July 24, 2010

This morning, much to my surprise, I found a mother deer with three fawns! She was keeping them all close together and right at the edge of the woods. I watched them graze for a few minutes before she shooed them off into the forest.  They all still have their spots, although there is a clear difference in size between the three. I guess the deer had a healthy winter this year.

With a just a bit of rain last night the Eastern Newts were back on the trails. There wasn't enough rain to penetrate the forest canopy, as the ground was dry under the trees, but it did dampen the trails where the canopy is thin, and that's where they all were.  The Red Eft stage is the immature phase, where they stay on land for two or three years before they return to the water as adults.  This one was good size, with clear spots.  Some of the smaller ones I saw earlier must have been newly hatched.  Forty years we would find a dozen adult newts swimming on any of the beaches around the lake every time we approached the water.  You could chase them to shallow water and easily catch them.  Today I rarely see an adult Newt in Lake Wicwas, and they are usually in marshy areas.  Has anyone seen many adults lately?

Eastern Newt - Red Eft Stage

Orange must be the color of the day - I found these miniature mushrooms growing amongst the pine needles.  They are only about half an inch tall.

We have seen five loons on the lake lately, but this evening for the first time, there were six.

  

They seemed to be getting along well together, as all six fished quietly in the cove together for over an hour.
  

Thanks to Linda for taking these pictures while I was out fishing.  It was another great evening of fishing, warm and humid, with a fabulous full moon rising over the Chemung Forest and Lake Wicwas.