July 2007
24 posts
EASTERN PHOEBE UPDATE: One of the 4 phoebe chicks fledged the day after I took the photos. Yesterday, the remaining 3 were on the beam, having moved into the corner of the roof.
WatchEastern Phoebe Nest: Our friends Beth and Rick alerted us to the fact that a family of phoebe chicks were about to fledge from a nest in the rafters of their front porch. We realized that we had better high-tail it down to Brunswick today if we wanted to capture any photos of the chicks. There are four chicks crammed in the nest, and it seems that if any of them even moves an inch, another one...
WatchBirds of a Feather: Yesterday morning, I spent a few hours paddling around Caesar Pond in search of birds. The only area I saw any life in was the north end of the pond. I settled the kayak into my favorite location and waited for the action to begin. It wasn’t long before I saw an Eastern Kingbird chick land on a branch and start squawking for its parent. Note the red coloring inside the...
POETRY AND ESSAYS: Drew helped me put together another web site called MaineNaturePoetry. It is a place for me to share my nature poems and essays with you. You will see a link to my web site in the column to the right of this entry. When you get to the web site, look at the bottom of its right-hand column and you will see “Introduction”. That is a good place to begin your perusal of...
POND FISH: I went kayaking on the pond this morning and decided to count the number of bluegill nests (‘tis the season). There are 14 nests on the east side of the pond, and most of them are in a depth of about 1.5 feet of water. I found one nest on the southwest side of the pond. All the nests are in areas that are clear of rocks, stumps, and water plants. The nests are shallow, sandy...
Watch Osprey Nest Visit #3: We visited the osprey nest again yesterday. It was drizzling when we started the hike, yet was just a mist upon reaching the summit. We got 10 minutes of photography in before it began to rain in earnest causing us to have to pack up and head down to the car. Drew’s pack weighed 27 pounds (all camera equipment...
Watch More Adventures in the Milkweed Patch: We visited the milkweed patch over the weekend in search of our beloved Monarch butterflies. As you can see from the slide show cover photo below, the Monarch has arrived. Yes, you read this correctly…we only saw one Monarch butterfly whilst at the...
WatchAsiatic Lilies: I am in love with lilies, all kinds of lilies…Last autumn I ordered oodles of daffodils and received about a dozen Asiatic lilies “free” with my order. In the past, the darned lily beetle had completely devoured my Asiatic lilies. I was hoping that if I planted these new bulbs far away from the former lily bed that the lilies would be beetle-free. Success, at...
HARRY POTTER DAY: No time for nature…gotta get to the library to be the first person to sign out the 759 page book, Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows! Sunny, cool, breezy, gorgeous day…great for reading a book in the hammock while listening to the sounds of nature.
RAIN AND VEGETABLE GARDEN: I think we have had rain for about 50% of the days thus far in July. No wonder our rather shady vegetable garden isn’t doing much growth-wise. I was so excited at the beginning of the summer thinking that it would be a great growing year (we’ve got black plastic down to keep the plants warm), but I am sorely disappointed. Our bush bean plants are just...
WatchOur Monday/Tuesday visits to an osprey nest in Harpswell, Maine. Osprey Nest Visit # 2: This afternoon, we went back to Harpswell again, and began our hike at 12:45 pm in the hopes that the sun would shine in front of the nest illuminating the birds. Because of the lateness of the hour, the camera was able to focus much more clearly with the greater light availability, and today’s...
OSPREY NEST VISIT # 1: Yesterday morning, we went to Harpswell (a peninsula extending from Brunswick) to hike the Cliff Trail. This mile long trail lead to a whopping 150 foot cliff! Our goal was to photograph an osprey nest complete with adults and 3 babies. We weren’t sure of the location of the nest area in relation to the sun, and we did the hike too early. The sun rose behind the nest...
WatchSome of the avian wildlife found on Caesar Pond. Pond Birds: Yesterday, I spent 3 hours paddling around the pond in search of birds, specifically our lone loon. Unfortunately, he was not present, but I did have an opportunity to photograph our resident osprey, an eastern kingbird, and three species of swallows. Osprey: As I walked quietly to the pond, I spied the osprey sitting on the top of a...
WatchThe sweet scent of flowering milkweed (and other plants found here) attract many insects. Milkweed Patch: What better activity to persue on a Friday 13th than to visit our favorite milkweed patch in the woods! We were hoping to see some monarch butterflies, but they were not in evidence at this...
HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER: We have two hummingbird feeders in our yard. Drew fills the feeders 12 hours apart so there is always fresh sugar water to drink. He uses a mix of 4 parts water to 1 part sugar (he boils the water and stirs in the sugar until the solution is clear, with the sugar completely dissolved; then he cools it and refrigerates it). Drew does not put any food coloring in the water as he...
JUVENILE BALD EAGLE: Drew heard some strange bird calls in the back yard and saw a juvenile bald eagle sitting on the lowest limb of an ash tree at the edge of our lawn. Unfortunately, the eagle did not hang around long enough for Drew to photograph it. It is nice to know that the surrounding vicinity of Caesar Pond has a healthy bald eagle population.
WatchMore garden flowers…
WatchRed squirrel pup snacking on an orange and a close look at a bird’s nest.
GARDEN FLOWERS: I was away on a vacation for a week and was pleasantly surprised to find our garden flowers thriving upon my return. I went nuts with the camera yesterday, and then had to spend countless hours choosing a few photos to post. Luckily, my roses bloomed before the dreaded Japanese beetles attacked them. Yes, the Japanese beetles arrived enforce, on July 4th, just in time to...