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The Wrack

The Wrack is the Wells Reserve blog.

Why "The Wrack"? In its cycles of ebb and flow, the sea transports a melange of weed, shell, bone, feather, wood, rope, and trash from place to place, then deposits it at the furthest reach of spent surf. This former flotsam is full of interesting stuff for anybody who cares to kneel and take a look. Now and then, the line of wrack reveals a treasure.

  • Beach Picture Post leaning, but not lost

    | June 8, 2012
    Recent weather contributed to a high tide that reached the Picture Post positioned at the Little River mouth at the end of Laudholm Beach. Luckily, even though the post lost its perfect vertical alignment, it wasn't washed away. …
  • A wet start to June!

    | June 6, 2012

    We saw a cold and wet start to the month of June here in Southern Maine. I thought I would share some SWMP data from a few of our stations to illustrate how weather can significantly impact the water quality of our estuaries

  • Dragon's Mouth in the Bog

    | June 6, 2012 | Filed under: Observations

    Dragon's mouth is a perennial herb in the orchid family that blooms in the bog along the Muskie Trail.

  • Chestnut Trees Arrive at the Wells Reserve

    | May 31, 2012 | Filed under: Program Activities

    Twenty chestnut trees arrived at the reserve in May for planting in the Yankee Woodlot.

  • International Migratory Bird Day 2012

    | May 22, 2012

    Bird walkOur International Migratory Bird Day celebration on May 12 offered myriad activities for visitors of all ages. The event kicked off with a bird walk. Many warbler species were observed, including the rare Worm-eating Warbler.?June Ficker and her faithful team of volunteers demonstrated their bird-banding process all morning, allowing visitors to carefully release the captured birds once the data collection was complete. Special guests Allison and Jeffrey Wells, authors of the new book Maine's Favorite Birds, gave a presentation about migratory birds followed by a book signing.

  • Life after the Wells Reserve: An Americorps Member Update

    Wells Reserve Contributor | May 4, 2012

    Emily Thornton, MCC AmericorpsI cannot believe its been six months since I left the Wells Reserve at the end of my MCC term. Last November, having spent the summer and fall gaining valuable field experience, I headed home to pursue my next career goal: admission to graduate school. It was a daunting but surprisingly natural transition, as my experiences at the Reserve prepared me well for this next phase.

  • Arendt Workshop Draws Folks from Midcoast, Keene, and Between

    | April 16, 2012

    Last Thursday 44 participants from 12 towns in Maine and New Hampshire along with local businesses, regional and state planners, and non-profits attended the Coastal Training Program's Strengthening Town Centers and Transforming Commercial Corridors workshop with Randall Arendt.

  • Babies On the Way

    | April 5, 2012
    May is expected to be baby month around here, so staff (along with a few volunteers and interns) got together yesterday to wish well the first-time parents-to-be. Among the gifts showered upon Annie Cox and Sarah and Jeremy Miller were these creative blankets crafted by office manager Joyce Shea. (That yummy-looking carrot cake was the work of Jane Smith, with husband Tin's teasing sentiment expressed in true-blue…
  • Research Intern Building on Reserve Experience

    | April 3, 2012 | Filed under: Culture

    In the summer of 2009, Marissa Hammond came to us as a wide-eyed freshman with little experience in research science. She has blossomed into a NOAA scholarship award winner who has been accepted into a highly respected graduate program in fisheries management and policy.

  • Winged Wednesday XXIV: A Barnacle

    | March 7, 2012 | Filed under: Observations

    When birder Brian Harris photographed a Barnacle Goose on the Moody marsh, he documented a new species for both the Rachel Carson refuge and the reserve. For the reserve, this would be species number 265.