Globe points explorers to Wells Reserve
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-06-17
Last Sunday’s Boston Sunday Globe featured the Wells Reserve in “Just a Tank Away,” right up front in Explore New England.
Take a walk on the quiet side at [Wells Reserve], adjacent to, but a world away from, the hubbub of Maine’s Wells Beach.
Did you see the mention? Will you take the Globe's advice?
Doing the tick tuck
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-06-13
In today’s Portland Press Herald, Josie Huang reports in Lyme disease threat comes back strong that winter went easy on deer ticks and the little critters are especially abundant this spring.
Regulars at the Wells Reserve know it’s a hot spot for Ixodes scapularis and most plan their trail walks accordingly. In this image, the hiker on the left demonstrates a couple of key ways to minimize the chance that a tick will get under her skin. The hiker on the right is poorly prepared for prevention.
- Tuck pant legs into socks, so ticks climb up your legs outside instead of inside, and
- Wear light-colored clothing, so the dark ticks are easier to spot and remove.
It’s the deer tick nymph, mainly active now through July, that imposes the greatest risk of passing Lyme disease, so take precautions and you can still enjoy the beauty of Wells Reserve trails with a bit less worry.
For more facts on ticks in Maine, we recommend the Maine Medical Center Research Institute website.
Tiny Orchids
Hannah Wilhelm ~ 2008-06-10
While walking the Wells Reserve trails this spring, naturalist Paul Miliotis discovered a tiny but beautiful orchid hiding under a skunk cabbage leaf. A group of us we went back to see the orchid, called early coralroot, Corallorhiza trifida, which was almost invisible before we got down on our knees on the boardwalk, and take a picture of its short yellowish stalks with tongue-like flowers. No leaves were visible, and C. trifida doesn’t really need them, because it is saprophytic, meaning that all its nourishment comes through symbiosis with the mycorrhizal fungi that form a vast underground network through healthy forest soils. Even plants that get energy through photosynthesis, such as oak trees and grapevines, gain resilience through their linkages to mycorrhizae. I was surprised but delighted by this find. Although C. trifida is a persistent plant (it is found in moist forests throughout the Northern US and Canada), it is rarely seen.
Winged Wednesday XVI: Snow Buntings
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-02-27
The pattern strengthens over time. Twice a year, in November and February, the Wells Reserve parking lot and adjacent grassy areas attract a small number of Snow Buntings. Without surveilling the area more regularly than I do, it’s hard to say whether they’re around every day. Whenever they do appear, it’s a brightening experience.
The four that were pecking through sandy puddles and winter-worn weeds this morning provided a “life bird” for one lucky visitor. As spring approaches, I expect the opportunity for others to find them in the vicinity is getting short.
Have you observed Snow Buntings here?
Winged Wednesday XV: The Return
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-01-03
Time flies. It’s nearly a year since the last Winged Wednesday.
My 2007 quest for “99 Common Birds” has ended 19 species shy of the goal, even though I compiled a list of 112 species at the Wells Reserve during the year. It is an interesting coincidence that I also tallied just 80 of the 99 so-called common species during 2006.
Most of my misses in ‘06 were ticked in ‘07, but once again it is clear that had I gone afield specifically to find the 99 I would have been more successful than letting the ticks fall where they may.
Now another fresh start. See you on the trails?
Did you list your Wells Reserve sightings in 2007?
Northern Blazing Star Discovered at Wells Reserve
Sue Bickford ~ 2007-11-15
While marking fields for mowing on the newly acquired Lord Parcel this past August, Reserve Manager Paul Dest was thrilled to discover two stems of the showy yet threatened native plant, the Northern Blazing Star. Paul made sure the lonely stalks were well marked to avoid being mowed over.
Monarch on Northern Blazing Star at Wells Reserve
The Northern Blazing Star ( Liatris scaiosa ) is a member of the aster family. It likes dry open grassy habitat and thrives in sandy barrens. It is at its northern most limit in Southern Maine and is found as far south as New Jersey. The largest population anywhere is located quite close by in the Kennebunk Plains. It truly lives up to its name in late July and early August, when the vibrant flowers turn the Plains ablaze in purple.
It may be numerous on the Kennebunk Plains, but actually the Northern Blazing Star is imperiled. This beautiful plant is listed as Threatened in Maine, Endangered in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and of Special Concern in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
One factor is that it prefers early successional open space and particularly likes habitat subjected to periodic fires. Since natural _fires have been widely suppressed and most open habitat is left to grow into mature forest, this special need of the Northern Blazing star requires special management practices. The Kennebunk Plains is actively managed for the Northern Blazing Star by the Nature Conservancy who regularly schedules controlled burns.
Burned Area at Kennebunk Plains and Fire Technicians at Work
This year, while working on a controlled burn in a different field, the fire technicians stopped by the two Liatris stalks and burned an area around each plant to help make it feel at home and hopefully entice them to grow neighbors. This might enable the fields to return to a more native habitat rather than being primarily comprised of introduced agricultural species like it is now.
The Wells Reserve manages open space habitat for a variety of plants and animals. Now we can add the Northern Blazing Star to our list. Who knows, maybe someday soon we will be able to stand at the Webhannet Overlook and see our field ablaze in purple flowers as the late summer sun sets behind the hills.
Late Summer Bloom at Kennebunk Plains