Greetings! Please enjoy our October edition of Nature Watchers! What are you seeing out there? We'd love to hear from you! The following posts are from some of our local Harpswell Nature Watchers. All of the contributions below are seen immediately in our Facebook group. Click here to join. Click here for more information about Harpswell Nature Watchers.

Nature Notes from Maine: Puffins, Black Bears, Raccoons & More In response to the success of his first Nature Notes book, Ed Robinson has written another book of wildlife essays! The new book, just released in October 2021, is titled Nature Notes from Maine: Puffins, Black Bears, Raccoons & More.  Readers of the first volume enjoyed not only the stunning photographs and drawings, but also the personal essays on 40 varied species found in Maine. Ed combines detailed information on the biology and life cycle of each subject with humorous anecdotes of his interactions with wild creatures. The first 100 orders will get a book signed by the author! Click here to learn more!

Plovers by the water at Mitchell Field really blend in! (Submitted by Gina Snyder. October 27, 2021)

Herons on rockweed Quahog Bay: how many? “Rockweed’s habitat value depends in part on its three-dimensional structure, the height and canopy of those intertidal “trees.” Widespread harvesting changes the ecosystem structure, and – as the Department of Marine Resources (DMR) acknowledged in a 2014 Rockweed Management Plan that was drafted but never adopted – the state does not yet know what the cumulative and long-term effects of those changes might be.” (Submitted Robin Hadlock Seeley. October 25, 2021)

Herron (Submitted by Barry Coflan. October 14, 2021)

A red squirrel captured by Barry Coflan. Click here to read Ed Robinson's informative article about red squirrels. (Submitted by Barry Coflan. October 14, 2021)

Just at the end of my bike ride today I saw a large bird fly across the road ahead of me. I stopped to try to see what it was and maybe get a picture of it. I spotted it through some trees and was pretty sure it was a Turkey Vulture. It flew back across the road toward Basin Cove and I decided to extend my ride (I could use the exercise anyway) and see if I could spot it. I rode to the end of Basin Point Rd but did not see it again. Then, on the way back I spotted it ahead of me over the road. And then several more, all soaring on the thermals, nearly stationery. (Submitted by Howard Marshall. October 10, 2021)

Ducks in a row! (Submitted by Howard Marshall. October 10, 2021)

Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica) – This shrub is everywhere in Harpswell! It can thrive in our thin nutrient-poor soils because nodules on its roots, with the cooperation of microorganisms in the soil, allow it to fix its own nitrogen. You will be treated to a lovely aroma if you crush and sniff a leaf. The female shrubs are full of waxy berries right now. Way back when, the wax boiled from the “nutlets” was used to season aromatic candles. These shrubs will lose their leaves in preparation for winter. (Submitted by Lynn Knight. October 10, 2021)

I saw two Whimbrels in my yard in Brunswick - especially exciting as I have had boats named Whimbrel since 1965! I have seen Whimbrels in six other places ranging from Labrador to Maine to Bahamas to Galapagos! (Submitted by Judy Johanson. October 1, 2021)