Maine Naturalist

Calendar

January

1st Week Weasels are active - their small five toed tracks occur in pairs. Listen for great horned owl calls in the night forest - they begin mating around this time of year.

2nd Week Look for deer yards in spruce-fir thickets.

3rd Week A time of silence in the winter woods. January thaw often occurs around this time. Watch for honey bee flights.

4th Week On sunny calm days look for snowfleas at the base of the south side of trees. Paw prints of fox run in a straight line, whereas dog tracks appear side by side. Winter finch migration.

February

1st Week Look for great horned owl pellets under coninfers in deep woods. Listen for yipping of courting foxes on still winter nights. Their dens can be found in root hollows or old woodchuck burrows.

2nd Week Runways of meadow voles wind through the meadow under the melting snow. Squirrels become active again - look for them as they search for their caches. Raccoons crawl out of dens onto limbs to soak up the sun.

3rd Week Listen for tapping of downy and hairy woodpeckers. Look for flying squirrels in holes made in dead trees by pileated woodpeckers. On the coast, snow buntings move northward.

4th Week Breeding season for raccoons and skunks. Chickadees begin to sing in response to the longer days. Sap starts to run.

March

1st Week Geese and ducks begin to move northward.

2nd Week Snowshoe hare coats begin changing back to brown.

3rd Week Vernal Equinox - day and night are the same length.

4th Week Pussywillows bud and poplars flower. Ground begins to thaw and spring rains begin. Skunk cabbage flowers.

April

1st Week Red-winged blackbirds arrive! Listen for their "O-ka-LEEE" over the marsh. Wood frogs begin calling, too. Common loons return to Maine's lakes right after ice-out.

2nd Week Salamanders migrate on warm rainy nights from now until mid-June. Piping Plovers return to Maine's sandy beaches to breed and establish nesting territory. Listen for their plaintive and distinctive cry.

3rd Week Spring peepers can be heard. Woodchucks can be seen in fields on warm days. Watch for pairs of loons exhibiting courtship displays like diping their bills in the water or swimming aroudn each other in circles.

4th Week Watch for grackles, cowbirds, robins, and song sparrows. Sarsasparilla breaks the surface, and look for the flowers of trailing arbutus.

May

1st Week Listen and watch for the flight of the woodcock over the meadow at dusk. Red maple swamp is in bloom. Yellow-rumped and other warblers arrive.

2nd Week Deer begin dropping fawns from now until July.

3rd Week Warbler migration is in full swing. Apple trees in flower. Orioles are here. Trees leaf out. Least terns arrive to establish colonies on Maine's sandy beaches and begin their courtship ritual.

4th Week Listen for gray tree frogs. Tent caterpillars make their nests in the crotches of young branches in apple trees. Mosquitoes have a hey day. Snapping turtles lay eggs.

June

1st Week Wood thrushes and veeries singing. Nest building is in progress.

2nd Week Young mammals begin leaving nests. Lady's slippers and Canada may-flowers in bloom. Field wildflowers begin to bloom, too.

3rd Week Look for the neat rows of holes in trees - sapsuckers feed on insects that are attracted to sap. Summer solstice - longest day of the year. Grasses in flower.

4th Week Devil's paintbrush and hawkweeds blooming in the field. Fireflies can be seen over the meadow in the evening. First broods of young birds leave their nests.

July

1st Week Leaves and flowers of wood anemones have gone by. Indian pipes can be seen in open woods.

2nd Week Deer flies are out. Bats are out in full force, too - look for them at dusk. Watch for pairs of loons with one or two chicks in tow or on their backs.

3rd Week Meadow crickets call. Night chorus of insects is in full swing, too. Watch for garter snakes near stone walls and foundations - they feed on earthworms, salamanders, and frogs.

4th Week Gray tree frogs call. Prime time for thunder squalls in late afternoon.

August

1st Week Monarch caterpillars feeding on milkweed in the field.

2nd Week Listen for whip-poor-wills in the night forest. Nighthawks begin to migrate south. Scan the northeast sky at about 10 PM for the Perseid meteor showers. Cattails reach full height.

3rd Week Listen for the dull whistle-like call of the snowy tree cricket - count the number of "throbs" in 13 seconds, add 40 and you will have the termerature within a few degrees (F).

4th Week Goldenrods and asters come into bloom. First wave of fall warbler migration - watch upper branches for activity. First apples are ripe.

September

1st Week Green darner dragonflies head south. Osprey migration begins, too. Watch for shorebirds flocking along the shore. Watch for red admiral butterflies.

2nd Week Monarch butterflies migrate south - look for chrysalises under fallen logs. Milkweed pods open. Mushrooms appear after rains.

3rd Week Harvest moon - and first hard frosts come to the North. The sensitive fern is one of the first plants killed by autumn frosts, hence it's name. Atumnal equinox - day and night of equal length.

4th Week Listen for last calls of field crickets. Fall colors begin. Watch for large gatherings of loons on lakes and ponds. Adult loons are molting, so may look very similar to the drab but full-grown juveniles.

October

1st Week White-tailed deer sheds its reddish light-weight coat for a gray coat of coarse hollow hair. Nuts ripen - squirrels making caches. Witch hazel blooms - look for yellow flowers in deciduous woodlands.

2nd Week Hawks and ospreys are on the move high in the sky. Chipmunks go underground.

3rd Week Watch for old bird nests and squirrel nests as leaves let go.

4th Week Juncos arrivee. Watch and listen for Canada geese migrating south.

November

1st Week Snowshoe hares and weasels change color about this time.

2nd Week Pine grosbeaks arrive. Early snows. Watch for wintergreen and partridge berry.

3rd Week Rutting season in full swing.

4th Week Pine grosbeaks and redpolls passing through. Snakes in northern areas hibernate for the winter, sometimes balled together in a huge tangle.

December

1st Week Woodchuck and bats, true hibernators, disappear until spring. Frogs are buried in the mud. Larches turn color. Crows and starlings flock to winter roosts. Redpolls arrive.

2nd Week The winter constellation Orion comes into full view in the southeastern sky. Watch for mammal tracks in the light snow. Ruffed grouse active in woodlands. Inland ducks move to coastal waters as marshes and ponds begin to freeze.

3rd Week Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year, longest night. Clear night skies are ideal for stargazing. Red squirrels acquire white ear tufts. Red and gray squirrels spend more time in their dens. Wood turtles go into hibernation.

4th Week Deer shed their antlers. Sea ducks raft together along the coast. Mice feed on grass shoots and bark.