Audubon Center notebook

Mouse shows climbing skills

ORRINGTON – While nobody likes to see a mouse in their house, out in the wild at the Fields Pond Audubon Center they can be quite intriguing and cute.

Along the tree line at the edge of one of our fields, we recently saw an active little deer mouse running along the stones of the rock wall. With bulging black eyes and big round ears, this little mouse epitomized the mice of storybooks.

We followed the mouse as it traveled nearly 30 feet up and over stone, leaf and stick obstacles. Much to our surprise, rather than darting into one of the many crevices and holes in the stone wall, the little mouse ran up the side of a tree! While we know mice can climb, it is always a special treat to see an animal doing what they are reported to be capable of.

We hope the little mouse stayed in the tree for at least a few hours. That evening the Holden Fire Department came to burn one of our adjacent fields. We worry some about the little creatures that might be displaced or hurt by burning the field, but the evidence of only minor damage resulting from the burn has eased our collective psyches.

This spring we hope to see a lush field, bursting with grasses and wildflowers. Such a result would more than make up for the short-term damage done by the controlled burn. Many thanks to the Holden Fire Department for a professional operation.

The ground is quite wet around the Nature Center and there are areas where, as you walk, you can still feel the frost underneath gently give way. It offers the unique feeling of walking on sponges. The wet ground made it a little difficult to get certain areas of the field to burn, but that wet condition is just what some spring creatures depend upon.

The wood frog is one. Standing outside at dusk, watching the firefighters in action, we were treated to the unmistakable “quacking” of the wood frogs coming from our small pond. The single calls of the wood frogs soon became a chorus as daylight waned. At the same time, up on the hillside, two barred owls hooted to each other. First a low voice then a higher voice. Were they discussing what was going on in their hunting field? We can only guess. Coming from Fields Pond we also heard the laughing call of a returning loon.

Other sightings this week included activity from our resident woodchuck and chipmunk – two ground squirrels that have slept away much of the winter. A bluebird was sighted perched by the parking lot, a phoebe has been announcing its presence outside the office windows, and a couple of tree swallows were chortling and swooping about in the back field.

Song sparrows are singing up a storm, and in the brush pile a weasel was sighted wearing its spring combination coat of white and brown. With mud season comes a wealth of life returning. Enjoy every spring sight and sound.

Send sightings, comments, or questions to fieldspond@maineaudubon.org