Sunday, March 17, 2024

March 17: 2024: Mink on Thin Ice

It's a busy time of year with so much happening all at once as the world wakes up from its winter slumber.  One cold morning as I was enjoying the interesting patterns that formed on the lake over night, a flash of brown scooted onto the thin ice from shore and bounded across the lake right in front of me.  It was one of those lucky occasions when I had my camera in my hand.

Mink on the ice.
No problem with traction for those claws.

A mink doesn't worry about falling through thin ice - when it came to edge of the ice it just slipped into the water and continued on its way.


That was on Wednesday.  The day before was bright and windy and that took a big toll on the ice with the wind really breaking things up.  

The ice started breaking up on Monday.
Getting wider under the March sun on Tuesday.
The wind blew shreds of ice up over the transition point which glistened like diamonds in the sun.
By noon on Tuesday there were large expanses of open water.

By Saturday, most of winter's ice was gone with just one ice patch blocking the passage on the west site of Bryant Island.  It's possible ice-out will occur later today which would make it one of the earliest ice-out dates recorded.  

Many geese have now arrived and they're fighting over the best nesting sites in the marshes.  We've also seen bald eagles almost every day this week, both circling over the lake and sitting on the ice, perhaps feeding off things that were blown up onto the ice with the wind.

A couple of bald eagles survey the lake.  Are they looking for a nesting site?

In addition to annoying the Canada Geese endlessly, one afternoon an eagle flew right over me and landed in a tree, and had a heated argument with a red-bellied woodpecker that was not happy with its presence.  The two of them made quite the ruckus.  Here's a clip of the interaction - the eagle starts and ends, with the woodpecker calling out in the middle.  

This went on for quite some time.  Between the eagles, the geese, the mallards, and the red squirrels in the forest, it's been a noisy week.  Now we just need the wood frogs to join in.

The mergansers have also been plentiful this spring with a couple of different groups congregating on the lake.  I saw a few altercations of males chasing males, but mostly they seem well behaved as they figure out how to pair up for the mating season.

A couple of available female Common Mergansers.
And a male about to go...
under the ice for a fishing excursion.

I didn't realize that like Wood Ducks, Common Mergansers make their nests in tree cavities up to a mile away from water.  The female chooses the nesting site and builds the nest, and I believe the female also selects her mate, the one she finds most desirable after observing them all strut their stuff.  After mating, the male is done and leaves the child rearing to the mother.  I'd love to know how she gets a dozen little ducklings to travel a mile through a thick forest back to the lake.

The beavers also came around as soon as the ice opened up enough for them to swim along the shore line, and they are already building their scent mounds to mark their territory.  

I've also heard spring bird songs this week including the Song Sparrow and even a Carolina Wren (though that was a bit south of the Lakes Region, along the high banks of the Merrimack River in Concord) so the great migration is underway.  But this entry is long enough, so those will have to wait for another week.  

This is a great time to get outside to watch the world wake up and break into its triumphant return to life.  Just remember to wear your mud boots, and that tick season never ends - I've already found one deer tick - so take appropriate precautions.  

Mr. Mink won't be able to take short cuts across the lake any more, but for us, it's a time of renewal, rebirth, and rediscovery.

Blueberry buds, red and swelling with spring life.



Sunday, March 10, 2024

March 10, 2024: Weakening Winter

It's looking like Old Man Winter is getting tired early these days - I don't think he's going to hang on much longer.

Ice on Wicwas is deteriorating quickly.
Crockett's Ledge, March 8.

We had over an inch of rain on Wednesday night into Thursday which eroded all our snow except at higher elevations and well-shaded spots.  There are a few vestiges left over from ski season, but that's about it.

Just a couple of old ski tracks on the leaves.
It's a little better farther north in the mountains, but even there the snow is melting fast.  I went for a hike in Franconia Notch to see the streams in their late winter glory and there was snow, but the ice bridges across the streams had melted making stream crossings difficult, and in fact, I wasn't able to cross one of them and had to turn back, changing my plans for the hike.
Cascade Brook flowing down from Kinsman Pond and Lonesome Lake.

And that was Monday, before the rain and 50 degree temperatures.

