First Loon call of the season

We have been waiting for our lone loon to arrive at Caesar Pond, but it wasn't until this morning, at 1:30 am, that his first call of the season was heard...Usually, we hear him in April, so he is late this year. This part of the recording occurred at around 5am with all the tweety birds awakening. I am hoping to get some photos/video of him this weekend, if I am lucky to be in the right place at the right time;-)

Pond Prowling

Strange looking? You betcha, as I was wearing my headnet due to tons of blackflies!

Wowee! What an absolutely gorgeous morning for a pond prowl! I was on the water by 6:30am. The air temp. was 52F, hence the sweatshirt and long pants. It's not summertime in Maine yet;-)

I think my smile was a mile wide for the entire 3.5 hours spent in my boat.

The sky was deep blue and there were variable clouds with a light breeze.

The waning gibbous moon was in the process of setting at around 10 am, and I took joy in trying to zoom in to the camera's capacity for a photo of it!

If you know me...you'll know that I always beeline it to the beaver lodge to see if any beavers are lurking! I sat quietly for quite some time and saw a beaver swim out from inside the lodge just briefly, but I didn't get any photos of it at that time.

While I was waiting for another beaver sighting, an Eastern Kingbird flew in to sit on a branch of a dead larch tree. I have confused Phoebes with Eastern Kingbirds before, so I was careful to make note of the white tail feathers that rim the edge of its tail.

And then there is the kingbird's bright, white breast. There were lots of kingbirds swooping around the pond munching on what I hope were blackflies!

After the kingbird flew off, I happened to look to my right and spotted 5 deer running into the woods, at the far north rim of the pond, with their white flag-like tails held high. I wasn't able to photograph them, but in the process of looking in that direction, I saw a beaver swimming away from the lodge! Never a dull moment;-)

I decided to paddle over to the outflow edge of the pond and sit there for awhile. I was hoping to capture some video and audio of birds, if possible. I was in luck as it is nesting season for the red-winged blackbirds (along with every other bird in our neck of the woods;-) Red-winged blackbirds nest in the islands of the bog where it is difficult for predators to get to. A male and female warned me off with several different alarm calls, which I captured on my camera.

I couldn't stay too long, as I didn't want to bother the blackbirds, so I headed back out of the northern cove and cut across the pond. Well... as I was passing by the edge of the bog islands, I saw lots of bright, sunshiny reflections off the shells of numerous painted turtles.

I have never seen so many turtles in one area of the pond in the 19 years we have lived here!

I counted 19 turtles in all. They seemed to covet the same spots and some were even laying on top of each other (no, they were not mating...) Drew has a new term for this, "A pile-up of turtles!"

Finally, I saw one turtle who had found a great log to sunbathe on. If you're like me, sometimes you just need some alone time;-)

As I reached the western shoreline, I was surprised to see a Painted Lady Butterfly supping the nectar of Rhodora flowers.

Rhodora (Genus Rhododendron) are in the heath family and grow in bogs and wet woods. These flowers are important as they bloom early in the season and provide recently hatched out butterflies with food.

Look how different the Painted Lady's patterning is on the underside of her wings versus the top side!

The wind was picking up, so I headed for the dock. As I passed by some small islands near the southern shore, I scared up some mallards who had been happily feeding and paddling around. They flew toward the north end, quacking all the way! They left me with a huge grin on my face, and joy in my heart, as there is nothing quite like spending quality time in nature...

Red-winged Blackbirds on Caesar Pond

'Tis the season of nesting birds, and the Red-winged Blackbirds are reigning supreme over the northern, boggy portion of Caesar Pond. The male's coloring is dark black with shoulder badges of red and creamy yellow on his wings, while the female is brown with creamy, white streaks that allow her to blend into the background of the grasses of the bog while she sits on the eggs of her nest.

Both birds gave alarm calls to let me know that they weren't happy with my "invasion" of their habitat while in the boat quite a distance away. The male perched himself high on shrubbery to display either his displeasure with me, or maybe he was displaying to the female by puffing up his shoulder patches and calling.

The video ends with a beaver swimming in the boggy area away from his lodge. This is his territory as well...

Ahoy! A Scarlet Tanager has arrived!

Oh, how we love the dashing, brilliant red feathers of the male Scarlet Tanager! We get to see this gorgeous bird for just a few days in springtime. They eat fruit and insects during migration, and then they prefer supping on insects during the rest of the summer. I've heard that they also enjoy Wild Bird High Energy Suet (with corn, millet, and sunflower meal in a suet base.)

We hope to see a female in the next few days, before they depart. Surprisingly, the females are olive-yellow in color, and I know at a quick glance that I might easily confuse them with goldfinches. Check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to learn more about Scarlet Tanagers;-)

Tanagers prefer large, undisturbed tracts of forest, which we do not have in our neck of the woods, which is why we only see them during migration. They also tend to stay high up in the canopy of the nearby trees and periodically swoop down for chow. Luckily, they are not a shy as the Indigo Buntings, so I can get clearer photos of them.

