Mount Desert Island Nature Calendar
part of the
Champlain Project - P. O. Box 400 - Southwest Harbor, ME 04679
info@vfthomas.com - 207-266-5748
(updated 7 February 2011)
Welcome to the Nature Calendar.
This page summarizes, month by month, Mount Desert Island's natural history events (arrival/departure of seasonal birds, first flowering of plants, etc.) and is updated from observations of many contributors to the Champlain Project.
How to contribute to this web site.
Observations should be e-mailed to info@vfthomas.com or sent by traditional mail to Champlain Project Nature Calendar; P. O. Box 400; Southwest Harbor, ME 04679.
January
new moon
4 January 2011
full moon
19 January 2011
February
new moon
2 February 2011
full moon
18 February 2011
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) - first territorial songs
20 February (2010 - Bar Harbor)
March
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) - arrival
2 March (2010 - Eagle Lake Road / Route 233, Bar Harbor)
22 March (2009 - Route 233, Bar Harbor)
26 March (2008 - Route 233, Bar Harbor)
new moon
4 March 2011
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) - departure
18 February (2010 - Bass Harbor)
3 March (2008 - Bass Harbor)
8 March (2009 - Bass Harbor)
American Woodcock (Scolopax minor) - arrival
13 March (2008 - near Brookside Cemetery, Somesville)
30 March (2009 - Seawall Road, Southwest Harbor)
Mourning Cloak (butterfly) (Nymphalis antiopa) - first sighting
17 March (2010 - lower portion of Beachcroft Trail (leading to Huguenot Head), Bar Harbor)
full moon
19 March 2011
vernal equinox
20 March 2011 (2:21 p.m. Eastern Standard Time = 3:21 p.m. Daylight Savings Time)
Speckled Alder (Alnus incana) - shedding pollen
20 March (2010 - near south side of Beaver Dam Pond, Bar Harbor)
6 April (2008 - Park Loop Road, near Precipice parking lot, Bar Harbor)
Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) - vocalizing
22 March (2010 - Route 102A, near Gray Barn Road, Bass Harbor)
4 April (2009 - Lighthouse Road, Bass Harbor)
Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) - arrival
28 March (2008 - Frenchman's Hill Road, Town Hill)
April
Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) - vocalizing
1 April (2010 - wetland southeast of intersection of Route 102A and Gray Barn Road, Bass Harbor)
4 April (2009 - Lighthouse Road, Bass Harbor)
Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens) - in flower
1 April (2010 - Kurt Diedrich Trail, Bar Harbor)
Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense) - visible above ground
1 April (2010 - Gray Barn Road, Bass Harbor)
new moon
3 April 2011
Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinerea) - road crossing (moving to breeding area)
3 April (2009 - Birchwood Lane, Bass Harbor)
Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculata) - road crossing (moving to breeding area)
3 April (2009 - Birchwood Lane, Bass Harbor)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) - arrival
3 April (2008 - Crooked Road, Bar Harbor)
5 April (2008 - Bass Harbor Marsh, Southwest Harbor / Tremont)
7 April (2010 - Bass Harbor Marsh, Southwest Harbor / Tremont)
14 April (2009 - Bass Harbor Marsh, Southwest Harbor / Tremont)
Meadowsweet (Spiraea alba var. latifolia) - leaf bud break
4 April (2010 - Gray Barn Road, Bass Harbor)
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) - arrival
7 April (2010 - Gray Barn Road, Bass Harbor)
9 April (2008 - Big Moose Road, Bass Harbor)
10 April (2008 - Great Meadow Loop, Bar Harbor)
10 April (2009 - Gray Barn Road, Bass Harbor)
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) - arrival
10 April (2009 - Bass Harbor Marsh)
full moon
17 April 2011
Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum) - arrival
17 April (2008 - Frenchman's Hill Road, Town Hill)
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - arrival
17 April (2008 - Town Hill)
Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) - shedding pollen
18 April (2008 - Great Meadow Loop, Bar Harbor)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) - arrival
20 April (1996 - Great Head, Bar Harbor)
Cabbage White (butterfly) (Pieris rapae) - first sighting
20 April (2010 - Gray Barn Road, Bass Harbor)
Northern Flicker (Tachycineta bicolor) - arrival
25 April (2009 - Route 102A, Bass Harbor)
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana) - arrival
25 April (2008 - Frenchman's Hill Road, Town Hill)
Yellow-rumped warbler (Dendroica coronata) - arrival
28 April (2009 - near Beaver Dam Pond, Bar Harbor)
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) - arrival
30 April (2009 - Bass Harbor Marsh)
May
new moon
3 May 2011
Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus) - arrival
5 May (2010 - Babson Creek Refuge, Mount Desert)
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) - departure
10 May (2010 - Bass Harbor)
30 April (2009 - Bass Harbor)
27 April (2008 - Bass Harbor)
full moon
17 May 2011
June
new moon
1 June 2011
full moon
15 June 2011
summer solstice
21 June 2011 (8:16 a.m. Eastern Standard Time = 9:16 a.m. Daylight Savings Time)
July
new moon
1 July 2011
full moon
15 July 2011
new moon
30 July 2011
August
full moon
13 August 2011
new moon
28 August 2011
September
full moon
12 September 2011
autumnal equinox
23 September 2011 (12:04 a.m. Eastern Standard Time = 1:04 a.m. Daylight Davings Time)
new moon
27 September 2011
October
full moon
11 October 2011
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) - arrival
19 October (2008 - Bass Harbor)
20 October (2009 - Bass Harbor)
26 October (2007 - Bass Harbor)
30 October (2010 - Bass Harbor)
new moon
26 October 2011
November
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) - arrival
9 November (2009 - Bass Harbor)
14 November (2010 - Bass Harbor)
18 November (2008 - Bass Harbor)
24 November (2007 - Bass Harbor)
full moon
10 November 2011
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) - departure
22 November (2007 - Bass Harbor)
9 November (2009 - Bass Harbor)
1 November (2008 - Bass Harbor)
new moon
25 November 2011
December
full moon
10 December 2011
winter solstice
21 December 2011 (8:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time)
new moon
24 December 2011