Day 19.196: Stumped

The stump of the red oak tree we had taken down earlier this year was demonstrating its thirst for life but today we tidied it up again. 

While we were doing that, I had a go at counting the rings. If my reckoning is correct (and it may well not be), it seems to have been about 80 years old but between the ages of 10 and 50 or so, it seems to have grown very slowly.

The house was built around 30 years ago, so I suspect its access to light got much better around then when the surrounding trees were removed and it was able to grow much faster for the years since then. 

Day 19.177: "Weekend" report

I had Thursday and Friday of last week off for the Fourth of July holiday. I ended up taking Wednesday afternoon off so that my four-and-a-half day weekend started and ended with England World Cup matches (Wednesday afternoon and Sunday night).

Our nature group also met on Wednesday in Biddeford Pool for a mid-week evening outing that felt like the start of the weekend for me.

I've recently added a 1.4x teleconverter to my camera setup and was pleased with how it held up in the fading evening light (it trades light for magnification). Here are some photos of a bald eagle we first saw perched on a chimney, then harassed by a gull before giving us a nice fly-by.

Day 19.175: Birthday; cemetery

Well, it's the birthday of the nation today and it's a strange one for a variety of reasons. One reason has been the weather in this part of the country that has been unusually hot and has resulted in us spending most of the time indoors. 

Anyway, I still have outings to recap. Last Sunday, Exile #2, Exile #3 and I went to Evergreen Cemetery in Portland. This is some of what we saw.

Pickerelweed

American bullfrog

American bullfrog

Eastern phoebe

Mallard ducklings

They were retreating rapidly from a small dog that charged into the shallows where they were hanging out 

There were some very tiny ducklings in the group

Eastern kingbird

Belted kingfisher

Red-eyed vireo

Red-eyed vireo

Great crested flycatcher

We watched it bashing its catch on the branch until the wings fell off...

...presumably that made it more palatable...

...and it was soon swallowed

Common snapping turtle

Ready for his close-up

Day 19.174: Quick visit to Exile #4

I was off work yesterday and today in honor of tomorrow’s holiday. Exile #2 and I decided to pay a quick visit to Exile #4 to see how they are getting on in their new place. All went well and we were able to take them out for lunch.

It was all delightfully uneventful compared with the previous time we traveled from here to there. 

Day 19.168: Sandhill cranes and a blurry mystery

Today, Exile #2 and I had a day out. We set off arounr 8 am, spent the morning and first part of the afternoon in Norway (a town in Oxford County) and then took a detour to Belgrade (a town in Kennebec County) before returning home at around 6 pm. 

The reason for our detour was to see if we could succeed where I had failed a few weeks ago and see Sandhill cranes. We arrived at the boat launch to find that other birders had caught some fleeting glimpses recently from there, but after a while without luck, (we did see other birds including the blurry mystery below) we gave up and decided to leave. We allowed ourselves a quick stop at another vantage point nearby but there was no sign from there either. Exile #2 spotted something and we both took a closer look despite thinking it was not likely to be anything interesting, and then, as we were looking through binoculars and camera, two large birds flew into our field of  view. 

Success!

Here is the blurry mystery. A distant water bird that looks vaguely like a northern pintail, but that seems unlikely so it remains a mystery for anyone who is interested to attempt to solve.

Day 19.162: Exile #2's Sunday Column #556

Exile #2 writes...

This has historically always been one of the busiest weekends of the year. Exile #3’s dance school usually has their dance show this weekend, often involving Exile #3. For probably a decade, however, it has also involved Exile #1, who films, edits, and reproduces videos of the show. Exile #3’s birthday is usually on or around dance show day, too, and to cap it all off, Father’s Day usually rounds off the weekend.

This year was not too different. Exile #1 filmed the show. Exile #3 went to watch and cheer on the dancers, we celebrated Exile #3 on Saturday evening, and today we celebrated Exile #1, mostly by letting him have a very rare lie in, and the opportunity to choose an evening outing. He chose Biddeford Pool and, although we had had a rainy, thundery afternoon, this evening was absolutely perfect.

Day 19.161: Birthday!

I had a very busy day today. The most important part was celebrating Exile #3’s birthday which waited until the end of the day. Happy birthday Exile #3!

Day 19.160: Moose!

One of our most surprising moments on our trip last Sunday was that after a short drive down the road to fill our water bottles at a natural spring we retraced our route for a short distance and during that time encountered this young male moose:

I think that only makes my third sighting - one of the others being near home and the other within a few miles of this one when we stayed at Saddleback in the summer of 2021. 

Day 19.156: Bicknell's thrush

The main reason for our hike yesterday was to try and find Bicknell's thrush. J warned me that we were more likely to hear than to see them, so I was prepared for that. These birds generally breed above 3000 ft and in specific habitats, and Saddleback is a popular spot for birders to go in search of them.

Around 3500 ft we heard one for the first time. We'd reached the top of the Grey Ghost trail (only something like a mile, but with an elevation gain of 1000 ft or so). Soon after, I spotted a bird landing in a tree a little way off and sure enough, it was the bird we'd heard:

Bicknell's thrush

At the top of the next trail, near the top medical station, we heard another that sounded close-by and, after taking a few steps to change his viewing angle, J was able to locate it for an even better view.

We heard several more, both calling and singing, but didn't get another view. Maybe we would have been more persistent in trying to do so if we hadn't been so lucky early on.

Day 19.152: Civic duties

On Tuesday, four of us voted in the Maine primary elections. 

Today, I did the last of the duties relating to the Honda Civic that Exile #4 was driving last week by sending the title to the insurance company in acceptance of the total loss settlement. Meanwhile, today is Exile #4’s birthday and they have been doing a lot of adulting. Moving into their first apartment, starting a new job (today was day 4) and buying a car to replace the aforementioned write-off. Quite the start to a new season of life. Happy Birthday!