The Wrack

Rain or shine meant rain. Not so much rain, perhaps, as drizzle, but the Forest Learning Shelter provided good cover for a meeting place and starting point for a half-hour walk.Cool, damp, breezy weather kept bird activity to a minimum; no migratory burst in evidence, though a couple of "new" warblers have arrived and the morning list held 20-plus species.…

Today the National Estuarine Research Reserve System adds its 27th site, this one along the coast of Texas. The Mission-Aransas Reserve is the third largest reserve in the system, comprising 185,708 acres of contiguous wetland, terrestrial, and marine environments.

This morning in the rain sang a mimic, repeating phrases once or twice then moving on. The bird was by the pumpkin patch? or maybe in the stand of lilacs. I was on my routine approach to the big house.I had to take a couple of steps toward the sound to enjoy it  and to be sure I wasn't hearing a mockingbird. No: Thrasher. First of the spring.That's this Winged Wednesday. Next one starts a…

Visitors to the Wells Reserve at Laudholm Farm paraded down the Saw-whet Owl Trail, in cadence to folk-bluegrass music, to celebrate the dedication of the new Forest Learning Shelter and Interpretive Trail. Some visitors stood, while others rested on tree stump seats, as Don Somers, Paul Dest, and Sherry Huber spoke of the mission of the Forest Learning Shelter and the importance of educating people to be stewards and good users of the forest.

Four large signs and several smaller ones were installed along the Saw-whet Owl and Farley trails this morning, setting the stage for Earth Day's dedication of the new Forest Learning Shelter.

More singing in the air today. The avian highlight of a brief noontime walk was a Merlin winging northward low over a field beyond the barns.…

Piping Plovers returned to Laudholm Beach by today. They'll likely be with us into August. Let's hope for a productive year here and along the Maine and Atlantic coasts.…

At today's Lunch 'n' Learn, Andy Ballantine told about two dozen people more about dust than most imagined possible. Atmospheric dust can affect the world in powerful or subtle ways, though its effect here in Maine is not thought to be great.

A flock of 45 Canada Geese flew north along the shoreline this morning. Below them, in the Webhannet Marsh along Wells Harbor Road, stood a solitary Great Blue Heron. Somewhere way up, a Tree Swallow scratched out a few notes. They're hints of spring movement that ought to start in earnest any day now. Green-winged Teal, American Black Ducks, Canada Geese, and Mallards were the waterfowl close at hand. Red-…

Midway through March, early signs of vernal reawakening appear at the Wells Reserve.