Dear Katie,

As we head full-tilt towards fall, it's nice to look back at all this wildlife in August! Below are just a few of the posts from our Harpswell Nature Watchers Facebook group. Want to see the rest? Click here to join.

What are you seeing out there? We'd love to hear from you! Click here for more information about Harpswell Nature Watchers.

I would not have known that night herons were in the tree had I not seen one fly into it! You have to look very closely to see there are two of them, I was so surprised as I could not see the second until I downloaded the photo!

(Submitted by Gina Snyder. August 1, 2023)

Two pink/purple non-native invasive plants have been blooming around Harpswell for about a week or more and are particularly visible along wet roadside edges—purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) and Himalayan balsam or touch-me-not (Impatiens glandulifera). Purple loosestrife (1st photo) has taken over many of the freshwater wetlands and wet meadows in more southern areas of New England essentially crowding out nearly all of the native plants. In Harpswell, it is not so widespread and so it seems like we could still have a chance to control it.

As for the second invasive I mentioned, the Himalayan touch-me-not (2nd photo), in my opinion over the last 5 years it seems to have gone from rare to frequent sightings in Harpswell. I’m curious if others agree. Be sure not to confuse the pink Himalayan touch-me-not with the orange native touch-me-not, also called jewelweed (3rd photo). The orange native jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) inhabits the same swamps, lake shores, wet meadows, road ditches or other areas with moist soils. The Himalayan touch-me-not has pink flowers, opposite or whorled leaves (i.e., leaves that originate from the same node on the stem) and can reach up to 6 feet tall, while the native jewelweed has orange flowers, smaller leaves that occur alternately along the stem, and the overall size of the plant is smaller—usually no more than 4 feet.

(Submitted by Lynn Knight. August 9, 2023)

I saw this egret while visiting Harpswell last week.

(Submitted by Marcia Vanolinda. August 17, 2023)

Between the storms of summer.



(Submitted by Robert Rowe. August 19, 2023)

Pictures of the juvenile bald eagle that spent about an hour in one of our trees on Sunday afternoon.

(Submitted by Howard Marshall. August 21, 2023)

The girls found this crow with a broken wing in Garrison Cove, Bailey Island, on a Sunday evening. We had to try and help as the herring gulls had been chasing it all day. It being Sunday and all, the bird came home with us. We found a wild bird rescue here in Maine and it was picked up by a very nice man to go get help.

Our hope is that it heals (crows will not usually fly again after a break) and it finds a teaching job with a nice organization. Crows can live 20 years in the wild and up to 50 years in captivity. They cannot be kept as pets. They are very smart, a quality you can see in their eyes and expressions.

Lots of crow research was done at our house in a very short time. They are also omnivores and will eat cat food. The phone number for Avian Haven is 207-382-6761. The crow's case number is 2008, but the girls named her Penny.

(Submitted by the Schooner ALERT family. August 28, 2023)