Purty Birdies

Male Indigo Bunting

Our airways have become even more colorful with the arrival of a lone Indigo Bunting! The photo was taken through the window as we've never been able to creep outside to snap a clear shot of one, due to their skittishness. But at least we have evidence of it's arrival. They never stay long in our neck of the woods.

Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak

The other birds that arrived this week were the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. There are several males, and I did see one female. They are also fruit feeders, but they do seem to spend a lot of time at our seed feeder.

I love the grosbeaks. Interestingly, they are in the cardinal family along with tanagers (who we hope will show up for a brief visit soon, as well;-) "Their name is derived from the French gros bec, or “thick beak,” which is adapted to cracking seeds with ease." Encyclopedia Brittanica

The Gray Catbirds are here for summer as well. We absolutely love them. Can you see the rusty colored feathers under its tail? That is an identifier for this bird. They are in the Mimidae family of birds along with Mockingbirds. "They share that group’s vocal abilities, copying the sounds of other species and stringing them together to make their own song." See The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds for more information on this cute bird!

Catbirds enjoy eating fruit and they enjoy chowing down on the jelly. We will soon be hanging an orange to a tree for our fruit eaters and squirrels;-)

Speaking of fruit eaters, here is another shot of a male Baltimore Oriole high up in the newly leafed out trees!

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

My buddy, Shannon, accompanied me to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, in Boothbay, today. The weather was mostly cloudy, with the air temperature in the upper 50s and a stiff breeze. This kept the blackflies at bay, yay! Although, when the clouds shaded us from the sun it was chilly!

Map of the Botanical Gardens. The gardens are extensive and varied. We spent 3 hours (which we feel is the perfect amount of time) exploring the majority of the gardens throughout this almost 300 acre park.

And, here is the path we took around the gardens!

There weren't too many flowers in bloom yet, but I found myself in tulip heaven, along with a healthy dose of giant hyacinths!

The ponds and creeks were lined with gorgeous marsh marigolds that were abuzz with hoverflies and a few scattered bumblebees!

I love this photo of tulips, ferns, the tree and the bridge...

Speaking of ferns...there are tons of them, and they are all in the fiddlehead stage where they are starting to unfurl in preparation for the summer season!

The Botanical Gardens are famous for their stonework incorporated into the landscaping. Here are the Shiatsu stones that you walk barefoot on to massage your feet!

More tulips...

And...fairy houses...Nearer to the river, a path winds its way through a forest where a wonderful children's area with a toad stool bench, a little fort-like area, and a place for kids to construct fairy houses is located. It is magical!

Remember that this is a coastal park. It is located on the Back River which runs into Sheepscot Bay, and then the Gulf of Maine. There is a boat rental area and landing for kayak rentals, and you can take a guided boat tour from the Botanical Gardens. We did the boat tour several years ago, and it was so interesting.

After visiting the river, we walked to the rhododendron gardens. As it was early in the season, there were very few rhododendrons blooming, but that was okay. This is my favorite part of the Botanical Gardens. 

I find it incredibly relaxing to sit near the frog pond and watch the waterfall. The sound of running water is very peaceful.

Here is a view from atop the waterfall. Over the next three weeks, the rest of the rhododendrons will be in full bloom and this hillside will be stunning!

Me... I see a sea turtle's head... What does this rock remind you of?

As we headed to our next destination, I just had to pose with Mother Earth to give her my respect.

Our final destination was the Childrens' Garden. It fills me with such joy to see kids in a part of the Botanical Gardens that is just for them!

The whale rock sculptures are the best! Water shoots out of their spouts randomly and it is fun to watch. As we passed the whales, the childrens' maze was on our left. It also has some awesome rock sculptures of dragons, etc!

The pathways throughout the Children's Garden are lined with...you guessed it...tulips! There will be lots of other flowers filling in as the season progresses, but early in the season the tulips abound with such a richness of color! What a glorious feast for my eyes;-)

When I am in the Botanical Gardens, I feel like a queen surveying my floral kingdom. I only shared a fractions of what is there. You have to visit in all seasons to see how it evolves. It is one of my favorite destinations in Maine!

I woke with a start...thinking the snow plow had just driven by...

Geez, what away to start my day! Luckily, I don't think we'll see anything more than rain on a possibly record setting cold day. We will be in the low 40's today, possibly not rising above 43F. It will feel more like March than May...

Say "No" to Snow!

Huh??? Snow in May??? We might get a coating tomorrow morning, then it moves out. Drew actually read that historically, Maine has had snow in all months of the year with the exception of July. Yowzer!

Stack, Unstack, Haul, Stack again - Wood that is...

'Tis the season of moving wood from the wood pile to the wood shed. Such a lot of work it is. And, you can see that the blackflies have arrived and necessitate the wearing of a head net!

Eastern Towhee

The Eastern Towhee is rather flighty and generally hangs out in the brushy shrubs.

I wasn't able to get any good photos of it while I was outdoors as it also often hangs out behind the wood pile!

But, I was able to grab a few photos while it wandered around near the feeder station. Unfortunately, I am so darned short of stature that I was not able to rise above the haze of the window to get a clear shot! At least you have an idea of what it looks like!