NATURE NOTES FROM ACADIA

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

On October 22 a flock of 150 to 200 Robins, dimly outlined in a heavy fog, were buffetted by a strong wind which swept over the summit of Cadillac Mountain. For a while the birds made no headway, in fact at times they were blown clear out of their course. It is a sight such as this which makes one realize that the migration of birds is often accompanied by great hardships, not only the obstacles presented by inclement weather en route, but many other trials may be met with.

- Louis R. Fowler
Temporary Park Ranger

Are there any days in any region as colorful and as mellow as the ripe drowsy Indian summer days in Acadia? Crisp frosty mornings, clear blue skies, a haze in the air which softens the bold bright colors of the deciduous woodlands and intensifies the hue of the purple distances, leaves and seeds falling before the harvester winds and piling up in hollows and windrows everywhere, migrating birds, blossoming witch-hazel, and a hustle and bustle everywhere out-of-doors in preparation for our long northern winter. You should come to Acadia in October, the Leaf-falling Moon, and witness for yourself this pageant of autumn.

On September 18, Park Ranger O. Y. Thompson and I found evidences near Young's Mountain where the White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) had already begun to rub the dead velvet from their antlers. It is interesting that the original color of all antlers is pure white, the usual stained brown color being the result of the animal rubbing his head adornment against trees and shrubs.

On the cold and cloudy afternoon of October 24, a light snow, the first of the season, was reported on the summit of Cadillac Mt. Next day the weather grew still colder and a strong wind swept some snow flurries over the mountains as well as through the lowlands in Acadia National Park.

Our young Bald Eagle, whose permanently injured wing necessitated his confinement from the time he was discovered in a helpless condition in the woods, was taken to a new home on October 30. He had been our treasured charge for almost four and one-half months, but, knowing that he could not survive being out-of-doors throughout the winter, the bird was placed in the good hands of Mr. Archie Pratt, owner of the Stanwood Park Zoological Garden at Farmington, Maine. Although we very much disliked to part company with "Baldy," we realized that no one was better able to care for his wants than Mr. Pratt, a great lover of animals. But we are not through with the eagle, for already we are looking forward to the time when we can visit him in his new home and stroke his noble feathered head as of old.

- Temporary Park Naturalist