October 27, 2019: Who Left these little Gems?

The past week provided us both beautiful late summer days and cool, damp October days - I was able to get on the lake on one of the former for a perfectly calm autumn paddle.

Paddling alongside a marshy shoreline I noticed those little brown specimens left carefully on a log, knowing they were from a mammal, and certainly an aquatic one.

A quick check of the nature guide confirmed my first thought:  Muskrat.  These animals are closely related to beavers in both appearance and behavior, as muskrats also make lodges out of mud and vegetation, but they will also carve dens in the bank of a lake or river.  They will even dig a den into the walls of a beaver lodge!  They can be distinguished from beavers by their smaller size and the fact that they have a skinny, rat-like tail rather than the broad tail of a beaver.  Muskrats eat mostly aquatic vegetation, but will also eat clams, fish, and other small animals.  I once saw a muskrat swimming along carrying a freshwater mussel in its mouth.

Taken in April at 5:30pm, is this a parent bringing dinner home for the kids?

Muskrats leave their scat on logs and rocks just above the water line, and that larger brown mass is from an older visit to that log.

There were other, prettier sights to see on my trip around Lake Wicwas, including geese, loons, and an eagle.

I'm guessing this is Harley.

A couple of geese keep an eye on me.

I didn't see the bald eagle until it flew out of tree as I passed under it, but I was able to catch a picture as it flew down the lake.

As soon as it was airborne the loons started hollering.  The loon I had passed by earlier, perhaps a quarter mile away, was the first to see it - they are clearly paying attention to the sky.  It gave out a loud alarm, and then from far down the other end of the lake a second loon responded as if to say "thanks for the warning, yes I see it coming right towards me."  They continued to call back and forth to each for several minutes.

Unlike an event Dave Thorpe witnessed a few days earlier, the eagle flew off over the lake, not bothering either loon.  But Dave saw a much more dramatic event, where the eagle dive-bombed one loon, flew back up, and then repeated the attack on a second.  In both attacks Dave reported a large splash of water, but he wasn't able to determine if it was the eagle hitting the water or the loon creating a diversion as a means of defense.  Either way, it gives me further confidence that our loon chicks are able to defend themselves.



On an earlier hike up to Arbutus Hill I noticed an interesting hole in the ground.

Not a great picture, but you can see the papery outer layer of a yellow jacket  nest.

It wasn't until I had my face down there that I realized it was a yellow jacket nest that a bear had ripped into to access the eggs, larvae, and any other protein that was present.  I'm always amazed at a bear's moxie to go after a large bee's nest - how many angry stinging insects would swarm it, especially its exposed face and eyes?  I was happy there was only a stray bee crawling around in the nest, surveying the damage.  I didn't stick my hand down there to pull out the leaves that had blown in.


Both of our chicks and one adult continue to linger on the lake, enjoying the end of the fall season as much as I am, while it lasts.

October 20, 2019: Bucks on the Prowl

I've seen quite a few signs of white-tail deer lately - the bucks that is - out and about, claiming their territory.  I caught this guy on my trail camera one night this week.

A nice size buck cruises its territory.

The most visible signs are the many "scrapes" they make on the ground. 

The buck was facing to the left, kicking debris to the right to clear the soil.

These are commonly seen near hiking trails because bucks with a rack of antlers appreciate the easy travel along cleared trails.  The scrape above shows that the buck had dug up leaves and such and thrown it back a good ten feet.  The scrape itself often has a triangular shape where the buck used its front feet to dig at the ground. 

The typical V pattern made by the front hooves.

After making a scrape a buck will urinate there so it can soak into the bared ground, thus letting its scent linger for several days.  This provides a mating signal to the females in the area, as well letting other bucks know that this territory - and its resident females - have been claimed. 

Another technique bucks use to mark territory is called a rub. 

A rub on a young hemlock tree.

I found this rub on a hemlock tree this week in the same area.  A buck will rub its antlers on a tree, often an aromatic hemlock, to leave another territorial marker.  Deer have glands near their eyes which add their unique scent to that of the freshly released hemlock bark which intensifies the marker.