I made my last ice thickness measurement on Wednesday morning after a cold night which firmed up the ice along the shore and allowed me to get out onto firm ice where I measured six inches of solid black ice under two and half inches of soft, porous ice you could cut with a spoon.  When the warm, moist air coming in with the rain hit the cold ice, the fog thickened.  

That white spot is where I cut a hole to measure the ice.

The rain puddled on the surface of the ice.

That would have made for some good skating.

On Friday I saw a fisherman at the boat ramp assessing the situation - he decided not to chance it, as by then the ice was starting to have that gray color that says it's really degrading.  

Looking pretty soft out there on Friday.

It's too early to predict ice out, but if this keeps up it will be another early one.  The earliest ice-out date we've recorded is March 18;  I doubt the ice will gone in just eight days, especially if we get more snow.  Fresh white snow lets the ice last longer as it insulates the ice and reflects the sun better than the darkening ice we have now.  Too bad the inch of wet snow that fell last night all melted into the wet, gray surface of the lake.

Not a very pretty Sunday morning.

Regarding the sun's rays, an interesting phenomenon observed this week was a sundog, where the sun's rays are refracted by ice crystals in the atmosphere, creating a rainbow effect.  The refraction at 22 degrees means sundogs always appear at a 22 degree angle from either side of the sun.  [Ref:  NOAA]  I always seem to see these right around the equinox which is less than two weeks away.

Sundog near sunset, March 8th.

I saw the first geese of the season on the lake this week as well as multiple flocks of ducks circling overhead looking for enough open water to land.  Snow is melting, ice is softening, tree buds are swelling, the snowdrops are blooming - all the signs of spring are here.  But as last night's snow reminds us, this is New England, and Old Man Winter has given us some surprises in the past, so I'm not counting him out just yet.

Snowdrops, March 3rd.



Sunday, March 3, 2024

March 3, 2024: While the Cat's Away

The squirrels will play. 


Our bobcat should have come by this week when the squirrels were here in abundance.  Focused on food and chasing each other away from their claimed food source, they might have been preoccupied enough to not notice a feline creeping up on them through the undergrowth.  

There seems to be a pecking order amongst gray squirrels.  The baddest dude gets to own the squirrel house where it can feast to its heart's content, protected from the elements.  

The king of the castle chases away anyone who attempts to breach the parapet.  


Meanwhile, the next biggest bully commandeers the hanging corn cob.

This number two in the chain of command thwarts all other lower-rung interlopers as well.
"Off you rascal!"

Lesser-ranked squirrels are left to scavenge from the dropped seeds under the feeders, which the white-breasted nuthatches ensure are plentiful, so no one actually goes hungry.

Even here, if one gets too close to the drop zone it gets chased away.


One new and interesting bird came briefly to the feeder this week:  a crossbill.  I didn't get a good look at it before it flew off to perch on a nearby tree, and from the backlit photos I can't tell which crossbill it is, but most likely it's a Red Crossbill.  


An expert ornithologist friend (thank you RB!) weighed in with some excellent guidance, but without a side view of its wings, it can't be positively identifed.  According the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, crossbills have evolved that peculiarly shaped bill to facilitate opening tightly closed cones: 

 "The Red Crossbill places the tips of its slightly open bill under a cone scale and bites down. The crossed tips of the bill push the scale up, exposing the seed inside." 

 Because of the crossed tips, biting down widens the gap between the tips.


Driving to the Page Pond Town Forest on Barnard Ridge Road, I saw that the pileated woodpeckers have been busy.

This woodpecker appears to be eating well.

You can't miss this tree if you approach the parking lot from the south.

The signs of frost season are everywhere now, including posted roads, tapped sugar maples, and frost-heaved ground such as on this trail at Page Pond.

Frost has heaved the ground up around this stone.

We are only three days into meteorological spring, but with so little cold this winter I expect the frost to come out early, as well as perhaps the ice in the lake.  Warm weather and rain this week may have done in the skiing, but it did create some great ice for skating.  I was able to make a complete circuit of the lake except for where the current flows down to the outlet.  There are still 11 inches of ice on the lake but there are many openings near shorelines with southern exposure or where water flows in, so be careful.  

On my skate I found Dean Cascadden on the lake sailing with his kitewing skate sail.

