July 13, 2025: Weed School

No, not the kind of weed school we had in the 60's.  This one was about aquatic plants, led by our own Russ Brummer, Science Department head at the New Hampton School.  

Our fearless leader describes the Floating Bladderwort.

A group of Wicwas Weedwatchers met on boats at the Wicwas launch where we first learned how to differential between native aquatic plants and the often similar looking non-native plants that can ruin a lake.  Because non-native plants haven't been here for thousands of years they have no natural predators so they grow unrestrained and can completely overtake a waterbody.  

The Lake Host program attempts to keep these invaders from moving from lake to lake, but we can't inspect every boat that comes in (more volunteers are always needed!) so the weed watcher team patrols the entire lake looking for dangerous weeds; if an outbreak does start we hope to catch it quickly.  

We first looked at the notorious Eurasian Milfoil which is the bane of many lakes in New Hampshire.

Eurasian Milfoil

We compared it to Coontail, a native plant often confused with milfoil.

Native Coontail

It's hard to tell the difference, but milfoil has feathery-like leaves, while the coontail mostly has leaves with a single strand, looking like a pine needle.  But if you're ever on a lake and see a plant that you think might be milfoil it's always better to report it - we're happy to determine it's not a problem, and it's great to have people watching for it.

After a short classroom session we hit the water for the real fun.  With no known invasives in Wicwas - and none were found - we spent our time studying our native aquatic plants, many of which are both fascinating and beautiful.  Last week I noted the Floating Bladderwort.  This carnivorous plant floats freely in the lake, untethered to the bottom.  The plant's bladders suck in water and tiny organisms such as insect larvae and water fleas, which the plant digests for sustenance.  (Maybe they'll eat Spiny Water Fleas in lakes where that invasive species has arrived.)  There are at least two other bladderwort species in Wicwas including the Common Bladderwort which can grow into huge floating mats and often concerns boaters due to its large size, but it is not a problem to the lake.  

Large mats of Bladderwort can capture a lot of insect larvae and make great habit for small fish.

As it grows and matures it can have huge submerged parts with hundreds of bladders that turn from pink to red to black as they consume their meals.

New pink growth on the left, more mature, black bladders on the right.

Another native plant is the Floating Heart - a small lily pad with heart shaped leaves and a flower so tiny you really have to get close to appreciate its beauty.

Floating Heart

We learned that the floating, grass-like plants also seen in the picture above is called Bur-reed.  It grows in many shallow, sheltered areas in New Hampshire lakes and also has an interesting flower which doesn't appear to be attached to the grassy leaves, but it is.

The Bur-reed flower can look like it's associated with the surrounding lily pads.

Here's another pretty one we examined:

The blossom of the Watershield, a common native aquatic plant.

We had a fun morning and we added to our lake knowledge - thank you Russ!  If you're interested in becoming a Weed Watcher, here or on any other lake, check in with your lake association.  They probably have a weed watching team, and if not, you can start one!

Back on dry land around the lake this week I came across a ground-nesting bird, the Veery.  I flushed it from its nest on what is obviously a very little used trail, otherwise it wouldn't have built its nest just a few feet off the trail.  I figured it was either a Veery or a Hermit Thrush.  It wasn't hard to find the nest having seen where the bird came from - otherwise no one would ever know there was a nest hidden here.

A well hidden bird nest.

But under that Bracken Fern was a tightly woven nest and four beautiful blue eggs. 

The bright blue color tells me it's a Veery nest.  Hermit thrush eggs have a lighter color and sometimes have brown spots.  I quickly took a picture and left so mother veery could get right back to her eggs.  I'll avoid that trail for a while.

Next I'll share a video sent to me by Conservation Commission volunteer Bob Hunt.  His son took this video of what I believe is a litter of Fisher kits running across a driveway at Lake Winona.  First at actual speed, then in slow motion.  

The littlest sibling appears to be struggling to keep up!  What a cool thing to have seen!

I would be remiss not to report on Spangle and Star, and happily, the reporter is that both are doing fine.

Mom or dad towers over the chicks, telling us to stay away.

The next two pictures were taken just yesterday by Dave Thorpe:

Star is still happy to hitch a ride on a parent's back.

They seem to be growing quickly and getting along well, so at just over a week they're off to a good start.  

There's still loon turmoil taking place in the northern nesting territory with regular encounters between three loons, a likely reason why there's no nest there this year.  You know what they say about three's a crowd....

Birds, mammals, flowers, pretty lily pads - there's a lot to see around the lakes at this time of year.  I hope you can get out to one the region's beautiful lakes to see some of nature's glory.

July 6, 2025: Introducing Spangle and Star

Let's welcome the two newest additions to Lake Wicwas, Spangle and Star, hatched on or about July 1st and 2nd, probably one day apart.

