October 4, 2026: Turtle Time

It's hatching time for turtles in New Hampshire.  Back in June I posted about a snapping turtle nest that had been excavated by a predator to get a high-protein meal of a couple dozen turtle eggs.  Snapping turtle eggs have an incubation period of about 80 to 100 days depending on environmental conditions, so come September, they are ready to hatch.  Most new hatchlings will find their way to the nearest water body and then dig into the bottom where they'll spend the winter hibernating safely below the frost zone.  Some may instead dig down in the dirt under a rotten stump or large fallen tree, but that's a little more risky in a climate as cold as we have in New Hampshire.  

This week a kind Samaritan discovered a tiny snapper hatchling when working on a wood pile in their yard. We don't know if it was just resting on its way to water or whether it was thinking it would try to make it through the winter there, but we agreed it would be better off in a lake or pond, so we helped it find its way into the lake.  But we first captured the cute little guy or gal for the record.

A recently hatched snapping turtle.

It's hard to believe this tiny creature will grow into a monster that can weigh 40 to 60 pounds.  

Whether this turtle hatched as a guy or a gal wasn't determined by its DNA when it was fertilized, but rather by the temperature inside the nest while it was incubating.  Snapping turtles don't have an X-Y chromosome determination like mammals, but rather develop their sex during incubation by the action of enzymes, which are accelerated by temperature, and that drive the quantity of estrogen in the developin

g egg. At nest temperatures below 73 degrees or above 81 degrees, mostly females will develop. [Ref: Embryonic temperature influences juvenile temperature choice and growth rate in snapping turtles Chelydra serpentina, O'Steen, 1994]   Temperatures between that range will produce mostly males.  But temperature may not be uniform across the nest, so a single nest may well result in hatchlings of both sexes.  

It will be several years before even an expert would be able to determine the six of this new turtle.

It's nice to know there are people (thank you Ursula!) that will to make the extra effort to take care of the smallest of nature's creations.

Last week's milk snake and this week's snapping turtle are examples of reptiles getting ready for winter.  I also found this nice plump toad that has fattened up on bugs and slugs all summer (toads are great to have in your yard) to be ready for a long winter nap. 

American Toad

Toads must dig down deep enough in loose soil to get completely below the frost line to survive winter.  Digging under brush piles is a common method because the brush pile provides extra insulation above the ground.  A brush pile, as well a a compost pile, is a valuable feature to have in every yard.  Under large fallen trees and boulders are prime locations for hibernation too.

On a hike north of the notches this week with four good hiking buddies (all four are in the picture below) we found that the foliage was just about at peak that far north, with leaves already starting to fall.

Four great hiking companions at the summit of Owl's Head.

Maple leaves blanket the Cherry Mountain Trail in a multi-colored carpet.

A stand of Yellow Birch and Sugar Maple on Mt. Martha.

At the summit of both Mt. Martha and Owl's Head, Mountain Ash was in full fruit mode with loads of a plump ripe berries.

American Mountain Ash

We wondered if these berries are edible.  According to Wikipedia, the parasorbic acid they contain is harmful to humans, but if they are cooked or frozen, the acid is reduced and they can be used for jams, syrup, chutney, and even wine.

There are mountain ash in the Lakes Region, with a large stand at the summit of Mt. Roberts in the Ossipee Range.  It's also looking like a good year for apples in the Lakes Region.

Apple tree along Chemung Rd.

And at Page Pond Town Forest.

I tried a few and they were pretty good.

Apples are appreciated by many animals including bear, fox, and deer.  Perhaps this buck walking down our road was heading towards those apples on Chemung Rd.

Foliage here in the Lakes Region is still developing, with only the maples near the lake showing strong color, but this should be the week for foliage viewing around Wicwas and the other lakes in the region.

I'll end this week with another reptile I came across just yesterday, this time a Ring-neck Snake sunning itself in the old log yard along the Yellow Trail at the Hamlin Town Forest.

Just one more animal - like the rest of us - savoring every last warm day here in October.

September 27, 2026: Misty September Morning

Now that we're past the autumnal equinox, shorter days mean sunrise occurs at a more agreeable hour to experience the wonders the dawn of a new day bestows upon us.

Mist rises from Wicwas shortly before 7:00am.

Water evaporating from the warm lake condenses into gently twisting sinuous veins of vapor, and soon, low rays from the rising sun penetrate the gloom, illuminating early foliage in low wetlands where cool air settles over night.

Chemung State Forest.

Dew collects heavily on spider webs, lending a season-appropriate, ghostly feel to the scene.

Hundreds of Bowl-and-doily Spider webs will go unnoticed an hour later when the dew evaporates.

Bowl and Doily Weaver spider webs collect the morning's dew.

An orb-weaver spun a classic haunted-house specimen of a web.

As the day warms and the light brightens, other autumnal gems emerge from the shadows.

Indian Cucumber

Canada Mayflower

Sometimes it's difficult to get myself out of the house before breakfast on a cool fall morning, but I'm always rewarded when I do.

Often these nascent misty mornings ripen into glorious September afternoons, which then draw me onto the water.  Dragonflies catch meals of late summer insects, turtles soak up the last warm rays of summer, and the aquatic foliage turns colors every bit as beautiful as the trees.

