Delimited Site Visit #8 - The Junk Pond
June 7, 2018, Evergreen Cemetery, Portland, ME
Before school I headed over to check my Delimited Site. I parked on Bishop St and walked right over to the Junk Pond. It was 5:55a when I got to the pond and I stayed for about 20 minutes.
It was a very overcast morning, lots of mist and everything had a very wet feel to it. Given the overgrown feeling of the plants, and the moist air, the site had a very jungle feel this morning. The first thing that struck me upon entering was how much the JAPANESE KNOTWEED had grown since my last visit. The FALSE SOLOMON'S SEAL was still blooming and SENSITIVE FERN is growing up everywhere. The MORROW'S HONEYSUCKLE was also still blooming.
Near the back of the site there was buttercups in bloom and a good amount of CINNAMON FERN. The EUROPEAN LILY OF THE VALLEY had completely passed, as well as the WILD GERMANIUM, but the CANADIAN MAYFLOWER and NORTHERN BLUE FLAG was still blooming.
I had a GREAT BLUE HERON flyover. I've never seen a GREAT BLUE HERON in the Junk Pond. I think that it is too small for their liking.
Initially I didn't see any ducks but what I did find was a huge SNAPPING TURTLE walking down the trail. Clearly out of the water to lay eggs. I guessed that its shell was at least 1.24' long and about a 1' wide. After looking for a while I did finally find the mother MALLARD and the two remaining juveniles, who were almost completely covered in mud.
As always there were EASTERN CHIPMUNKS, RED, and GREY SQUIRRELS in the area.
Finally, even given the early hour there was a lot of noise pollution from the city.
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