November 10, 2019: Dragonflies in November

It's hard to believe dragonflies are still patrolling the skies in November.

The meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum) dragonfly is known to survive late into the fall.

I had seen several dragonflies out enjoying a warm sunny day this week, and then somehow this one managed to get into the house, and it posed for a portrait before I scooped it up and returned it to its proper domain.  This meadowhawk would have mated in late summer, so it has completed its life mission even if it didn't survive the change that was coming.

Wednesday was too nice to pass up one last quick fall hike between the yard chores.  It had been a while since I'd hiked Red Hill via Eagle Cliff, so for a short trip, that fit the bill. 

Squam Lake from Eagle Cliff.

The bare ledges on Mt. Whiteface are always a good identifying feature.

I saw only three people on the hike:  a couple at the fire tower, and Bob, a property steward doing his fall survey on the Eagle Cliff Trail.  (Thank you for your work Bob, it was good talking with you!) 

Then on Thursday the front approached; overnight the temperature dropped, and Friday, it hit.

Multiple squalls blew in on the northwest wind.

The squalls went all day and the temperature never rose above freezing, but on an afternoon walk I found I wasn't the only one out in the storm.  While I was standing near the shore, a flash of dark brown caught my eye, and there, five feet in front of me right at the water's edge was a young mink!

That little brown shape is a mink.

I had my phone in my hand and snapped one blurry picture before it saw me and ducked into a hole in the bank.  That was the nature highlight for the week!

Friday night the wind let up and the cold settled in, allowing the first ice of the season to form on Lake Wicwas.

Ice forms first in sheltered coves.

It then works its way out into the lake.

I love the ice formations when it freezes on a calm night in a protected area.

Jack Frost visited Sheep Island

There's no telling at this point if the ice will last as it all depends on the weather.  But as long as the lake is open we'll follow the loon story the best we can - until they depart.  I saw (what I'm calling) Davidson and mom on Tuesday, and I saw Harley on Saturday. 

Davidson and mom.

However, John Cooley, senior biologist for the Loon Preservation Committee, indicated that it really could be either chick with the parent.

One would expect the younger bird (Davidson), usually smaller and weaker, to need more help and thus stay close to a parent, but sometimes if the weaker bird is picked on by its bigger sibling and excluded from the family, it will venture out on its own.  And the juvenile we're calling Harley (the independent one) did start separating from the family quite early in the summer.  Harley is a very proficient fisher; I saw it bring up a huge fish which Harley worked on for a long time before it went down the hatch.  So we really don't know who's who, but we'll keep watching to see if we can tell when each leaves the lake, and if any of them leave together. 

Who knows, maybe Friday's weather and ice forming will have them saying "time to move on!"

Not "a fit night out for man nor beast"  (Yukon Cornelius)

Then again, now that we've gone back to beautiful fall weather, maybe they'll stick around a while longer.

Meredith Center Free Will First Baptist Church on Saturday