January 5, 2025: The Year 2024 at Lake Wicwas

It's a new year, with a whole new set of discoveries ahead of us.  Who knows what adventures 2025 will bring - it seems every year has moments that I never thought I would experience, yet they always arrive.  Here's a collection of what struck me the most over the past 52 weeks.

The surprises started early in the year when three otters swimming under the ice right at my feet gave me something I never expected to witness.

Otters at a breathing hole - January 7

Late winter brought a rare treat when a Red Crossbill paid a visit to the lake.

March 24 - Red Crossbill

A highlight of the year, in fact, of my life, was the trip up to Colebrook to see the total eclipse of the sun.  (It wasn't totality in the Lakes Region.)

April 8 - Total solar eclipse seen from Colebrook, NH

There was a lot of beaver activity on and around the lake in 2024, including damming up a stream to create a new beaver pond in the Hamlin Town Forest.

April 21 - A beaver snacks on a tender branch.

Spring always brings relief from the gray and white of winter, returning color and new life to the lake.

April 28 - Maple blossoms

Linda often discovers fascinating creatures in her gardens, such as this Yellow-spotted Salamander.

April 28 - Yellow-spotted Salamander

Many of our raptors are heard or seen off in the distance; it's not often I get a close look at one.  This hawk was kind enough to land on an island as I paddled by.

May 5 - Broad-winged Hawk

There was a lot of loon activity in 2024 and not all of it was good.  But one exciting moment occurred when a loon that was rescued from the ice on Paugus Bay during the prior winter stopped in at Wicwas for a few days.

May 12 - The LPC identifed this loon as one they banded during an ice rescue.

Wicwas is highly coveted loon territory.  Frequent attempts at claiming territory by non-resident loons meant time needed for nesting was instead spent defending nests and territory.

June 9 - Resident loons intercept transients trying to invade their nesting areas.

All that activity Wicwas was too much for our two resident pairs; we didn't have a single chick hatched as the loons fought all summer over territory.  Three different nests were built and eggs were laid, but all were destroyed during incubation, and one adult banded loon was killed right at her nest.

June 30 - One of three nests built last year.

Other water fowl did have successful broods.

May 26 - Mother Mallard and her ducklings.

Dragonfly are always plentiful and with so many varieties it seems every year I see new ones.  Most I can't identify, but that doesn't make then any less beautiful.  

June 2 - An unidentified prehistoric flying object

Snapping turtles may not be considered beautiful by many people, but a male snapper fell in love with this big momma who was up on land looking for a good spot to lay her eggs.

June 2 - Momma Snapper

As summer flowers bloomed and formed nectar and pollen, the insects came along and did their part in propagation of the species.

June 9 - A bumblebee approaches a Lupine flower to collect pollen.

June 16 - A Ruby-throated Hummingbird siphons nectar from a Geranium.

June 16 - A Hummingbird Clearwing Moth approaches a different species of Geranium.

The deer take advantage of the lush summer foliage to start fattening up well in advance of the upcoming winter.

June 23 - This hungry deer was watching me!

Large mammals thrive in the unfragmented tracts of undeveloped land around the lake, but bears will also take advantage of any anthropogenic food sources as well.

August 4 - A Black Bear follows its nose to all available food sources.

Spiders on the other hand, wait for food to come to them.

August 18 - A Black and Yellow Garden Spider.

A truly special moment occurred while paddling the lake one warm August evening when a pair osprey was circling over the lake in search of fish for dinner.  One such attempt made close to me demonstrated the entire process from dive to catch to shaking off water once airborne with its prey.  

August 11 - An osprey sheds excess weight after a successful dive.

A month later it was larger raptor that was surveying the lake for fish.

September 8 - A Bald Eagle surveys the lake.

There were a few bobcat sightings over the year, but this visit right to our house was the closest I've been to one of these wild felines.

October 20 - Bobcat on the prowl.

The year ended with enough snow and cold temperatures to allow the lake to freeze over just before the end of the year.  Today, the length of daylight is already eight minutes longer than on the winter solstice, so even with the bulk of winter ahead of us, we've already begun the steady march to spring, 2025.

December 29 - The winter sun sets over the Lakes Region

I look forward to what new encounters 2025 has in store!

December 29, 2024: Ice In and Tracks Galore

Where to begin....   

We'll start with Ice-In which was declared on December 27th.  It's possible it actually occurred one day earlier based on how little open water was left on Christmas, but if it did, it wasn't observed, so December 27 it is.  And although the surface is frozen, it is not safe.  Much of the center of the lake - the parts clearly open in last week's drone video - are very thin.  

Lots of open water on Monday Dec 23rd.

But that doesn't stop otters, as they are perfectly happy to climb in and out of the water as their mood desires.  The otter tracks all over the lake are really fun to see, and to imagine their behavior as they randomly run, hop, or slide their way across the lake.

They are completely unlike the fox which are all business - fox are on a mission, traveling in a clean, precise path across the snow, broken only when there is something to sniff at. 

Note the precise path of a canine crossing the otters' path.

Otters on the other hand, dance all over the place, running, sliding, backtracking to tackle one of their siblings.  

