Flora and Fauna of Bangor City Forest

04/22/2025

In the lull between the earliest blooming Skunk Cabbage and Coltsfoot and the other spring ephemerals, check out the tree flowers. Currently at Bangor City Forest, Trembling Aspen (Populus tremuloides), Red-berried Elder (Sambucus racemosa), P***y Willow (Salix discolor), Beaked Hazel (Corylus cornuta), Maple (Acer rubrum), Speckled Alder (Alnus incana), and Larch (Larix sp.), are among the trees flowering.

04/13/2025

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), non-native and invasive in Maine, is the second flower to bloom at Bangor City Forest. The bright yellow flower, often mistaken for Dandelion, emerges first, and the hoof-like leaves appear after the blossom has gone to seed. Like other early bloomers, Coltsfoot adapts to the unpredictable weather conditions of early spring. The red, hairy scales on the thick stems help insulate the plant and flower heads close when temperatures and sunlight are not ideal for insect pollination. Look for Coltsfoot along road edges, disturbed areas, and parking lots.

04/05/2025

As the snow melts at Bangor City Forest, subnivean tunnels emerge. The tunnels, excavated between the bottom layer of snow and the ground's upper surface, offer warmth, safety, shelter, and travel paths for small mammals during snow-covered months. The Arboretum or the Loop Road field are good places to look for these natural crawlways.

03/04/2025

With the incoming warm weather and rain this week, check the snowbanks, puddles, and melted, flowing water for the swirling, red and black modern-art-like patterns of Springtails (Collembola). Tiny, 1/16”, non-flying, non-biting, insect-like organisms, their common name comes from the ability to jump using their furcula, the fork-like appendage on the bottom of their abdomen. Abundant year-round in moist soil and leaf litter, Springtails are beneficial for their role as decomposers of rotting plant and animal matter. Springtails are also called snow fleas because of their small size, swarming habits in winter, and their visibility against the white snow. Springtails are food for birds like the Brown Creeper (Certhia americana). Maine has two common species: the black, Hypogastrura nivicola, and the pinkish-red, Hypogastrura armata. These Springtail pictures all came from Bangor City Forest.

02/27/2025

Even without the bright, colorful petals of spring and summer, identifying flowers in the fall and winter is still possible. Stem shapes, branching patterns, seed pods, seed sizes, persistent fruits, and remaining withered leaves all give clues to a plant's identity. Winter W**d Finder, a small pocket-size book, is a great resource for discovering the beauty of winter plants at Bangor City Forest.

01/16/2025

11/02/2024

Bird nests are as variable as the birds that build them. Nests might be high in an evergreen tree, in a hole in a dead snag, or sitting on rushes just above the water level in a marsh. Some nests sit cuplike in the crotch of branches or, like the American Goldfinch, woven incorporating the branches. Vireo and Oriole nests hang below the support branches. Nests vary in overall diameter, shape, and egg cup size and range from tightly woven to a loose pile of twigs. Building materials vary and include leaves, twigs, grasses, mud, moss, lichen, bark, cat-tail fluff, and even bits of plastic or other inorganic items.

Spotting bird nests is easier when leaves are off trees, and observing and examining nests, in situ, in non-breeding season is a great learning tool.

Protection for bird nests falls under the Federal Migratory Bird Act, and collecting requires a special permit.