Amphibians and reptiles use these warm days to keep their body temperatures high enough to eke out a few more weeks before they search out a safe sanctuary for their long siesta through the coming winter.  Sometimes they seek out human assistance, as did this Milk Snake which tried to take up residence in a warm garage.

Milk Snake.  Photo by MT

I've never seen a milk snake - thanks for sharing!

It seems most loons have left the lake now, but both Pip and mom are still resident, and spending a lot of time fishing. 

Pip and mom provide a good comparison of juvenile and late-season mature plumage.

Pip is taking long dives, sometimes away from mom, but often in the same vicinity, and when mom comes up with a Pip-size meal she waits for Pip to surface to offer it up, which is always accepted.

Mom, waiting for Pip to surface to deliver a plump sunfish. 

Nature's equivalent of door dash.

At this point in the season, much of an adult loon's breeding plumage has faded.  Only a few of the distinctive rectangular white spots are still visible.

Mom is losing her summer finery.

Even when an adult's spots are gone, it won't be confused with a juvenile which can be recognized by the gray and white chevron pattern.

Pip is a fine looking young guy or gal at this point.

I've been noting a lot of interesting fungi this fall, too many to add to this post.  I'll hopefully have space for them next week.  I'll close this entry with a precursor to foliage season.

Lilly pads and Bur-reed in their fall colors.

The experts are forecasting excellent foliage this year so make your plans now - colors will be coming on strong north of the notches this week.

September 20, 2026: The Great Migration

We spent this week walking on the bits of the White Mountains that found their way some 200 miles south to Cape Cod.  As the glacier that covered New Hampshire 20,000 years ago slowly worked its way southward, it ground huge amounts of rock into fine sand and gravel which was pushed southward by its leading edge.  When the glacier eventually melted, it deposited that pile of material off present day Massachusetts, forming the basis of Cape Cod.  Then as the ice to the north melted, the resulting rivers washed massive amounts of sand southward, which along with ocean currents, formed the unique shape of Cape Cod - the long arm out to Chatham and up and around to Provincetown.

After the glacier melted, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard were connected to the mainland.

The sand and mud that collected in Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket Sound is now one of the most productive set of marshes and mudflats in the world.  There is an excellent display at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History in Barnstable that describes the formation of the cape over the millennia, including what the future holds for this fragile land mass as climate changes accelerate.  Today, it's a huge feeding stop for millions of migrating birds as they make their long journey south for the winter.  One example is this flock of Tree Swallows that was circling over the marsh grasses while feeding on insects that hatch this time of year.

Tree Swallows

At times they would all align and fly in formation.

I did find one lost soul that was trying to catch up with the others.

I wonder if any of the tree swallows from Lake Wicwas visit the cape on their 4,500 mile trip to the Gulf Coast or the Caribbean.

Farther out on the mudflats in Cape Cod Bay was an unfathomable number of terns - mostly Common Terns, but probably some Roseate Terns mixed in. 

They sat preening on the mud for a long time.

Then suddenly the whole flock took flight in a long wave, maybe when a scout spotted a school of fish ready for picking out of the shallow water as the tide came in.

Terns need to consume a lot of food to fuel their 4,500 mile flight to South America.

In contrast to the huge flocks of terns and swallows, was this solitary Black-bellied Plover working the mudflats (my first time seeing this this bird).

Black-bellied Plover

It was calmly plucking worms, small crustaceans, bivalves, crabs, and any other living creatures from the mud with its long beak. 

This plover has already made a long trek from the artic where they breed at the very northern edge of Canada.  It may spend the winter here on the cape, or continue all the way down to South America, a trip of 12,000 miles!

On the other side of the cape, at the Monomoy Wildlife Refuge in Chatham, there were long lines of Cormorants resting on the sand bar.  

Cormorants on a sandbar ar Morris Island.

We have cormorants on New Hampshire lakes during the summer, and some of these may stop at Cape Cod on their way to the Gulf Coast, Mexico, or the Caribbean.  Cormorants travel less distance than many migratory birds.

Also at the Monomoy Wildlife Refuge was another solitary bird I'd never seen before, this one a raptor soaring over the narrow spit of land, on the hunt for small mammals rather than fish. 

Norther Harrier

A northern harrier can be identified by the clear demarcation of white belly and dark brown head at the neckline.

Farther west toward the mainland is the the Audubon Great Marsh Sanctuary in Barnstable, where we saw Great Egrets far out in the marsh, as well as some small, brightly colored crabs on the damp mud at low tide.

Look for tiny white specs in the marsh that are egrets.

Atlantic Marsh Fiddler Crab.

We only saw one interesting mammal species all week, but it was a treat:  Gray Seals.

A gray seal pokes its head up to check its surroundings.

Playing in the surf.

Weighing between 400 and 800 pounds, gray seals are much larger than harbor seals.  We saw several swimming north  at Nauset Beach along the eastern-most coast of the cape.  When we arrived at the beach there were large warnings about sharks.  When we saw the seals, we knew why!

Cape Cod is a gold mine of nature with widely varied habitats including open ocean, sand dunes, marshes, mudflats, and cedar forests. 

Nauset Beach

Monomoy Wildlife Refuge at Chatham.

Sunrise over Nantucket Sound

We always learn something new on our visits to Cape Cod, all while enjoying the beauty the cape offers.  Next week we'll be back checking on New Hampshire's progress towards autumn.