I have seen it steal eggs from my chicken coup, but I found out that crows will eat baby birds. We also noticed a new bird in the woods this week. The hermit-thrush. The song of the hermit-thrush is my favorite. A sing-songy, flute-like melody.  
    I am wondering how the evening frog chorus will change this coming week as different types of frogs have become active. I am also wondering if cattail shoots will start to emerge along the edge of the pond. I know that they are growing underneath the water, as I have observed them in shallow wet areas near the pond, but they have yet to have grown tall enough to be seen above the surface.  

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Horsetails are getting tall
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Salamandar egg mass
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The trout lily flowers have gone by and the leaves have lost their mottled appearance.
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Hawk weed leaves. Notice they are slightly fuzzy.
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Crab Apple tree buds
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Jewelweed with its second set of leaves
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Sensitive Ferns starting to unfurl
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From white to green and color in between

5/16/2020

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     ​I have heard it said that if you don't like the weather in Maine, just wait a minute.  That cliche proved true this week at our house.  The grass had just started to turn green.  Tiny dandelion leaves were starting to emerge among the taller straw-colored blades of last year's grass.  Then Sunday we got a foot of snow.  The first forecast was for 5 inches, then it wasn't going to accumulate.  By the time the storm happened, it was being touted as a rare spring Nor'easter.  Needless to say, my first visit to the pond to journal was not what I expected it would be like in May.  
    The aura of white light that accompanies snow and always reminds me of Christmas greeted me as I made my way to the pond the first day.  My husband suggested that I wear snowshoes but I refused.  It was mid-May after all. They would have proved useful, however, as I "post-holed" with each step.  The small stream that trickles out of the upper pond to the lower pond was burbling down over the rocks that line its course, green grass at its edges as it's motion and relative warmth gave hope that spring would eventually conquer the last remnants of winter.  The small buds on the willow trees that grace the edge of the pond also gave one reason to remember that the deep and unwelcome snow was only temporary.  As for now, nature is catching a few extra winks under its blanket of white.  As evening approached it felt surreal to hear the spring peepers calling in a world devoid of color.   
     As the week progressed the snow slowly melted.  We were surprised by how much the grass had greened underneath.  Later in the week, as we walked around the pond with only the occasional patch of bright white snow here and there, we saw ripples and heard "plip" "plip" as frogs quietly moved beneath the surface of the water as they sensed us coming.  We are not sure if they were hearing us, seeing us, feeling the motion as we walked, or a combination of all three.  We were surprised to see many frog egg clusters floating just beyond our reach at the edge of the open water.  There are many more than we remember seeing in years past.  We even noticed cloudy white clusters attached to foliage near the bottom of the pond.  Those are salamander eggs, I believe.  
     On Thursday, as we sat and watched the pond we saw water skaters quickly darting along its surface and cattail shoots just starting to poke their green heads out of the mud.  A kingfisher chattered as it skimmed the surface looking for small fish.  We have a male and female mallard that visit often.  We think that the female likely has a nest somewhere close.  One year she nested right up next to the house.  Another year she presented six fluffy black and yellow babies as my children and their friends celebrated a birthday party on our front lawn next to the pond.  Other birds that I am familiar with and notice their calls are the eastern phoebe and oven-bird.  The phoebe is supposed to say "Phoebe" hence the name, but I always hear "Where do you work? Rite-Aid, Rite-Aid".  It isn't traditional but it helps me identify it right off.  On Friday, for the first time this year, I heard an oven-bird.  The oven-bird calls "Teacher, Teacher, Teacher".  Earlier in the spring, we watched crows build a nest in one of the pine trees near the pond.  We've also been watching a grackle build a nest in a blue spruce in front of our bedroom window next to the upper pond. On Wednesday, one of my research assistants found an egg on the grass next to the pond.  We're not sure but we think it might be a flicker egg.  We did have two flickers visiting our suet feeder in April.  The egg prompted us to do a lot of research on the flicker and its nesting habits and to also reach out to the birding community on Facebook to help us id it.     
     The buds on the trees have increased in size as the week has progressed and the trout lilies have shot up flower stems with closed yellow buds.  I predict that by the end of next week, most of the trout lilies will have bloomed and the leaves will be as large as a mouse's ear.  These are both telltale signs that the trout will be biting. 
     I am wondering how the frog eggs will progress.  The clear gel that holds them together deteriorated as the week went on and I'm not sure if that is due to the variance in temperature, if it normally happens that fast and I have never noticed, or if some other factor is at play.  I also noticed chewed up pieces of cattail stalks which likely indicates a muskrat is around.  I haven't seen it yet.  I will keep watching.  I am looking forward to watching the flowers and leaves emerge and the baby birds that will be born. Life at the pond's edge is never dull.  

  

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Muskrat sign?
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Peeper
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Frog eggs. I need to do some research to find out which type. We have wood frogs, pickerel frogs, bull frogs and probably more in the pond.
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Horsetails
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Trout lilies
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Momma and Babies- Taken last year
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    I live in Maine with my husband, children, dogs, cat and chickens. I am a middle school science teacher with a passion for sharing nature and science with children.  

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