Tuesday, May 28, 1996
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This week's reports | Downeast Birdline -- transcript of current telephone message | Black fly report for May 22-28 |This week's reports
Thursday, May 16. Mount Katahdin Township (Map 51) [Report on snow conditions at Mount Katahdin] "Snow was all blown off the summit. There was shin-deep snow on the Tableland. Deeper snow below the treeline, down to middle elevations." an Appalachian Trail hiker.
Tuesday, May 21. Bowdoin College Grant East (Map 42) Snow three to four feet deep on the upper slopes of White Cap Mountain, i.e. altitude approximately 2500 to 3600 feet. (Several reports of this from Appalachian Trail hikers.)
Friday, May 24. Elliotsville Township (Map 23) Most streams have subsided to nominal
levels. Big Wilson Stream very high (waist deep at the Appalachian Trail ford) and
reported to have dropped nearly two feet in three days, showing effects of surface runoff
from two prior days' rain.
Wildflowers in bloom that were seen included: common blue violet, common strawberry,
dandelion, early meadow rue, jack-in-the-pulpit, painted trillium, red (i.e. purple)
trillium and starflower. Lowbush blueberry also in flower. F.W.
Friday, May 24. E. Orland (Map 23) Jct. Toddy Pond & U.S. Rte. 1: 4-8 hummingbirds swarmed our quince bush without stop from dawn to dusk, except to rest on this bush's perches or briefly to take refuge elsewhere when disturbed. This 8' diameter quince bush has flowered effusively this last 2 years with the careful and continuous pruning we give it. ... It is an upgrade on Rte 1 here, so this heavy [traffic] spews its lethal, incompletely burned, wasted fuel on the hummingbirds just 50 feet away. Up to over 500 vehicles an hour are passing by here during daylight hours. W. D.
Saturday, May 25. Elliotsville Township (Map 23) Many beaver lodges noted on the small ponds in the area. F.W.
Saturday, May 25. E. Orland (Map 23) Jct. Toddy Pond and U.S. Rte. 1: Just after dawn hummingbirds were continuously at our quince bush. The hummingbirds also enjoyed a fortified concoction I put in their feeder until ants began to take over. The ants find their way from the rain gutter down a wire, then down the feeder into the small, fake flower holes. They swim into the liquid. Instead of finding their way out, they go up into the storage bottle and have a death party for hours on end with some pleasure no doubt gained from the vanilla extract alcohol in the sugar solution. Are ant invaders a common problem with hummingbird feeders? W. D.
Monday, May 27. Alfred (Map 2) rating of 3 (a royal pain) I received many bites (60-100) while painting a house for 10 hours, mostly my neck and upper back and arms. J. L.
Monday, May 27. East Corinth (Map 32) "Mirages" due to temperature inversion seen on black top road for the first time this season. The air was still and the temperature about 50 degrees. K.W.
Monday, May 27. Bar Harbor (Map 16) Wild rhododendrons in bloom. J.R.
Downeast Birdline -- transcript of current telephone message
Downeast Birdline -- transcript of current telephone message
Maine black fly report in map form
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