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.'

Feathers Over Freeport

Checked out Feathers over Freeport today with the kids. There were great programs about birds of prey and bird migration, as well as walks led by birding experts. 

 

http://freeportwildbirdsupply.com/feathersoverfreeport/index.php

 

American Kestrel

 Data on bird migration at the top of Bradbury Mountain

Eva says, "Learning about birds is fun!"

Green frog

A naturalist friend asked if I could help her find frog eggs for a CELT program with 4th graders at Pond Cove Elementary School. On the way into the woods I almost stepped on a garter snake! It was a good sized snake, and we paused to watch it slither into the brush. We had no luck finding any eggs--even the salamander eggs I have been watching were gone (washed away in the last rainstorm?). We did see some green frogs though! The two I saw were basking in the sun on the edge of the pond. I tried to catch one with a net, but no luck! They were too fast for me.

Info about green frogs:

• Bright yellow throat on male. Green-bronze/brown. External eardrums large. Dorsolateral ridges. White belly, darker pattern of stripes/spots
• Voice described as sounding like the twang of a banjo
• Breeding takes place March-August. 3-4 clutches of up to 7000 eggs laid under water.
• Nocturnal. Rest along shore, dive into water if approached/threatened.
• Eats any animal it can fit in its mouth, mostly insects.

Ribbit!

Listening for frogs, looking for signs of more than peppers out and about. Have yet to hear any other species in the woods or across the street at Marilee's pond.

The following is a list of frogs and toads that may be found in Maine:
American bullfrog
American toad
Fowler's toad
Gray treefrog
Green frog
Mink frog
Northern leopard frog
Pickerel frog
Spring peeper
Wood frog

We did see an American toad at Viles Aboretum in Augusta on Friday!

Spotted salamander egg mass

The past two days, as we've walked in the woods, Owen & I have been looking in the wetland areas for indicator species. Yesterday, we found a very small worm and a caddisfly larvae. Today, we saw some tadpoles that quickly scooted away from us, and we found an egg mass. It looks like they are spotted salamander eggs. We returned them to the pool in case any hatch. So far we only hear peepers, but we wait to hear other amphibian species to join the chorus. Some warblers have joined the bird chorus; we definitely have heard a pine warbler.

Great page for info on caddis flies: http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/compendium/caddis~1.html

The caddisfly larvae we found was in a case like the one pictured below, furthest to the right.

Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary

A red squirrel's huge "kitchen midden"
Returning vernal pool critters

Checking out our findings from our net

Dragonfly larva

Today, a few students in the MMNP met with instructor Susan Hayward at Thorncrag Nature Sanctuary. We learned about vernal pools identifying wood frog eggs, isopods, pond scuds, and dragonfly larvae. Walking through the sanctuary we also interpreted the landscape learning about Thorncrag's history along the way.

Check out Thorncrag: http://stantonbirdclub.org/thorncrg.htm