Immediately we were greeted by a bold Gray Catbird. Normally, I've found these birds to be a bit shy but not this one. It stood proudly in plain view while photos were taken. Is it possible we interrupted her while she was in the early stages of nest building? I hope not. We turned our attention away from the catbird to see some Trout Lilies in bloom. We also noted the small leaves of Canada Mayflower unrolling. No sign yet of their delicate white flower stalks. Lynda pointed out some Sensitive Ferns, while I made a guess at some velvety croziers, "Cinnamon Fern maybe". Lynda had already moved on to identifying lady ferns, with their black stubble-like scales low on the stipe,
"looks like these ladies need to shave their legs" I joked, explaining to the other explorers that this is an association we sometimes make to help us in identification. Later when I showed people an American Elm tree, I employed this strategy once more by noting that to me, last season's leaf scars look a bit like ET, from the 1982 movie, but wearing a tall pointed hat in the form of this season's leaf buds. Lynda says Butternut leaf scars look like monkey faces to her.
We made our way across a clearing and into a mixed hardwood forest that borders the Conservancy. Just inside the forest, we encounter an area flooded with snow melt and recent rains. The floor of the vernal pool is a carpet of maple, beech, birch, and aspen leaves. Attached to some sticks floating at the surface is a mass of developing Wood Frog eggs. Dressed in my knee boots I waded to the center of the pool with a steel canteen cup in hand. All the while explaining what defines a vernal pool as significant in the eyes of the state of Maine. I do so in vague terms, since I don't have the details committed to memory, "It all has to do with the relative population of frogs, salamanders, or invertebrates. One fairy shrimp counts as a significant vernal pool" I say. Having identified these as Wood Frog eggs I scooped a few from the egg mass into my cup and waded back over to show the group. We also saw mayfly nymphs and mosquito larvae.
Members of the Foothills Land Conservancy in our group pointed out some trees nearby marked with blue surveyor's tape. They explained that this area had undergone a management procedure where the land surrounding those trees was thinned. This was done with the hope of promoting masting, or a periodic increase in the production of flowers and nuts. Some trees were girdled so they would break off and create snags. While the cleared brush was piled up in one area. This was all done to increase food availability and create multi-layer cover for wildlife. To the uninitiated, it may sound odd but to involved and active land stewards, this is a textbook example of good habitat management.
Leaving the vernal pool, we cut across the field and headed down into the sandy soil close to Wilson Stream. From a rippled False Hellebore leaf I picked a small click beetle and laid it on its back in my open palm and it popped into the air and landed right side up. The others gathered to see but this time when I turned him over he played dead. So I returned him to the leaf and moved on. Overhead a hawk flew through into the field we had just passed through. There were guesses as to what kind it could be. I suggested Broad-winged maybe. The area we now found ourselves in was home to many plants, some of which were already flowering, and many were only detected by seed-bearing structures found on the ground, like Virgins Bower and Bur Cucumber. We found several patches of Bloodroot still flowering, and with the Conservancy members permission I broke off a small section of the root away to show how it got its name.
Walking carefully through the area, you could feel the large Ostrich Fern croziers (or fiddleheads) under foot waiting for a chance to break through. There were many different ferns in the area as well, Lynda took the time to share her observations about the ferns and vascular plants in this very species-rich area.
We made our way back using an already well-traveled fiddleheaders path up and out of the area. We wandered a little more on the way, past our Gray Catbird friend again and back to the parking lot. While we were wrapping up and saying goodbye, we heard the bubbling, almost digital sounding song of the Bobolink. It was good to see there were a few of them in the area. According to Cornell University Ornithology Lab, these birds numbers are declining.
Observations:
Insects: click beetle, bumble bee, mosquito larvae, mayfly nymph.
Amphibians: Spring Peepers (heard), Wood frog eggs.
Ferns and bryophytes: Frullania species liverwort, Ostrich fern, Sensitive fern, Lady fern, Cinnamon fern.
Mosses: Crispy Tuft Moss (Ulota crispa).
Birds: Broadwing? Hawk, Bobolink, Gray Catbird, Ovenbird (heard) Canada Goose, Blue Jay (heard).
Trees: Balsam Fir, White Pine, Red Maple, Butternut, Brown Ash, Bigtooth Aspen, American Elm, Paper Birch, Yellow Birch, Beech, Green Ash, Crabapple, Black Cherry, Willow, Staghorn Sumac, Speckled Alder.
Plants/forbs: Blue Cohosh, Bloodroot, Stinging Nettle, Canada Mayflower, Bur Cucumber, Virgins Bower, Cow Parsnip, Goldthread, Tansy, Sedum, Trout Lily, Wood Anemone, Wild Oats, Trillium (stinking Benjamin), Dock, Colts Foot.