Dean with his Kitewing


He let me try it, and it's pretty neat.  It looks like a new toy will be on my wish list for next winter!


If we really get the warm stretch forecast for next week, those squirrels may be forced to find their own food as the feeders might need to come in for the season to avoid attracting bears.  It used to be the bears slept until April, but spring is coming early these days.  

Open water in February.



Sunday, February 25, 2024

February 25, 2024: Recycled Art

Starting with something different this week, we'll take a trip to the Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University.  Their current exhibition is exploring the use of recycled items being reimagined into creative objects of art using everything from trash, to items found in yard sales, to pieces of prior artwork the artist had abandoned.  In one example, an artist has created sculptures from old photographic negatives.  There are many incredibly creative works on display, and having obtained permission to use photos of their work, I'll share some of my favorites with a nature theme.

Serenity  by Linn Stillwell

This beautiful night scene was created from used drier sheets, scraps of the artist's prior drawings and paintings, and is composed on cotton rag paper left over from another painting.  (We'll revisit that moon later in this post.)


Ascent to Freedom  by Linda Greenwood

Here, the artist reused wood, metal, paper, and a small tree branch.


Easy Kind of Feeling  by Devin Donohue

This medium is described as "wool needle felted on blanket," a technique that created intriguing textures.  I don't know how it's done, especially the coloring, but it's beautiful.

One more:

Les Fleurs Mysterieux  by Shela Cunningham
This creative transformation of trash into beauty fascinated me and I spent a long time just trying to identify each of the original items which include yogurt lids, wine bottle collars, old netting, even coffee bags.  You can find more information about all the art on display here

Did you notice all the artists are women?  That's part of the theme of the exhibition titled Reimagine which runs through March 23rd.  The museum is located on the PSU campus in downtown Plymouth and admission is free.  It's always a quiet, peaceful place to appreciate New Hampshire's culture, history, and creativity.  


Switching now to the wild nature, there was a lot activity around the lake this week.  First off, the local bobcat came by to visit the birdfeeder one afternoon, but finding nothing there to prey upon, it went on its way down to the lake and along the shoreline where I was able to catch a quick picture before it disappeared into the undergrowth.  

It sure looks nice and warm wearing its thick winter fur coat.

Then out on the lake I was attracted to a pair of tracks passing over the lake on a bee-line to a shore where I often see signs of otter activity.

A couple of otters in a fast dash to the restroom.

Following the tracks, sure enough, I came to a spot on the shore where they had scooted around a bit.


And where they have a latrine; I've seen this previously in that very spot. 

Otter scat

There's no mistaking otter scat.  Black and moist and full of fish scales, there's nothing else like it.  After their visit they continued onto land to cross over to another portion of the lake.


The moon was garnering a lot of attention this week, and perhaps the full moon was increasing animal as well as spacecraft activity.  The moon was so bright shining on the snow covered ground that it seemed like daytime in the middle of the night.  The sky was clear enough to see the moon glowing orange as it set in the morning.

The full Snow Moon sets this morning.

A couple of excursions to the mountains were in order considering the nice winter weather this week. 

Smooth trails and blue skies in the Belknap Range.

I saw not another soul on my hike up the back side of Gunstock Mountain, which made it really fun to broach the curve of the summit and find a bee-hive of activity at the top of the ski area. 
Cresting Gunstock summit from the west flank.

I was perfectly happy to take advantage of the deck and picnic tables at the Panorama Pub to enjoy my lunch with a beautiful view of Lake Winnipesaukee and the Ossipee Mountains.
There's an awful lot of blue in the big lake.

Continuing on to Belknap I saw again not another person, but on the top of Belknap I found the shiny new fire tower just erected this fall.


It provides views back to the west, including toward Lake Wicwas, Leavitt Mountain, and the hills on Chase Rd.  I was also pleased to see moose scat near the summit.  

Moose scat right in the trail.

Ah, late February, early March - my favorite time of winter - when the sun is high and warm and the days are getting longer.  Only 23 days until the vernal equinox!

Late Winter Skiing at Green Woodlands in Dorchester.

While you're up near the mountains for your visit to the museum, I hope you can get out to experience this enjoyable part of New Hampshire's winter season!