Outdoors

Published
August 31, 2013

Birding: Similarity doesn’t mean sameness among birds

Recognizing the limits of species is one of the great challenges of biology. Some species are remarkably variable; humans with our ranges of skin color provide a nice example. On the other hand, some separate species can scarcely be separated based on their morphology. The willow flycatcher and alder flycatcher are dead ringers for each […]
Published
August 31, 2013

Best Bets

WEDNESDAY Salt Marsh Exploration 10 a.m., Boothbay Harbor The Boothbay Region Land Trust is exploring the Ovens Mouth East Preserve salt marsh this week. Learn about plants and animals that call this harsh environment home, and the adaptations that allow them to do so. To register, write to thall@bbrlt.org or call 633-4818. New Hayfields Project […]
Published
August 24, 2013

Best Bets

UPCOMING Striper Hunt through Sept. 15, Casco Bay The Casco Bay Anglers Club and Coastal Conservation Association-Maine are co-hosting the state’s largest striped bass tournament. All proceeds from this monthlong catch-and-release tourney will benefit the Coastal Conservation Association of Maine. The tournament involves a fly fishing division, spin division and youth division. To register their […]
Published
August 24, 2013

Flying machines: A most uplifting hobby

Two local clubs devoted to model aircraft have attracted many enthusiasts, including commercial pilots and military veterans.
Published
August 24, 2013

North Cairn: In the light of autumn’s coming

Take everything else, if you must, but leave me the light. These early autumn days, I live for the play of the more merciful sun, entwined in the diminishing trees. The woods and the waters resume a quiet they cannot manage in mid-summer, and suddenly I find my heart has settled into something like peace. […]

Published
August 24, 2013

Allen Afield: Dixfield guide knows how to reel in fish and satisfied clients

William Clunie of Dixfield, a fishing float-trip operator, guides trout and smallmouth bass anglers on the Androscoggin River, and in summer heat his bass clients outnumber trout casters interested in rainbows, browns and brookies. I asked Clunie which he prefers guiding — bass or trout anglers — and he said, “I have no preference, but […]
Published
August 24, 2013

John Christie: St. Andrews gives visitors a taste of olden days

A scant half-hour drive east of the border crossing between Calais and St. Stephen in New Brunswick sits one of Canada’s oldest and best-preserved 18th-century towns and its oldest seaside resort. St. Andrews-by-the-Sea, as it’s known throughout the world, has been designated as a National Historic District, and a visit to the quaint New England-style […]
Published
August 24, 2013

Carey Kish: Maine Island Trail celebrates 25 years

Maine can certainly claim its share of firsts over the course of its 193-year history, like the first ear muffs, steam-driven automobile and doughnut, even the first place in the country to see the sun rise, among so many others, which leaves little doubt as to why our state motto is Dirigo, Latin for “I […]
Published
August 24, 2013

Hunting: Rewards can come hard for bear hunters

Crickets. Their monotonous drone filled the air with a trill of white background noise so steady and constant I didn’t notice it until it stopped. Suddenly the air was deathly still, which could only mean one thing. Something was stirring, unseen and unheard in the dense forest undergrowth. The bear didn’t appear so much as […]
Published
August 24, 2013

What’s Up in September: Signs of a season changing in the night sky

This month always marks the beginning of autumn for us in the northern hemisphere. That will happen at 4:44 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22. That moment is further defined by the sun on its ecliptic path crossing over the celestial equator on a downward path. The vernal and autumnal equinoxes are also the only two […]

Sign In:

Outdoors