Category: Out in the Woods

Out in the Woods

A lumbering porcupine leaves a unique trail as its stubby legs and stocky body plow through a recent snow at the McKeon Reserve to get from its den to some tasty hemlock trees. Photo: Kevin McKeon Porcupines: Our Mostly Prickly Neighbors By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist Porcupines haven’t always lived in Maine – their ancestors migrated north from South America some 130,000 years ago – but you can hardly say they’re “from away.” These familiar, slow-moving creatures are second…

Out in the Woods

Gall Fly galls on Goldenrod stems Photo: thekeepershouse Goldenrod Gall Fly By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist With summer’s greenery mostly gone, winter walks can reveal hidden life. Quiet your gait a bit and look in meadows, forest openings, and along trail sides and road ditches for last summer’s goldenrod stems; the easily noticed bulges on the stems are created by the larvae of the Goldenrod Gall Fly, Eurosta solidagnis, and the Goldenrod Gall Moth, Gnorimoschema gallaesolidaginis. The male fly…

Out in the Woods

Eastern coyotes are part wolf, part dog. Photo: Forest William Kohr Our Coyotes a Mixed Breed By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist Was it a dog, a wolf, or a coyote that you heard or saw? Well, yes it was. Recent DNA studies found that the average eastern coyote, Canis latrans x C. lycaon, is 64% western coyote, 26% wolf, and 10% domestic dog. They’re a relative newcomer around here, originating in Southeastern Canada in 1919, then migrating to the…

Out in the Woods

A rhododendron bush near Deering Pond shows thermonastic leaf response to winter’s cold. Thermonasty: Is My Rhododendron OK? Photo: Kevin McKeon By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist Many of Sanford’s trails lead us along areas where bushes and ground plants peek above the snow cover, showing that they’re still green. Some of these evergreens have evolved interesting adaptations to survive the cold. One of these adaptations is called thermonasty, and rhododendrons display this effect boldly. When winter’s temperature drops, especially…

Out in the Woods

Intermediate, Christmas, and marginal ferns The Many Faces of Winter Ferns Photo: Kevin McKeon By Kevin McKeon, Maine Master Naturalist During our winter walks, we can see that some ferns keep their greenery to remind us that there’s much life still happening in the woods during the winter. In New England, there are four common evergreen ferns: polypody, Christmas, marginal wood, and intermediate wood ferns. The first on our list is the polypody, or rock cap fern. This small fern…