Finally!

Sunday lived up to its name. Monday and Tuesday followed suit. I think we set a new record for rain-less days!

In celebration I headed for Pushaw Lake each evening to paddle. Sunsets Sunday and Monday were spectacular – Monday’s particularly so with the nearly full moon opposite an orange halo-encircled orb. The early evening temperature was warm and the sky was decorated here and there with pink cotton candy clouds. Monday evening’s steady winds kept the mosquitoes and black flies at away.

I timed my return leg so I could watch the rising moon and falling sun over each shoulder and be on open water where I could watch both. More than once I stopped just to drift and drink in the beauty and bob on the waves.

Tuesday evening I was back at the lake, this time with the beginner paddlers I told you about last week. It was graduation night and to celebrate we stayed out on the water until after dark to watch the sun set and the full moon rise. We congregated off the beach on Moose Island to practice side draws and we had only one kayak capsize during this practice. It was near shore and the water was warm and we all got a bit of a chuckle as well as a teaching/learning moment out of it.

Summer is here, school is out and now we begin the march toward fall with each day getting a little shorter -talk about a bummer, Dude. It’s best to make bundles of plans and fill up each day so we won’t notice, huh?

Last Saturday morning’s rain ended in time for Orland River Day’s annual celebration. I’ve accompanied my paddling friend Karen Francoeur of Castine Kayak Adventures to this event for three years now. We help lead a kayak and canoe contingent from the Craig Brook fish hatchery on Alamoosook Lake to the dam at the northwest corner and then down the Narramissic River to the center of Orland where the day’s festivities take place. Our magical excursion is billed as the Alewife Eco Tour.

Consistent with the preceding week’s weather and last year’s weather on the same day, it rained at the beginning of the paddle, but stopped in short order.

We were watched by an eagle soaring overhead and a contingent of ospreys. I think I saw around a dozen throughout the day. A beaver made his way across the river in front of us, and there was a wide assortment of songbirds, sundry red-winged blackbirds and at least one small hawk. As she has for the previous two years, Cheri Domina, formerly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and now with WERU, accompanied us and pointed out the river wildlife.

This year’s River Day, the third annual, was better attended than last, from my observation. A full day’s worth of activities were planned to appeal to all ages. There were craft displays and plenty of food as well as boat displays and live music throughout the day. We put on a short kayak rescue demonstration on the water, while the annual raft race/regatta provided entertainment for all, both on and off the water. Old Town Canoe provided a truck-load of small kayaks for anyone to try.

As usual, Alvion Kimball, owner of the Orland House, provided the running commentary over the public address system. He actually did a great job of reiterating to the audience what Francoeur was saying while on the water demonstrating kayak rescues. Kimball, I learned Saturday, and his brother, John of Brooksville, attended Winchester High School in Winchester, Mass., as did I, about the same time as each other. Alvion graduated a year ahead of me and his brother graduated a year after me.

MITA volunteers talking trash

My friends at Maine Island Trail Association wrote to fill me in on this year’s island cleanup campaign, the 18th annual one, which by their account was impressive. Tom Franklin, director of marketing and membership said and “unusually impressive amount of sea-borne trash was collected from Maine coastal islands by volunteers” during the spring cleanup that ended in Machiasport June 11.

Dave Mention, trail director, said that “although the organization does not rigorously measure the amount of debris and junk that it removes from the islands it was the impression of many volunteers with years of experience that this year’s haul was one of the largest ever. In all, 42 volunteers working 380 hours over several weekends collected 204 bags of trash, 13 tires and one propane tank.”

“At South Addison, for example, local lobstermen were astounded by the sight of MITA’s large pick-up truck and a trailered boat nearly overflowing with bags of trash removed in a day from only two islands by nine volunteers, for most of whom the day’s work was an annual contribution to maintaining the beauty of Maine’s coastal islands and many mainland sites. MITA manages and stewards 75 trail islands on Maine’s coast from Portland to the New Brunswick border and an additional 53 mainland sites for use by the public and its members. Each Spring and Fall MITA organizes clean-ups by its volunteer members who are transported to the islands in MITA boats manned by volunteer skippers,” Mention said.

MITA is funded almost entirely by its members and private donors and directs the efforts of more than 200 volunteers each year. MITA manages and stewards the 48 public islands for the good of the public; there are an additional 74 private island and mainland sites in the Trail system as well. Private island owners voluntarily open their islands to MITA members, relying on MITA members’ reputation for responsible use and generous stewardship programs. MITA membership is $45/year ($65/family); MITA may be reached at info@mita.org, 207-761-8225.

Jordan Cliff Trail, cliff opened

I heard from the folks at Acadia National Park that the Jordan Cliff Trail and cliff have been opened to hikers, according to Superintendent Sheridan Steele. The pair of peregrine falcons that had occupied the site since late February were determined to have failed in their nesting attempt and in maintaining a breeding territory. Biologists were unable to provide specific information for the failure. The trail was closed in March to support ongoing recovery efforts for peregrine falcons in Maine, which is listed as an Endangered Species under the Maine Endangered Species Act.

Sheridan wrote that “Nesting birds can be inadvertently disturbed or harassed by visitors hiking and climbing on trails or cliffs near the nests or by park operational activities occurring within these same areas. Research has shown that nesting falcons are particularly vulnerable to human disturbance originating immediately above or below the nesting area or directed at the nest site. Continued disturbances can lead to chick mortality or complete nest failure, which further slows the recovery of the species in Maine. The closures of the trails during the nesting season have proven to be successful judging by the large number of chicks that have been raised from nesting territories on cliffs within Acadia National Park.”

In the meantime, the cliffs at the Precipice and Valley Cove will remain closed to protect the nesting activities of falcons at these sites, Steele said. Biologists expect the Precipice and East Face trails to open in late July and the Valley Cove Trail in early August. Additional information about the peregrine recovery program and cliff or trail closures is available at the parks visitor center and headquarters.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.