sunset over Sears Island by Buck Bulkley Photography

A Living Lab

Sears Island’s clam flats are once again productive thanks to an ongoing clam restoration project begun in 2003. Guiding the efforts of the Searsport Shellfish Management Committee was Dr. Brian Beal, Professor of Marine Biology at UMaine Machais and Director of the Downeast Institute. For several years juvenile clams were seeded on the flats in pots so they could been counted and measured several times during the summer and fall months, before being returned permanently to the flats “on their own”. During one season brood clams were seeded when the optimum sized juveniles were not available. All data, including the presence of predators, has been recorded and compiled.

 clam reseeding      baby clams  

The Shellfish Committee members continue to monitor the flats all year to determine the health and abundance of the clams. Their 2010 projects include: an official clam population survey, working in teams with the Regional State Biologist on one of the open harvesting areas; and transferring clams from a restricted area to an open area.

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           SDHS students

Searsport District High School students spend a foggy summer morning conducting hands-on examination of diverse coastal wetland ecosystems along the Sears Island shoreline.  Later they discuss the importance of these wetlands, along with issues of human use and natural balance.

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A Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition "Medicinal Plant ID Walk"

 

The BBWC conducts a series of seasonal walks during which leaders identify plants and discuss their medicinal uses as well as simply telling which ones would make tasty teas, add flavor to soups or salads, or provide quick snacks along the trail. Here leader Lao Gillam holds a familiar berry and points out that it is helpful to know whether to use the flowers, berries, leaves or roots. Often the leaders add bits of Native American wisdom to their discussions.

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Birding
The following is a list, submitted by Christina Diebold, of birds seen and/or heard on an Audubon Bird Walk.

Long-tail duck, loon, yellow warbler, osprey, herring gull, crow, double-crested cormorant, song sparrow, chestnut-sided warbler, black-throated green warbler, redstart, blue jay, black-throated blue warbler, Wilson's warbler, turkey vulture, least flycatcher, white-throated sparrow, common yellow-throat, magnolia warbler, hummingbird, veery, ovenbird, black and white warbler, mourning dove, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, blue-headed vireo, raven, yellow-rumped warbler, parula, broad-winged hawk, hermit thrush, robin, wild turkey.