In the Right Place: Showtime

It’s mating season for many dragonflies, a time to go to your local pond and watch airshows that make the Blue Angels look like slouches.

The dragonfly shown above is – I think – a male slaty skimmer, Libellula incesta. (I suspect that the process of identifying dragonflies and damselflies, other than a few common ones, was designed by an unknown enemy of mine who wants to drive me crazy. But, that’s another story.)

Lately, these blue dragonflies often can be seen defending their small territories from the vantage point of arrow arum leaves that give them a good view of their tiny realms. They’ll drive away anything that is not a female slaty skimmer, including this smaller dragonfly that, of course, I was unable to identify with any degree of certainty:

(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 22 and 23, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Three Merganserteers

At first, I didn’t notice these three common merganser youngsters sunning themselves as my unaided eyes scanned the pools at the mouth of Patten Stream earlier in the week. But, fortunately, one of them looked down quickly at a swirling fish, and my eyes focused on the spot.

Young common mergansers such as these are extraordinarily independent beings. Within a day or so of their hatching, they’ll jump out of their tree cavity nest, tumble to the ground, follow their mother to water, and immediately start catching their own aquatic insect food without instruction. Before they’re two weeks old, they’ve usually graduated to diving for fish.

These birds sometimes are called sawbills because of their long, serrated mandibles that enable them to hold and manipulate wiggling, slippery fish. On the other hand, the name “merganser” is derived from the Latin and is loosely translated as “plunging goose,” which isn’t a bad description either. (Images taken in Surry, Maine, on July 19, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Plight of Passage

Yesterday, the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced that it had placed the migratory monarch butterflies that we see here on its Red List of endangered species. The IUCN is a network of governmental and nonprofit organizations that track the status of wildlife.

I’ve seen a good number of monarch butterflies here in Brooklin this summer, such as these photographed yesterday on a butterfly plant:

However, I’ve seen very few monarch caterpillars here. Here’s the only one seen in a large patch of milkweed yesterday:

To be clear about the IUCN announcement, the Red-Listed native butterflies are the migrating monarchs (Danaus plexippus plexippus) that are a subspecies of the non-migratory monarchs (Danaus plexippus) that mostly stay in southern Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean.  

According to yesterday’s IUCN press release, the migratory monarch’s population has shrunk by between 22 and 72 percent over the past decade, primarily due to man-made causes, including habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 21, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Classic

Here you see the Fishing Vessel Dear Abbie: tethered to the Town Dock for a little tender loving care yesterday morning.

She has “classic” lobster boat lines, but there’s a lot of room in the “classic” definition for vessels of other sizes and lines. For example, the Meghan Dee showed her style as she passed by yesterday:

The lobster fishing season is several weeks old now, but I hear that it’s been a disappointment so far – a smaller catch and significantly lower prices than the beginning of last year’s season. However, it’s early. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 20, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Curling Smoke

Here we see a great blue heron fishing in the picturesque pools below the mouth of Patten Stream yesterday afternoon. This is where the tidal salt water of Patten Bay and the falling fresh water of the Stream mingle.

The tide was coming in and so were the fish, as this and another nearby great blue knew full well. The other bird at one point even seemed to be pointing out where the best spots were:

Great blue herons are among our sparest birds. At a distance, when they’re not showing off their magnificent wings, they sometimes appear to be whisps of smoke curling out of the water. Their wingspan can reach more than six and one-half feet and, when standing erect, they can be more than four and one-half feet tall. Yet, they weigh less than six pounds. (Images taken in Surry, Maine, on July 19, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Mystery Bird

I’m having trouble identifying this warbler, which I glimpsed in a mixed wood canopy at the edge of a field Sunday. (Full disclosure: I have trouble identifying most warblers.) Unfortunately, the bird made no sound and this shot was the only image I was able to get before it saw me and disappeared. Maybe some of you blackbelt birders can identify it even in these difficult circumstances.