Otters having fun, while the pair of foxes just searched for food.

The messy tracks of fun-loving otters.

The jubilant play of the three brothers (totally made up on my part) went all the way from the west side of the lake, over Sheep Island, down to the outlet and across into the wetland between Wicwas and Winnisquam.  

Synchronized slides by the three brothers next to Sheep Island.

Over to Winnisquam.  I didn't think to see if they ran across the road, or swam over the dam.

These good-sized mammals weren't the only animals making their presence known this week, as two of our larger birds were seen as well.  First is this regal Barred-owl seen on Loon Point and captured by Eric Cohen.

Photo by Eric Cohen.

Second, I was able to catch the Pileated Woodpecker as it made its rounds of the lake when it stopped on a tree right in my line of sight.

The red mustache indicates this is a male Pileated.

With fresh snow, cold temperatures, and thick ice in the long-frozen coves (7 inches now), I had a couple of nice ski trips which is how I followed along behind the otters.  I also saw fox, coyote, and bobcat tracks, maybe mink, and several bird tracks which were most likely left by crows.

Much too small to be turkey tracks.

I'll end with a beautiful evening on Mt. Roberts at the Lakes Region Conservation Trust property at Castle in the Clouds.  (Speaking of that, did you see that Castle in the Clouds has been designated as a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior?)

I had planned to do a sunset hike on the winter solstice but the weather didn't cooperate.  Friday the atmospheric conditions looked promising so I took a late afternoon hike to the summit of Roberts.

Heading up over the ledges on Mt. Roberts in the late afternoon.

On the way down I stopped at the west facing ledge just before sunset as the fog was settling in the valleys between the mountains.

I was treated to a spectacular sunset with Kearsarge, Cardigan, and even Meredith's highest peak, Leavitt Mountain, in the distance.

Pink glow reflects off The Broads in Lake Winnipesaukee.

I tarried long enough to see the lights come on for night skiing at Gunstock.

It's an easy hike down from that viewpoint with a headlamp, especially with the trail packed smooth with dry snow.  Nonetheless, micro-spikes on boots are strongly recommended.

Happy New Year!

P.S.  After writing this I received a report that there is still a small patch of open water.  Depending on its size there may be an update in the ice-in date.  

December 22, 2024: Winter Solstice '24

The first day of winter sure came in with a bang, bringing the coldest temperatures of the year, with last night dropping down to 4 degrees Fahrenheit.  But we sure have been on the New Hampshire weather roller coaster, as it was 51 degrees on Tuesday.  All combined, the lake still hasn't frozen over.  But before the warm up we got in some good skating on the coves.

This time of year, before snow covers the lake, there are always interesting phenomena to see, such as these black holes with spider veins, perhaps caused by melt water seeking out low spots in the ice to drain down into the lake.

After the warm-up, melt water on the surface of the ice turned parts of the lake into a mirror.

Too bad we didn't get a flash freeze before more snow fell on what would have been an impeccable skating surface.

⛸

During the warm spell the bears came back out for one last forage for food - I hope.

A nice Black Bear pawprint in soft snow.

But with the cold back, the birdfeeders are once again out and open for business, and they're getting a lot of action now!

I still struggle with Downy versus Hairy, but I think this is a Hairy Woodpecker based on the large beak and lack of spots on the tail feathers

I found something unexpected on top of the snow one day:

Might this be a baby snapper shell?

What animal came up with this small turtle to snack on?  Probabably a mink or an otter.  

I had an incredibly fortunate encounter on the trails this week, and as a result, we're all treated to a rare opportunity to experience Lake Wicwas from a new perspective.  I was on a winter run on Wednesday in the Hamlin Town Forest, and as I approached Crockett's Ledge heading south from the White Mountain Ledge, I heard the unmistakable buzz of a drone.  (Insert jokes about New Jersey here ;-) 

As I came onto the open ledge I found operator Bruce Bouley, his drone hovering overhead.  I stopped to talk and I learned that it's his brother that has a house on Loon Point Road, and he's quite familiar with the area.  I asked if he would send me some pictures, and he told me he would post a video on his YouTube channel.  Yesterday I found the video which you can watch below.  It's really neat - you can see exactly the size and location of the open water on Wednesday, as well as narrow channels of water in the ice and many large ice patterns.  See how many of the houses, islands, coves, and wetlands you can recognize!  

Thank you Bruce for that fantastic opportunity to experience Wicwas and its surroundings from above!  

Later in the week there was still open water.  I didn't get out early this morning to see if the lake finished freezing over, but it probably didn't even with the cold temperature last night due to the strong northwest wind that was blowing across the open area (that's why it's often the last place to freeze).  But I'm guessing once the winds die down it will be the end of a liquid Wicwas.  I just hope the loon that's been observed multiple times over the past two weeks gets the hint and heads out in time.  But someone is watching it, and he's been in touch with the Loon Preservation Center, so they're prepared for a rescue if necessary.  I hope to be able to provide an update on both topics next week.

Until then, with the shortest day of the year now behind us, may the warmth of the intensifying sun's rays shine upon you!

Merry Christmas!