All the ways Maine is wicked good
I‘ve taken the suet cage with nest-building fibers down since I took this picture, but it’s not too late for one last hatching of American Goldfinches. They breed very late. I‘m seeing young ones now, old enough to have left the nest, but not quite sure where to land on the feeder in order to successfully obtain seeds. This adult male Goldfinches has it completely figured out.
Bishop’s weed or Aegopodium podagraria is a native of Eurasia, also known as ground elder, herb gerard, goutweed, gout wort, and snow-in-the-mountain. Like its cousin, Queen Anne’s Lace, another Eurasian import, (Daucus carota) Bishop’s weed is a perennial and member of the carrot family. Bishop’s Weed was brought to the U.S. as an ornamental ground cover in the late 1800s. It is still very common in Europe and has spread to most of the U.S.
The Forsythia was stunning this year, but the weather for taking pictures of the Forsythia was less stunning. It was a strange winter, and so far, a strange spring. Lots of rain, lots of over cast skies, and the spring migration of birds was a little behind the usual schedule. That said, the Ruby-throated hummingbirds were back the first week of May, and they seem ravenous and populous.
Though I missed pictures of the Forsythia, here are some magnolias.
The fog here is beautiful, and not the same as the Cheshire County N.H. fogs and mists, or the fog from home—though we do get some very dramatic fogs in Puget Sound, especially in late fall and early winter.
I’ve been trying to take pictures of the Maine fog in the early morning and evening, as it winds through the trees. The fog looks like someone has wound gauze ribbon in and out and around the trunks and branches of the trees. I’ve mostly failed to capture the way the fog looks. The fog looks tangible, as if you could reach out and tug on it to move a ribbon.
My friend Heather has done much better in these Bailey Island Lands End photos.
At home, we don’t see icicles that often; frost is more common. It’s often a thick, deep frost that is clearly crystalline in nature, coating solid objects, leaves, and even blades of grass.
I’ve been trying to take pictures of icicles in Maine and the way they reflect the light, often displaying an almost iridescent shimmer that I have completely failed to capture. The icicles have been impressive every winter, but this year was particularly remarkable for the extent and frequency of ice coating the bushes and leaves.
The Portland Press Herald article is pretty clear:
Most of the snow will be early on Sunday. The prediction is for “10-18 inches of snow at the coast and up to 2 feet inland.” And then c. noon, the snow turns to “wintery mix” otherwise known as snow, sleet and rain. It’s ugly for bird, beast, and Mainer. The icy coating (and cold temps) make foraging difficult, and driving impossible.
I have filled the feeders, and put out fresh suet. And I purchased a 4.5 quart bean pot at Reny’s. I have yet to obtain any beans, but I am working on it.
Today is high is 22F. I still have one more suet cage to fill, and am understandably reluctant to do it. So far the grey squirrels, who are obese and numerous, are less than fond of the Capsaicin-laced suet and hot-sauce coated black-oil Sunflower seeds.
It’s been raining freezing rain most of the day; not a lot of birds. I’ve seen Juncos, a couple of Chickadees, a Titmouse, a very cold looking puffed-up male House finch, and this female Northern Cardinal who let me take some slightly out-of-focus pictures.
I’ll probably add more pictures throughout the day. It’s still snowing; the flakes are clumping together now. I heard geese off in the distance when I went out to take pictures today, and many, many Nuthatches in the trees.
It’s going to turn to rain, probably, in a couple of hours, but we have a light snow falling. It’s the kind of snow they put on greeting cards; not too thick, not windy, just white snow falling steadily.
Naturally, when the Cardinal landed on the Rhododendron, I had to take a picture (through the window, on my iPhone). If it had a little more snow on the Rhoddodendron, and I had taken a slightly better picture, I’d have a holiday card.
House finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) were initially regarded with some rancor by many New England birders; the House finch is an invasive species. As a kid in New Hampshire, we had Purple finches and Red polls as reliable feeder visitors; I saw my first House finch in Southern California, and became familiar with House finches in Puget Sound.