(Image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 17, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Icons

Last Thursday, three schooners came into Great Cove to overnight there: The Stephen Taber (launched 1871), the J&E Riggin (1927), and the American Eagle (1930). Here you see the Eagle in the foreground and the Taber behind her.

As you see in the above image, the Taber’s crew and passengers were on Babson Island, beginning one of that schooner’s famous lobster bakes – fresh fruit and cheese; fresh lobster; steak; chicken, corn on the cob, fine wines and other beverages; freshly-baked breads, and “signature” desserts, according to the vessel’s website.

Meanwhile, the low-slung Riggin appeared to be starting that vessel’s cocktail hour in the lovely light of the setting sun:

At dawn the next morning, the Eagle’s sleeping passengers were probably unaware of the passing of an early-working lobster boat, but the two symbols of Down East Maine did present an iconic image for a few minutes:

(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 12 and 13, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Of Patches and Kings

I’ve seen a good number of monarch butterflies so far this summer, but no monarch caterpillars yet. Here we see a female on sumac blossoms yesterday.

(Irrelevant question of the day: Should we call female monarchs queens and the males kings?) Not so irrelevant question of the day: Is there an easy way to differentiate male and female monarchs? Answer: Yes. Males have a small, dark bump on each of their hindwings. These two “androconal patches” contain pheromones that attract females. Here are some of our archive images of male monarch butterflies that show their patches:

Leighton Archive Image

Leighton Archive Image

To help remember the difference between sexes, think of the males’ patches as symbolic testicles. (Primary image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 16, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Osprey Nest Report

Great news: June is alive and well! As those of you who follow these posts know, she is the youngest nestling in Ozzie and Harriet’s osprey family. Until recently, I sometimes have gone 10 days without seeing her on my one-hour visits every two or three days. That’s June in this image between her two brothers, David and Ricky, with Harriet on the right:

Now that she is slightly larger, June has started to rise from the nest’s deep bottom and give brief peek-over-the-edge appearances. Nonetheless, she still is being pushed around by her larger brothers when she gets in their way.

Harriet leaves the nest much more frequently now that the nestlings are almost ready to fledge; she often takes 15-or 20-minute trips to destinations unknown. Harriet doesn’t appear to have been fishing while absent (she doesn’t return with a fish); often, she is wet from taking a bath in a nearby pond or Great Cove. Here she is being greeted by David and Ricky upon returning to the nest:

Ozzie still is bringing fish to the nest for the family. The nestlings are able to tear off pieces and eat by themselves now, although Harriet sometimes still will tear off a piece and feed it to one of her offspring, a maternal instinct that requires deft maneuvering of her sharp beak. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 11, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Visiting the Water Nymphs' World

This image appeared yesterday in my monthly column in the Ellsworth American:

To read the column on a natural way to cope with our surly “civilized” world, click here: http://www.5backroad.com/montly-column

In the Right Place: Threatening Trends Department

You see here one of our small streams yesterday – I should say what was one of our streams; it’s totally dry now.

Drought and abnormally dry conditions continue to spread in Maine and the rest of Northeastern United States, according to this morning’s U.S. Drought Monitor:

Lack of meaningful precipitation has caused, among other concerns, significant declines in river and streamflow levels in Maine. Here’s the USDM’s map of the State, showing moderate drought and abnormal dryness in most of Maine:

If this trend continues, it seems, the flows from residential water wells may be threatened in August. (Photograph taken in Brooklin, Maine, on June 13, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Discovery and Mastery

July is a time when many young birds, often not fully formed, are compelled by an unknowable instinct to climb or jump out of their birthing nurseries and enter into a dangerous world. It is then that they discover and begin to master one of the most enviable experiences – unassisted flight.

Above, you see a fluffy fledgling downy woodpecker resting on a spruce yesterday after a choppy flight in which the tree could not be avoided:

Below, you’ll see a stumpy-tailed song sparrow after a short aerial maneuver that seemed to make him proud:

(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 8 [sparrow] and 12 [woodpecker], 2022.)

