August in the Backcountry of Seney National Wildlife Refuge

8/1/2017

Today I took a ride in the back country of the Refuge as I was collecting counter numbers. It seems that many of our early summer flowers have started to seed and the late summer flowers are starting to bloom.

I started at the Visitor Center and drove to the Wigwams then finally up to Driggs River Road where I began to make observations.

The goldenrods are in bloom now or at least starting to bloom. I wish I could tell them apart but they are so difficult. I think I have 2 species mostly down and with little effort I can identify them (grass-leaved goldenrod and Canada goldenrod). Beyond that I have trouble. I need some sort of non-botanist identification key because I always get bogged down in the terminology and give up.

I saw a lot of monarchs but did not make an observation because I couldn't get a photo. The milkweeds are starting to sinesse. I think I read that scientists speculate when this starts to happen a change happens in the development of the monarch caterpillar and it is what may cause the monarch to have it's migratory generation.

There were deer? flies following the car, a whole cloud of them. Every time I opened the window to take a picture a few would fly inside. I only got out a few times because they were so intimidating and they would if not attack one or two would land and bite.

I saw several wood ducks. The males are in eclipse plumage right now and stick out because of their reddish orange beak. A few trumpeter swans. The pairs I saw today had no cygnets with them but I have seen several cygnets on the Refuge. I wonder why not in these locations? Canada geese galore. I finally saw the loon on A Pool and it had 2 chicks. This was the first time I saw in it a long time. Noted a few belted kingfishers, ring-necked ducks, mallards, and 2 great blue herons (I wish I would have seen them earlier because it would have made a great photo but they flew away before I could get the camera). I made an eBird post of the sightings.

I also looked at a few lichens. I am pretty sure they are all reindeer lichens. There were at least 3 colors but I am not sure if this delineates different species or if they are the same species. I would think different species but I am just not sure.

At the end of the trip I stopped and looked at a patch of milkweed and noticed a few little flies there. Some of them were metallic looking. I did manage to get a photo so hopefully someone can help me identify it.

Posted on August 2, 2017 12:17 PM by rangersara