The Wrack

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco?Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 5/24/2015.

The small bird my boys found in the backyard last weekend was olive green with an orange crown like a dirty hunters hat. It showed no signs of violence, but it was definitely dead. No rigor mortis, so it wasnt a winter casualty emerged from the snow. &thats as far as our CSI: South Portland investigation went before I got a shovel and buried the bird six inches under. My seven-year-old placed a cantaloupe-sized rock over the grave and we went on with our day.

It was only after going back inside that evening that I began to wonder what species of bird it had been.

The young people are dressed in distinctive khaki pants and NCCC-labeled tee shirts are members of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps. I recently sat with four of them at one of their newly constructed picnic tables.

I watch a lot of nature films. My favorite bit of animal cinema involves day-old ducklings emerging from a hole in a tree trunk and plummeting 50 feet down to the leaf-strewn ground below. Their mother guides them to a nearby lake. Their real lives begin.

On Thursday, May 7, a little bit of history was made at the fish ladder located at the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Water District. For the first time since restoring the fish ladder in December 2013 we successfully caught a fish that we had previously captured and tagged downstream at our Route 9 Branch Brook fishing net. Now, sea lamprey #181 is famous here in the research department!

One April long ago, my ornithology instructor took our class to Bowerman Basin to view an annual sandpiper spectacle he helped discover and document. Dr. Herman delivered us to an enormous flock of shorebirds and, as science students "seeking patterns in nature," charged us with tallying them.

"How do we count such a huge flock of birds?" we asked the sage.

"Count the legs and divide by two," was his wisdom.*

Ever since, I've strived to get good looks at bird legs whenever I've got binoculars in hand. No, I'm not counting them; I'm checking them for bands. Steve also taught us the value of studying birds as individuals and as populations  and how both approaches are aided by a scientist's ability to identify specific birds reliably. To do that requires marking them and legs are the go-to appendage.

Now that we are heading into May, the schoolyear's biggest vacations are over. But during February and April breaks, campers headed to the Wells Reserve for plenty of outdoor fun and learning, and this year was a blast! Below are a few fun photos from February's Ocean Explorers and Snow Survivors camps and April's Vernal Pool Party and Marshy Mysteries. Check them out and remember: the biggest vacation is right around the corner -- click here for our full schedule of summer camp offerings beginning in June!

Our quinzee building crew during Snow survivors!

Weve known for decades the high costs of digging up and burning oil, coal, and natural gas. Science, and now morality, implore us to find cleaner, more guilt-free energy sources.

Today's preschool story hour featured local author/illustrator Tony Viehmann's Whales Are Amazing...Just Like You! After a reading of this playful story in the library, our group of little marine scientists moved to the barn and learned that blue whales can grow up to 100 feet long. We measured this distance together and discovered that blue whales are a few feet longer than the barn! Below are photos of some of the participating preschoolers and their caregivers, creating their very own whale sock puppets to take home.

I had a very busy weekend. I led vernal pool walks for both the Kittery Land Trust and the Great Works Regional Land Trusts on conserved properties known for their vernal pool habitats. But not only was I busy, so were the inhabitants of these very cool pools.

all photos: Brenna Crothers

A tough winter gives way and spring is in the air.