In the Right Place: The Odd Couple

Here you see a 19½-foot Caledonia named Ned Ludd leading a 16-foot catboat named Shenaniganz:

They’re in the channel between Naskeag Point and Harbor Island at low tide on a calm day last week. The boats are being sailed by students in the WoodenBoat School’s Open-Boat Cruising class.

The next day, the same boats were grabbing good breezes together In Great Cove:

That WBS class was supposed to have sailed two Caledonias; however, a mast on the second Caledonia (which is named Swifty) apparently broke and Shenaniganz was substituted. She’s a fast catboat and reportedly had no problem staying with Ned. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 7 [Harbor] and 8 [Cove], 2022.)

In the Right Place: Wonder Weed

That looks like a dandelion seed head on the left in the image below; however, it’s actually about the size of a tennis ball. I think that this plant is salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius) and, if so, the plant’s unopened bud on the right soon will become an interesting pink or purple flower.

Salsify is a wild root vegetable that’s native to Europe, but has become naturalized in North American fields. It’s also known as the oyster plant or vegetable oyster, reportedly due to its taste when cooked; but, many reportedly think that it tastes nothing like an oyster.

According to some of the claims that appear when you search online for information on salsify, eating this plant will stimulate hair growth, lower blood pressure, boost immune systems, improve digestive health, increase metabolism, and help bone density.

Just saying …. (Image taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 10, 2022.) Click on image to enlarge it.

In the Right Place: Obsession Confession

Many of our larger marsh ponds are starting their summer shrink, which crowds their leafy inhabitants, as you can see from this image taken yesterday:

The contrast between the circular pad leaves of the water lilies and the arrowhead-shaped leaves of the green arrow arum plants becomes more apparent at times like these.

I’ve been photographically monitoring the above arrow arum colony on a weekly basis for several years now. I think I’ve become obsessed with the wild beauty of the plant, especially its graceful, subtly-veined leaves, which are extraordinarily photogenic:

This native wetlands plant (Peltandra virginica) is part of the large arum family and also is known as tuckahoe and duck corn. It grows to about three feet tall and its leaves can reach up to 18 or more inches in length. Muskrats eat the plant’s stalks and leaves, while ducks love its seeds. Native Americans pulverized the plant’s roots into flour for making bread.

(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 7 and 9, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Different Strokes for Different Boats

Here you see two WoodenBoat School creations basking on the campus in Thursday’s sun. These boats may look somewhat similar at first glance, but they were made using different traditional hull-building methods.

On the left, the smooth hull on the Whitehall Pulling Boat is “carvel-built” with cotton and marine putty caulking between planks, and she probably will be used as a rowboat:

By the way, that 12.5-foot Whitehall is up for sale at what appears to be a bargain price of $1,700.00, according to a note inside her hull.

The hull of the other boat, a Chaisson Dory, is “lapstrake-“ or “clinker-built” with overlapping planks fastened tightly by rivets, and she is designed to be used as a small sailboat as well as a rowboat:

(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 7, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Osprey Nest Report

Below, you’ll see (from left to right) David, Ricky, and Harriet, yesterday. They and Ozzie, the male parent, are doing very well.

 I haven’t seen the family’s third born, June, for a week. She’s by far the smallest and most timid. Let’s hope that she has been hunkering at the bottom of their deep nest when I’ve been monitoring the family. Here you see Harriet again with the two first born, but with David on the right:

David is the largest and boldest nestling, which is normal for a first born. He’s already flapping his big wings in the breezes, a practice that seems instinctual. He also is the first to rise and eat the fish that Ozzie brings to the nest:

In fact, David is a very self-centered bird; he often complains to his parents aggressively about the indignities of having to stay home all of the time:

Harriet still seems to spend most of her time on the nest, but takes regular breaks to bathe, gather sticks and moss for the nest, and (it seems) just to “stretch her wings.” After her bath, she returns to the nest sopping wet and spreads her feathers to dry:

I’ll keep my eyes out for June. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 5 and 7, 2022.)