Deer aren't the only creatures out prowling around in the dark these days.  The sunrise in late October and early November is the latest we get all year (later than at the winter solstice due to daylight savings time) so it's the least painful time to get up to witness the birth of a new day.

The first peak of sun rises over Lake Winnisquam.

This week I took the short hike up Ladd Mountain in the Chemung area of Meredith to indulge in the beauty of early morning.

Mist on Lake Winnisquam

It's an easy 1-mile hike up, and when I was there this summer I thought it would be good vantage point with an eastern exposure overlooking the northern end of Lake Winnisquam.  I wasn't disappointed.

Dawn breaks over Meredith.

It's hard to believe we still haven't had a hard frost.  One morning the temperature dropped to almost freezing, low enough that in an open field with a lot of radiational cooling, I saw my first ice crystals of the season. 

First ice, only in open areas on the very lowest lying leaves.

Earlier in the week I was out on Turtle Island in Lake Wicwas doing some fall clean-up and saw that the turtle nests laid way back in June had hatched out.

Holes and shells where baby turtles emerged from the nest.

The shell fragments are soft and leathery feeling.

I had forgotten how late in the year snapping turtle eggs hatch until my brother sent me photos of 21 little guys hatching out from a nest in Canterbury on October 1st.

Just two of a litter of 21.  Photo by Glen Powell.  (Thanks for sharing!)

Snapping turtles have evolved with a very strange property related to hatching eggs.  The sex of the turtles that hatch is dependent on the temperature while they are developing in the ground.  Temperatures below 77 degrees F will result in only male turtles, while temperatures above 80 produce only females.  Between these temperature there will be a mix of sexes.  It seems like a strange way to balance the population, and it makes me wonder if they will evolve quickly enough to maintain a successful population at our latitude as the planet's temperature increases.

There were a lot of photos being shared of the rainbow that appeared on Friday.  I was lucky enough to be out on run and saw it shimmering over the hills north of Lake Wicwas.

Rainbow over Wicwas, seen from Wicwood Shores Rd.

At least one adult loon is still on on the lake, and one of the chicks remains glued to her (?) side all the time. 

One of the chicks, most likely with mom.

They separate only to dive, regrouping as soon they surface.

It's a pretty sight to see loons on the lake in autumn.

There were a lot of gorgeous colors around the Lakes Region this week before the storm that blew through on Wednesday night stripped many leaves off the trees, but there is still plenty of color to be seen this weekend.

Still nice colors west of the lake as of yesterday (Oct 19th).

One of these nights we'll get that first hard frost.

October 13, 2019: The Colorful Season

It's a time of change around the Lakes Region in so many ways, and color is one of the most obvious.

Between the beginning of October and the end of November the world transforms from a sea of green, through a kaleidoscope of  brilliant colors, and ends up in a mellow state of gray and brown.  And then it won't be long before the scene turns into glistening hues of blue and white.

It's the best time of the year to be outside enjoying everything nature has to offer, with cool temperatures, dry trails, no bugs, and beautiful scenery.  We took a short hike up in the Ossipee Mountains at Castle in the Clouds and the colors were quite nice.

Looking across Shannon Pond at Turtleback Mountain

The Belknap Mountains in the haze beyond Lake Winnipesaukee

It's a good time to look down as you walk because the berries of many shrubs are ripening now and they add different colors to the palette, such as the white baneberry plant with its white and black berries on bright red stems.

White baneberry (Actaea pachypoda), also known as "Dolls eyes", grows beneath a dense forest canopy.

All parts of this plant are poisonous, though one source [Natural Medicinal Herbs] does say it has multiple medicinal uses including "as a stimulant to revive and rally patients at the point of death."  Maybe I'll keep a few berries in  my pocket just in case....

On other walks this week I came across two very large hornet nests.

Bald-faced hornet nest.

One, pointed out by a fellow trail worker (thank you JS!) at the Page Pond Community Forest, had been knocked down on the ground and was devoid of insects which allowed a look at close range.

I walked right by this nest, thinking it was just a rock on the ground.

I was fascinated by the intricate design and construction of the nest, especially the subtle color variations.

This nest was most likely built by bald-faced hornets.  Bald-faced hornets are technically wasps, and they make nests by chewing wood into a pulp with their saliva and forming it into the nest.  I would guess the color variations are due to different types of wood they used as the starting material.