Spangle and Star, about three days old.

We don't know the sex of either, but I'm going to say Spangle is the big sister and Star is the little brother.  The first time I saw them, Spangle was riding up atop one of the parents while Star, very shy, was hiding out under a wing - or least trying to.

Star is half hidden under mom's (?) left wing.

Star was kicking hard with surprisingly large feet, trying to get far enough up to climb aboard.

Can you see his not-so-little foot kicking up the water?

The parents are very attentive.  Whenever something gets anywhere near the parent with the chicks, the other parent starts hollering loudly.  Thus I stayed far away and got only blurry pictures.  When I received a report that the family was out of Harris Cove and around Loon Point into the main part of the lake, I went to the nest to collect any shell fragments for the Loon Preservation Committee to analyze. 

You may have seen the nest from Chemung Road.

Analyzing the egg shells will help us understand the health of the loons as well as the lake itself.  The nest is surprisingly small, perhaps 18" in diameter.  They did a good job of getting on and off the nest and turning the eggs over without them rolling into the lake.

There were quite a few shell fragments and one piece of egg membrane still in the nest.  

We were fortunate to be able to collect them before some other animal consumed them for their calcium content.

As of yesterday the family was travelling all the way down to the southern tip of the lake and back up the western shoreline.  Dean Cascadden was able to take some video of the parents feeding the chicks near his dock.  You can find the video on the Lake Wicwas Community Forum page on Facebook.  If you're a Facebook user you should follow this page!

When you're on the lake observing the loons (carefully from a safe distance of course!) don't forget to take note of all the other beauty that's on the lake in summer - the aquatic plants are spectacular.  Larger plants like Yellow and White water lilies and Pickerel Weed are easily seen, but you'll have to tuck in close and slow to see some of the more delicate water-based flowers including Floating Bladderwort and American Cranberry.

Large (American) Cranberry

Floating Bladderwort

The natural adaptations of plants is incredible.  Take the floating bladderwort for example.  It has six appendages filled with air to give the plant the ability to float stably on the surface of the lake to support its bright yellow flower which attracts pollinators.  Trailing below in the water is a long stem that acts as a weighted keel to keep it from capsizing.  

If we're lucky, come August we'll get to see Purple Bladderwort blooming too.  By then Spangle and Star should be past their most vulnerable days, but for the next month, let's hope they and their parents can defy all the challenges they will surely face!

July 3, 2025: We have Loon Chicks!

Sending out a quick notice that there are two new loons on the lake, first spotted by Ron Naso who has named them Star and Spangle.  This is great news, but everyone will need to be careful on this busy holiday weekend - they are very small and hard to see.  More on Sunday.

Photo by Deb Crowley.

June 29, 2025: Catching up around the Lake

It's always comforting to return to the lake whether I've been away for a day or a month.  The enormity of a place like Alaska dwarfs the entire state of New Hampshire, but this small verdant patch of our planet has a charm that's truly special. How fortunate are we to able drive along a quiet stretch of road and see one of the iconic birds of the Northern Hemisphere incubating it's eggs?  

Many people put seeing a single loon on their life-list.  

This nest is in a good spot to be protected from boat traffic and is far enough off the road to not be bothered by cars.  You can see it at the first opening where you see the lake on Chemung Road when coming from Meredith Center.  Bring a pair of binoculars and scan the small islands in the cove - you won't bother it.

Hopefully this pair has survived the floods and a couple days of record heat this week and is carefully tending one or two viable eggs because it appears the northern-territory pair isn't going to have a nest this year.  I've seen a pair in the northern territory together with no recent signs of nest-building

Perhaps you saw this photo in the Laconia paper:

Assuming we do have a chick or two in a couple of weeks, there will be plenty more challenges for these birds to deal with!

There are other signs of nature to be found on a slow walk along country roads.  This small disturbed area caught my eye, and looking closer I found the tell-tale sign of a turtle nest.

An excavated Painted Turtle nest.

Painted turtles clamber out of the lake to find suitable nesting sites in soft gravel, sometimes having to travel long distances especially when the riparian area around a lake or stream has been developed.  They often find the first suitable spot along the shoulder of a road - which presents a couple of problems.  One is obvious from the number of squashed turtles in roads from car tires.  The other is the lack of protective cover as raccoons, fox, skunk, and crows also travel the roads looking for road kill.  When any of these come across a turtle nest they dig right because fresh turtle eggs, like chicken eggs, are an excellent source of much needed protein. 

Consumed turtle eggs.

Fortunately, the populations of both turtle species we have in Wicwas (painted turtles and snapping turtles) are strong.  

If you're on or near the water, especially in a small boat, look closely at the aquatic vegetation growing at the shoreline.  Many of our dragonflies and damsel flies are now emerging from their larval stage in the lake and drying out their wings for flight.  

