Amazing Nature!

Sunset at the Bangor Municipal Golf Course

Sunset on our way out of the City Forest, Kittridge Road

An amazing Sunset, Saxl Park, Bangor, Maine

Blueberry flowers

Asters

Some small mushrooms

Pyxie Cups

Some tiny red mushrooms

Unknown to me Mushrooms

Porcupine!

A killdeer faning a broken wing.

A Killdeer

A wild turkey hen crosses the road.  Right after, a flock of her large babies fly across.

Wild turkey- Bangor City Forest

Great Blue Heron in the Kenduskeag Stream- Bangor, Maine

Great Blue Heron flies down stream

Sandy Point State Park, Osprey and Cormorant nesting

An Osprey guarding the nest.

An Osprey

A Raven in the Bangor City Forest- They nest right near the Orono Boardwalk entrance.

The parents were teaching there young how to fly better.

Or they were just out on a family outing and decided to show the young ones what dogs are.

Bald Eagle over Pushaw Lake, Glenburn Beach side

Again, another Bald Eagle in Glenburn, Maine

A Loon in Pushaw Lake

Sandy Point State Park, a little lopsided, but a beautiful day with fog  present

Autumn at the pond at the Bangor City Forest

Lover's Leap on the Kenduskeag Stream, Bangor, Maine

A Great Blue Heron flying over us at Sandy Point.

Lightening Strikes!

Look at the damage done to this tree by lightening

It came right down the side of this tree

Chris stands next to a large splinter that we found stuck in the ground!  The lightening threw large splinters like this all over the area.

You can see how the lightening just peeled down the middle of the tree.

And left a deep crack that went all the way to the bottom of this tall tree.

  Here are some more large splinters

Another huge splinter thrown off this tree.

Below is Rosie standing next to the splinter that shot into the ground.

There were a few powerful storms that went through the area this past summer, bringing with them not so much thunder and lightening, but also powerful winds.  We would go to the forest a day after and see all this large and small trees that had just toppled over, roots and all.  We had a very wet year, and the stream in the City Forest actually overflowed, rushing water OVER the bridge and down the other side to make its way down to the bog.  The bridge, reinforced with large granite rectangular stones were moved slightly, but the earth on either side of the stones had an eroded path from the water flowing down the side.

My friend and I, faithful dog walkers at these woods, were caught in a couple of terrential down pours and the water that accumulated and puddled on the road turned into a virtual river (though not a very deep one.)

Here is one such down pour with the water gathering on the dirt road.  It was quite deep.

Spring has Sprung!

Dogs have a Real Paws-on approach to enjoying Nature!

Rowena and her Puggle friend, Chloe enjoy a wet game of tag in the Bangor City Forest's many vernal pools and swampy areas.

Rowena sets an attractive pose in the wilds of the Bangor City Forest.

Rowena's first swim of the season! Finally the ice has totally melted! This photo was taken at the pond where the Red-winged Blackbirds were chillin in the tree. (Below)

A set of Red-winged Blackbirds hang out in a tree that is beginning to grown its new leaves for the 2008 year. These birds are so common one would ask why I would bother to take a picture of them. They are the first ones I have seen this year! And they really love this spot near a swampy pond area in the Bangor City Forest.

The Penobscot River is flowing very strong this spring... so strong that the water is swirling all over the surface in whirlpools on whirlpools! Rosie (my service dog) wishes she didn't have to be leashed when she plays in this river (under a big bridge where the Kenduskeag empties out), but even in the protected cove where I take her, the water is too strong for her weak swimming.
Rowena at her swim spot under the bridge on the Penobscot River. Behind her and to the left the Kenduskeag Stream empties out into the bigger Penobscot. Destination: the Atlantic Ocean! (Same place her tennis ball that day went!)

2 sets of Red-Breasted Mergansers:

These are one of the fasted flying ducks, having been clocked at 100mph! Both males and females have ragged crests (on their heads). These 2 couples were spotted in Rockland, Maine of the Breakwater.

First Mallard spotted in this spring season! This male enjoys the spring overflow of a stream in the Bangor City Forest. The Mallard is one of the best known waterfowl in the world and can be found wherever shallow freshwater occurs (some even in salt marshes and bays).

Great Cormorants:

These two water birds are bobbing about in the end of Kenduskeag Stream that empties out into the Penobscot River in Bangor, Maine. Cormorants are awesome swimmers and divers and has been found as deep as a hundred feet below the surface. The Penobscot was flowing so strongly that the Cormorants swimming there were basically there for the ride, swiftly floating down stream in the currents. Another northern Atlantic Cormorant is the Double-Crested Cormorant.

Male Downy Woodpecker:

Bangor City Forest in March. This bird is the smallest woodpecker in North America and is found all over most of the continent. This guy was claiming this tree. He was hammering away, climbing up and down, around and around this dead tree. It was difficult to catch this one on film!

Female, Black -Backed Woodpecker:

Formally known as the Black-Backed Three- toed Woodpecker, this bird shares the 3 toes with th Three- toed Woodpecker. The difference is that this bird lacks the white on the back. Males have a more solid yellow cap than the three-toed as well. Both this woodpecker and the one above (Hairy) they call a single, sharp pick or chik depending on how you translate it. These birds are often quiet though. These woodpeckers are less common than the Hairy shown above. I am happy to say that the Bangor City Forest is home to some!