One color you don't want to see is black, at least when it comes from smoke.

Smoke from a barn fire on Chase Road.

We saw this column of black smoke late Wednesday afternoon;  it was reportedly from a barn fire on Chase Rd.  It was quickly extinguished by Meredith fire department with assistance from neighboring stations.  I don't know how extensive the damage was, and I hope there were no human or animal injuries.



If you've been in the forest lately you already know it's a banner year for acorns.

An copious crop of acorns is underfoot this fall.

They are abundant and large this year, and when you're in a garage with a metal roof, focused on your work, and a big one slams onto the roof, it just about gives you a heart attack.  Where are those baneberry berries?

I think the red and orange colors from the maples are at a peak in the Lakes Region right now, with the yellows of beech and oak still in the early stages.  And there are more and more ducks arriving to enjoy the scene, adding their own unique color schemes color to the picture.

A flock of wood ducks paddles among the maples.

Enjoy it now before it all segues into those browns and grays of November.

October 6, 2019: Stress Free Eagle Watching

It's nice to enjoy watching a bald eagle on the lake and not have to worry about loon chicks becoming an eagle snack.

I'm pretty sure Harley and Davidson are now strong enough and experienced enough to be able to protect themselves from an eagle.  So when I saw a majestic bald eagle flying over the lake, heading to a tall pine to sit and watch the world - which it did for two hours - I just marveled at the sight.

It's refreshing to know that at a time when we are losing millions of birds every year - 3 billion in fact since 1970 (that's one in every four birds that were on the planet in 1970) [REF:  Science, 4 October, 2019, also Gustave Axleson, Cornell Lab of Ornithology 19 September 2019 and  Christopher Carbone, Fox news, 19 Sept 2019] - that we can save species when we decide it's important enough to us.  Bald eagles, the California Condor, and peregrine falcons are some the species now on the rebound.  (Thank you RP for sharing that article!)

The Canada goose is another species increasing in population, and it's the time of year when, especially on the weekend, you get a reliable wake-up call at exactly one half hour before sunrise.  That's the instant when the reports of shotguns ring out across the lake, immediately followed by the squawking of Canada geese, signalling the commencement of hunting for the day.

A flock of geese takes to the air after a fusillade of gun shots.

And there are quite a few geese and ducks around right now, though I haven't yet seen any of the more interesting ducks on their travels down from points north.

These look like mallards to me.

A nice look at the duck's secondary feathers.

In the September 15 post I remarked that robins are flocking up at this time of year.  There are other species doing the same.  On one morning walk this week I was mobbed by an upset flock of chick-a-dees alerting the forest to the presence of an intruder.  Then just a few minutes later I was given the same treatment by a flock of blue jays from high up in the pine trees.  They must feel they have strength in numbers.

On the topic of reasons to be careful while boating, I came across this while returning from a run this week.

Not a good start to your day of fishing.

Did you notice the water pouring from the driver's door?  He made a slight error in gear selection while launching his boat and ended up in the lake up to the top of his front bumper.  He was able to get back up this far before the engine stalled.  The good Samaritan tried to pull him out, but the rope snapped, so they waited for the tow truck.  Hopefully the vehicle can be saved.

Dave Thorpe did a loon survey yesterday and found both chicks but only one adult.  I have also only seen one adult this past week so it's possible the male has left for the year.  The female usually stays longer watching the kids, but soon, even she will say her final goodbye and head off, leaving Harley and Davidson on their own until just before ice-in, when they will also fly off to the ocean.  Dave is thinking that Davidson, the second hatched, slightly smaller chick is still with mom while the first hatched, Harley, is off on its own.

Harley, seen in the southern end of the lake on Saturday.  Photo by Dave Thorpe.

Davidson, the same day in Marion Cove.  Photo by Dave Thorpe.

Thanks for the update Dave!

If you got up north this past weekend you were treated to some good foliage.  If not, no worries, it will be peaking in the Lakes Region over the next week or two.  Columbus Day weekend should be ideal in the area, as the leaves are just coming on now here at Lake Wicwas.