American Toad

When we’re home in Texas and we see a large toad we know it’s always going to be a Gulf Coast Toad because that’s the common toad in Texas. So, when we saw a big toad here in the park, our first thought was “Gulf Coast Toad.” Then we realized we’re 2000 miles from the Gulf Coast!

A quick look at the field guild told us that what we were seeing was an American Toad, the common toad in Maine.
--Mark

Aroostook Bird Club Birdwalk

We joined the local bird club for a birdwalk at Lake Josephine and Christina Reservoir. They had a big turnout. Our goal was shore birds. We didn't see very many but we did see lots of ducks and yellow warblers. Everyone was very friendly. We had a great time.





We also got great looks at this beautiful fox!




The end!

Still Pout'n

Between rain storms we are able to get in a little hornpout fishing. After spending about $130 for two, out of state, fishing license, we would like to fish more but it rains almost every day!

One of the locals told us that hornpout love chicken livers. They were right! We catch 20-30 in a couple of hours. Some of them are quite small, but still fun to catch.




We experimented with other bait such as cheese - we didn’t even get a nibble; Rubbery fake worms - Mark caught a few; Real worms - the hornpout like the real worms almost as much as chicken livers!

Fishing is a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours in the evening. Echo Lake, here in the park, is really beautiful. We see Canada Geese, Mallard ducks, and every once in a while a Loon.


Mallard Ducks

157th Annual Northern Maine Fair

We went to the 157th Annual Northern Maine Fair here in Presque Isle. We like to go to these kinds of things when we’re in small towns. They’re usually a lot of fun!



We watched harness racing:




Saw lots of barn animals:




Looked at giant farm equipment:



Looked at all the food and hand craft contests:


Quilts and potatoes

The Marvelous Mutts show:



It was a lot of fun watching these rescued/pound dogs. They were having a great time too!

The Lucky Bob Show:



This guy was hilarious! He did card tricks, told jokes and lots of juggling.

And, of course, food!



You might have noticed the dark clouds in some of the pictures. We were lucky that the rain held off until we got home.

Kayaks on Presque Isle Stream

One of the perks of volunteering at the park is that we get to use the kayaks. The park has a couple of nice kayaks that they have borrowed from the University of Maine in Presque Isle.



There is a real nice stream (Presque Isle Stream) not too far from the park. We took the kayaks out one morning for a couple of hours and went about 4 miles.



There wasn’t much current and just a little breeze. It was a lot of fun, very peaceful and relaxing.

We even did a little birding! We saw lots of Cedar Waxwings, Kingfishers and Crows.

Great Wass Island Preserve

Continuation of Vacation Day 5 - Yep, I'm still blogging Day 5! - it was a very eventful day. After the Puffin trip we drove out to Great Wass Island Preserve.



Great Wass Island Preserve was acquired by the Nature Conservancy in 1978. It is 1,576 acres. The island projects farther out to sea than any other land mass in eastern Maine. The waters of the Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy meet here.

We walked the entire loop (5.5 miles) The Little Cape Point Trail (2 miles) leads to the shore at Cape Cove and Little Cape Point. It winds through deep moss-floored spruce and fir forests interspersed with open ledges of jack pine.

Once we got to the shore, we spent a while resting (some of us got a little more comfortable than others)!




The views were spectacular!







After following the rocky shore for about a mile, we found the Mud Hole Point trail where we walked about 1.5 miles to finish our hike.



Day 6 (and last day) of our vacation was spent at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. We spent a delightful morning with Carolyn on a personal tour of the refuge. Her knowledge of the plants, mushrooms, lichens, etc. is amazing. We had a fabulous time and ended the visit with lunch in Calais, with Wally joining us.


Atlantis Fritillary


Brasenia

Vacation Day 5 continued - Harbor and Gray Seals

We saw several of these butterballs while we were going out to Petit Manan Island. They seemed pretty curious.

Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina)
Classified as true seals (lacking both external ears and the ability to rotate their hind flippers forward). When moving on land, they must flop along on their belly.

Harbor seals do not migrate like some other seals. They are able to dive to almost 1,500 feet and stay submerged for more than 20 minutes.

On land they typically lay in a “banana like” posture with their head and tail both lifted.





Gray Seal (Halichoerus grypus)

Gray Seals are the largest seal on the east coast. Males have an elongated “Roman nose”. They are more agile on land than other true seals.