In the Right Place: Low-Rider

Yesterday’s post about the American Eagle coming to Great Cove at dusk Monday was titled “High-Rider” because – shortly after the Eagle moored, as you see here – the low-riding J&E Riggin also came in under almost full sail. High- or low-, both vessels are easy-riders.

The 120-foot Riggin is on a six-day schooner race tour, according to her schedule. She moored overnight in the Cove near the 90-foot Eagle, which also was on a race tour. Both schooners raised sails Tuesday and sailed north into Eggemoggin Reach:

The Riggin was built in 1927 as an oyster dredger, which may account for her low profile. She was built for Charles Riggin of New Jersey, who named her for his two sons, Jacob and Edward (“J&E”). In the 1940s, she was sold, equipped with an engine, and sent out for deep sea fishing.

She was sold again in the 1970s and converted to a passenger vessel. In the process, her inboard engine was removed to make more room for cabins. Now out of Rockland, Maine, the Riggin still cruises the area waters without an inboard engine; she relies on her diesel-powered yawl boat to push her when she’s not under sail.

(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 4 and 5, 2022.)

In the Right Place: High-Rider

The American Eagle arrived at Great Cove at dusk on July 4th and overnighted here, becoming transformed by yesterday’s dawn light into a gleaming symbol:

She’s on a seven-day 4th of July and schooner race tour, according to her schedule. We got a closer look at her later in the morning before she sailed off:

She sailed out of the Cove into Eggemoggin Reach at about midday:

The Eagle is a 90-foot, high-riding schooner out of Rockland, Maine. She was launched in 1930 as the Andrew & Rosalie, the last fishing schooner built in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In 1941, during World War II, she was renamed American Eagle. She fished until 1983 and then went through difficult times until she was totally renovated in 1986 as a coastal tourist cruiser. She has since become a National Historic Landmark.

(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on July 4 and 5, 2022.

In the Right Place: A Small-Town 4th

Today was a perfect summer’s day: sun, blue skies, temperatures in the mid-70’s (F), good breezes rustling lush leaves, and – best of all – Brooklin’s Independence Day celebration.

That celebration is regionally famous for its fun and diversity. It began with rousing music by the Brooklin Band. They played in the dappled light under the maple trees on the Friend Memorial Library lawn, across Bay Road from the General Store.. Listeners, young, old, and in-between gathered in the shade on the Library lawn and steps, eventually turning into a crowd.

Starting at 10 a.m., there was a parade of flags, firetrucks, floats, , classic cars, and people who just decided to march down the middle of Naskeag Road because they were in the mood. Leading the way was a color guard of veterans marching with Old Glory and a prisoners of war flag, followed by a veterans’ organization truck.

After the Stars and Stripes passed (often to applause), there came a banner celebrating the 75th anniversary of Brooklin’s Fire Department, as well as that Department’s big Engine 2. Other fire trucks were interspersed in the parade, including one from nearby Sedgwick.

Creative floats also were interspersed throughout the parade with themes such as the brown-tailed caterpillars and their moths; prom night; role reversals with lobsters cooking a human; a Brooklin Food Corps takeoff on a John Lennon song, but now named “Give Peas a Chance,” Candy Land that also was Balloon Land, and a just-married announcement

Classic and semi-classic cars and trucks paraded in random order interspersed within the parade:

After the parade, there was the usual friendly get-together of full-time- and summer-residents, neighbors catching up on the news and meeting tourists on the Town Green. Among other things, there were children’s games there, including the renowned Dead Chicken Toss, the Huge Greased Pole Climb, and the Wet Sponge Toss.

There also was more music on the Green, classic car displays, and delicious food in the form of roasted chicken meals with corn, potato salad, coleslaw and watermelon, as well as hot dogs. The food lines were long, but efficient volunteer servers kept them moving quickly.

It was a Happy 4th in Brooklin this year,