Eft

Today our neighbor brought over a red eft she found in her yard. The eft is a sexually immature red-spotted newt. The eft stage lasts about 4-5 years, after which the newt settles permanently in a wetland. The bright red color deters predators.  The toxins in the eft's body causes severe reactions, and even death, to reptiles and amphibians, but are harmless to a human.

A monster of a salamander

It was a rainy afternoon, and I was sick of the weather. We decided it was perfect to explore outside under logs and rocks. We found lots of red-backed salamanders, which Owen was happy to hold. Under one large log, we found a humungous Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum). He was almost as large as my hand! He was very lethargic until my hand seemed to warm him up. The he was eager to climb off. It was such an exciting find that I called a neighbor who works for the Land Trust--she came right over!

 Lisa, our neighbor, holding the salamander and a piece of his shed skin.

Owen holding a red backed salamander, one of our most commonly seen amphibians.

 Big guy

 18 month old Eva checks him out.

Damming evidence

The beavers have been busy at the Goose Pond on Swan's Island!

Freedom!

We've been hearing a grey tree frog over by Maxwell's Farm for a few days now. Hearing him again today, I asked Owen, "Are you ready to set Sid free?" Sid, our frog-in-residence, has had a happy spring in the moss terrarium eating vitamin dusted crickets and flies foraged from windowsills. Our goal all along has been to set Sid free. So we packed him up for a walk into the woods, and decided on a spot by a stream where there was a tree with lots of lichens. At first Sid just perched on my hand--I started to second guess this decision. Are there enough leaves on the trees for him to blend in? Will it be too cold at night? Then he leaped from my hand onto the ground. We watched him for a little while, and then left him--perhaps to be an owl's meal (as one colleague imagined) or maybe we'll walk by that spot another day and hear a trilling call.....As we went home Owen held my hand and stated, 'That was a bummer, but I was lucky to have him, wasn't I?" I was surprised that Owen recognized that Sid was meant to be wild. I'll admit, that night, I wondered (and worried) how Sid was.

 Sid's star patterned back

 Saying goodbye

 Lichen colored

Good Luck Sid!

Hummingbirds are back!

On Sunday May 6th I received a notification from 'Wild Birds Unlimited' that hummingbirds were back in Maine. I immediately unpacked our hummingbird feeder, gave it a quick wash, and made a 1:4 solution of sugar and water. The hummingbird feeder is stuck to a window in our living room. On Monday morning, my 5 year old woke me up (at 5:30 am, I'd like to add) shouting, "HUMMINGBIRD! HUMMINGBIRD!" I missed it! My husband saw it later that morning; I missed it again. I was starting to wonder if they made it up to make me happy, and was vocalizing this as a hummingbird visited the feeder! Again my little guy astounded me with his observation, "It's a female hummingbird, Mommy."

There are two hummingbird species seen in Maine:
Ruby Throated Hummingbird It's easy to identify if the bird in question is a male by their unmistakable by their ruby red throat, forked tail and emerald green back. The female is emerald green with a white throat.

Rufous Hummingbird The male Rufous Hummingbird is identified by its rufous colored crown, tail and sides along with its bright orange-red throat and white breast. The female counterpart is nowhere near as colorful, and not a bright emerald green like the female Ruby throated hummingbird.


So Owen was right when he identified our little visitor as a female--she had no red coloration at her throat. We find that the hummingbirds use the feeder often all summer and into September. Right now, they sip from the feeder, dart into our lilac bush next to the window (where we can often watch them sit on a branch), and then they come back to the feeder.  We have also witnessed many hummingbirds visiting our apple tree blossoms.

Spring wildflowers

We've been taking walks and collecting wildflowers along the way. Armed with Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, we go back to the house and identify the flowers. Every now and then we get "stumped." A great resource that I learned about at the Maine Environmental Educator's Conference is http://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/. This website allows you to key out the flower you have, and shows multiple pictures. It asks you questions about the plant, guiding you in the right direction.

Below are some of the wildflowers we have been identifying in the woods and around our yard.


Dwarf cinquefoil


Common blue violet


Northern white violet


"Gill Over the Ground"


Wood anemone


Fringed milkwort or Gaywings

Moon in Perigee

Tonight's full moon appears 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual, earning the nickname "Supermoon."
Last March, I got permission from a ranger at Reid State Park to bring a group of students to the beach after hours to watch the moon rise. It was fantastic!  This year, we watched it from home, although Owen noted on the drive back from the school musical, "Mommy, the moon is following us!" It was so big and bright, I can understand why my 5 year old felt like it was.
What causes this phenomenon? The moon's orbit is at its closest point to Earth which is astounding to think that's a distance of 221,802 miles away!
The moon in perigee will also affect the tides; in this case, it will be accompanied by unusually high and low tides this weekend and early this week.
Happy sky watching!



The Full Moon in May is sometimes called the 'Flower Moon' or 'Planting Moon.'