Deep Woods Maine Wildlife

Posted on July 24, 2017July 24, 2017 by Dusty Roads

Deep Woods Maine Wildlife

My time in Maine is over, at least for this year. So It’s time to do a head count. What kinds of wildlife did I see or experience while I vacationed in Rangeley. Notice I said saw or experienced because the most prolific wild thing were the black flies. They are such pests but also an integral part of the Maine experience.

So here’s the list

Black Flies-in the thousands. For an interesting read about these pests , delivered in a humorous manner check out http://downeast.com/blackfly-survival-guide/

Black flies

2. A Blue Jay – Just one on my front porch

Blue Jay

3. Bat, Just one. Wish there had been more. Maybe they would have made a dent in the Black Fly population.

Flying Bat

4. Crows or Ravens…Not sure which but these big black birds were everywhere.

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5. Wild Turkey…Just one but that counts.

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6. Turkey Vultures…6 or 7 circling a bog. Something must be dead in there!

7. Fox Kit..This little cutie gave me hope that I might begin to spot some of the famous Maine wildlife.

8. A Mama duck and 4 little ducklings

Mama Duck and baby ducklings

9. Bald Eagle..Maybe? I know they are in the area but I didn’t get a good l00k; just a big raptor and a flash of white.

10. Lots of little birds. I needed the Audubon Society to figure out what they were.

Little bird in a tree

11. Canada Goose. Not very exciting but still it counts.

12. A grey squirrel …Just the one. Expected to see more.

13. Chipmunk ..a little cutie but again, only one. Where are they hiding out?

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14. A Moose…Finally my goal species.

Maine Moose by the side of the road

15. White Tail Deer…I’ve seen them before but they never fail to entertain.

Deer at rest

A Great Learning Experience

I fancy myself a wildlife photographer (amateur) and I’ve had some success. This week showed me how far I still have to go. But I had fun and that’s the main thing when you’re on vacation. I’ll definitely plan another trip to Maine. It’s beautiful country. Maybe I’ll hire a guide to help me locate animals. Some of them use blinds. Yes, That’s going on my list for the next trip.

Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack

Posted on April 20, 2017April 20, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

What was that Name again? Jack?

What do Jack, Kack, Lack. Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack have in common? They are the names of the eight little ducklings following Mrs. Mallard cross the Public Gardens in Boston.

Non-Bostonians can find its location confusing. Boston Common, Boston Public Gardens, Boston Garden…what’s the difference?

Commons, Gardens and Garden

The Boston Commons is the oldest city park in the United States. It was established in 1634. Originally a pasture it became known as “Common Land”. It was used to graze local livestock until 1830. A town shepherd was paid “two shillings and sixpence per head of cowe” to tend townspeople’s livestock. In 1775 over 1000 Redcoats were camped here until they marched off to Lexington & Concord for the skirmish that became the “Shot heard ’round the World”.

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The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park adjacent to the Boston Commons. Part of the Emerald Necklace system of parks, it was established in 1837 as the first public botanical garden in America. Part of the confusion between the Commons and the Gardens is that they are only separated by a street. Its easy to think of the whole area as one huge park.

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The Boston Garden was a much loved venue for local sports, especially the Boston Celtics and The Boston Bruins. Famous for it’s parquet floor that favored the home team because of it’s many “dead spots”, it was eventually torn down and replaced by the big, modern T.D. Garden in 1995.

Make Way for Ducklings, Jack, Kack, Lack…

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The famous duckling statue is located in the Public Gardens. It’s based on the children’s book “Make Way for Ducklings”. Mrs. Mallard has as much trouble keeping her little bronze ducklings together as a real life mother duck. The statue was first installed in 1987 but almost immediately the duckling named Quack was pilfered. In 1988 Mack was stolen but at the same time Quack was returned after an anonymous tip.

Quack was taken again in 1992, and the theft created such an outcry that buttons reading “Bring Quack Back” were sold to raise money for a replacement.

In 1999 Jack was taken! Pack flew the coop in 2009. But Boston loves its ducklings and the statue is always repaired or replaced.

Decorating the Ducks

You can often find the little duck family decked out in holiday attire, Easter Bonnets for an Easter Parade, Christmas hats and Halloween costumes. During playoffs you may find tiny ball caps and sweaters boasting team logos.

In May you can join over 1000 people on Mother’s Day for the Duckling Day Parade. The only requirement, you must be dressed as a character from the book.