You can find them doing this all summer long early in the morning to dry off nighttime dew.

I led a walk on the Laverack Nature Trail in Meredith Village with the Taylor Community this week.  Many fruiting trees are now in blossom along the boardwalk; we found native dogwood, winterberry, and many others.  

Silky Dogwood

Winterberry

Come fall and winter these provide valuable food for birds.  There are also blueberries with fruit already set; it looks like it might be a good blueberry season.  If you haven't been to the Laverack Trail (or even if you have!) this fully accessible trail is always worth a visit.

Finally, here's one more item from Alaska.  It's a slow motion video of a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly gathering nectar from lilac blossoms.  This is one-quarter actual speed; it was actually working those flowers very quickly.  It's a large file so it may take a minute to load.

After experiencing the untouched expanse of much of Alaska's Denali National Park and Tongass Natural Forest, flying over Boston and Seattle is a stark, almost overwhelming reminder of why we cherish even small pockets of undeveloped nature.  It is far too easy to take for granted all that Lake Wicwas gives us.

June 22, 2025: Denali National Park

We spent the second week of our Alaska excursion in Talkeetna and Denali National Park, where at a latitude of 63 degrees it never gets dark this time of year. The sun set for just three hours; this is as dark as it got:

2:00 am in the middle of a five hour long sunset behind Mt. Denali

We signed up for a morning wilderness tour into the park and at first weren't happy to be assigned a 5:00 am tour, but we quickly changed our minds when we saw so much wildlife.  Just a short way into the park we came up on a huge female moose grazing on willow trees right beside the road.

The apparent wound on her side is where she was scraping her fur on a tree.  We didn't get a clear reason why.

She wasn't fazed at all by our presence and just walked along the road stripping tender new leaves off the small trees growing beside the road. 

We have moose in New Hampshire, but not this big!

Farther along there was a red fox - another New Hampshire native - that also trotted right along the road with us on its morning hunting trip. One of its possible prey is Ptarmigan, of which we soon saw several, all males.

Male Ptarmigan

These bright colorful birds were out being decoys to attract fox and other predators away from their nest where their mate was incubating eggs. A couple of days later we found mother ptarmigan as she was she ushering a dozen little chicks across a road.

We kept our distance, but she was not about to leave until every last chick crossed the road - she stood her ground in the middle of the road, clucking away to encourage them to follow. 

We saw one grizzly bear - a mom with a cub - just where you want to see them: far away on a hill, too far for a picture.  We certainly don't have grizzlies in New Hampshire, nor do we have Dall Sheep or Caribou which we also saw, not quite as far away. 

Dall Sheep

Caribou

Caribou we're once present in New England but we managed to kill them all.  We spoke with people who were on trips later in the day and they didn't see any wildlife at all - good to know if you visit Denali. 

I saw or heard several birds I'd never seen before, though the very first bird I heard was one I hear most every summer day in Meredith, the Hermit Thrush.  New birds for me included the White-crowned Sparrow which was singing loudly everywhere, Northern Shrike, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Short-billed Gull.

Northern Shrike

White-crowned Sparrow

Orange-crowned Warbler

The short-billed gulls had also just hatched out their chicks.

Short-billed Gull with three chicks on an Island in the Savage River.

I took a couple of nice hikes along the Savage River and atop the Savage Ravine. The sights were beautiful but there was too much smoke in the atmosphere from fires burning in the Yukon to see Mt. Denali.  Some of the terrain looks much like the White Mountains above timberline in the Presidential and Franconia Ranges. 

Parts of the ravine resemble the Alpine Gardens in New Hampshire. 

It was approaching peak wildflower season.  Some, like Lupine, Bunchberry, and Wild Strawberry were familiar.  I'll show a few of the new ones I learned about.

Pale-yellow Vetch

Bluebell

Bistort

Moss Campion

By the time we left Denali National Park to head south to Talkeetna the smoke had cleared and
we had fantastic views of The Great One.    

20,310' Denali

While we were there, 255 people were on the mountain attempting to summit the tallest peak in North America.  About half of those who make the two-week on-mountain trek are successful.

The town of Talkeetna, population just over 1000, is the only town on the 313 mile long Sustina River. Many homesteaders live miles from town in homes that have no electricity, water, or roads. Their only access is by ATV, snowmobile, or flagging down the train that runs between Fairbanks and Anchorage at designated flag stops.

The last remaining Flag Stop Train in America.

This was a trip that live in my memory forever, along with all I learned about nature, wildlife, and the people that have lived in Alaska for ten thousand years.  It's truly a unique place on our fragile planet. 

This week I'll catch up on what's been happening back here at Lake Wicwas for the past two weeks!