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Yes, Boston loves Mrs. Mallard and her 8 little ducklings, Jack, Kack, Lack. Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack!

Cold feet!

Posted on January 16, 2017January 16, 2017 by Dusty Roads

It’s amazing to me where my mind goes sometimes. As I was driving to work I passed the Norton reservoir and noticed that the ice has melted in the recent warm spell. (January Thaw). Out in the middle were about 5 or 6 swans. Made me cold just to see them but then I wondered, why aren’t their feet cold?

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I thought it would be a short , easy answer to share but even the short answer I found on Askanaturalist.com wasn’t so short.

Let me see if I can give you the Reader’s Digest Condensed version.

Warm blood flowing from the body into the legs and feet passes close to the veins carrying the cold blood back to the body. This warm blood starts warming the cold blood and in doing so loses some of its heat so by the time it reaches the feet it’s cooled off. This keeps the feet just warm enough to avoid frostbite.

This also reduces heat loss to the outside environment. When we go out without a hat we lose a lot of heat from our head but since the blood in the duck’s feet has already cooled , it doesn’t lose much heat to outside air, water etc.

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Literally “pretty cool”.

To take it a bit further, are they uncomfortable at all in the cold?

It seems that the answer is no. Since their feet aren’t “cold” they can sit on that ice with their feathers all fluffed out and be quite content. We know those feathers are warm. That’s why we have down comforters, down sleeping bags and down winter coats. We think their feathers are pretty warm too!

If you want to read the more extensive version with the details about the arterial blood and venous blood heat exchange, here’s the link. They have nifty diagrams too.

042210_1418_whydontduck21 http://askanaturalist.com/why-don%E2%80%99t-ducks%E2%80%99-feet-freeze/

Mystic Aquarium

Posted on August 21, 2016August 21, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Its still, as the weathermen say, HHH. High Pressure, Hot, Humid, 3 H’s. I like the heat but I will admit the humidity is starting to wear me out. The forecast was for a break in the humidity if not the heat so Nancy and I decided to take the kids to the Mystic Aquarium. I was thinking it would be inside so we’d avoid the oppressive outdoors anyway. I’ve never been to Mystic Aquarium so what did I know. I based my opinion on Boston’s Aquarium.

Anyway, quite a bit of Mystic Aquarium is outside and to my way of thinking some of the most unique and best exhibits.

Mystic

It’s not a bad drive to Connecticut and we made it right on time according to the On Star directions and that was with several minor traffic back ups.

The Beluga exhibit is right there when you first go through the entrance.

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I could have spent the whole visit there even though it was hot and humid. The whales are sometimes called the Canaries of the Sea because of the multiple vocalizations they can make. They did not disappoint us. They blew and chirped and stuck their heads out of the water.

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At the observation windows they seemed as fascinated by the humans as we were of them.

Beluga

Following the path toward the Penguin exhibit we passed the seals & Sea lions.

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Then it was decision time, right took us through the “Marsh” on a boardwalk and left took us to the Penguins. The kids made a bee line for the boardwalk and eagerly inspected the duckweed and plants for turtles and frogs.

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I really liked the boardwalk. We spotted quite a few creatures once we adjusted our eyes to finding them in the weeds.

Frog in Duckweed

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We had an audience of 3 little ducks too that added comic relief.

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Next up was the Budgie Tent.

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Those birds are always fun.

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There were cockatoos and other small birds native to Australia as well as the Budgies.

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By then It was time for a break and we hadn’t even gotten inside yet!

Make way for Ducklings

Posted on May 26, 2015May 26, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Although different birds mate at different times, spring is in fulls wing here in New England. So it seemed strange to me that I had not seen any baby ducks.The swans are still on the nest and the Canada Geese have tons of baby goose-poop machines.

I spotted a baby Osprey but where are the ducklings?

There’s a little pond near my house so I took a drive over there with the camera. I brought along a book and settled in to read and watch the birds. There were lots of Canada Geese, no goslings here, however. There were some gulls and few Mallards but no babies of any kind.

I rolled the window down and started reading my book. The birds wandered across the road from the pond to the lawn on the other side and back again. Several geese stopped to check the car out. Apparently trying to figure out what this thing was in their path.

I’d been there about 20 minutes as the mixed flock crossed back to the lawn again when I saw a Mama Mallard with quite a brood of ducklings. I bet she had a dozen! The babies were swimming and diving like corks while Mama chased away all adults, even the much larger Canada Geese!