September 13, 2020: Soaking up the Waning Rays of Summer

We saw a few more cool mornings this week and the daylight hours have shrunk to almost twelve; there's no denying now that fall is around the corner, meaning it's time to soak in all the warm days we get now.  Returning from a trip on the lake one day this week I found a most interesting sight:  a great blue heron doing just that.

A great blue heron soaking up the late summer rays.

I have never seen a heron do this before - its wings spread out, collecting up the sun as if it were trying to get a tan under its chin!  

The only other bird I've seen act like this is the cormorant.  The cormorant is a large diving bird similar to a loon but with a distinct difference in it feathers:  the cormorant's feathers are not water-repellent as the loons are, so they absorb water, making the cormorant heavier and more efficient at diving and catching fish.  But that added weight makes it more difficult to become airborne and to fly efficiently, which is why you'll often see cormorants sitting on the rocks at the ocean with their wings spread out - they are drying their feathers.  You might even see this behavior on a lake in New Hampshire.

A double-crested cormorant drys its wings over Lake Wicwas.

Cormorants are infrequent visitors to Lake Wicwas;  some years I see several around the lake, but most often there are none or maybe a transient for a few days.

A trio of cormorants sits under a waxing moon in 2010.

The cool weather has sparked a change in behavior amongst our other large diving birds, the loons.  This week we saw only one chick and a parent together, the first time I haven't found the two chicks close together, which was a little concerning.  But farther down the lake we found the other chick, also with a parent.  Also, one of the chick/parent pairs was much farther north in the lake that the chicks have been all summer, almost to Bryant Island.  These two facts make me think that our other pair of loons (the banded pair) has left the lake.

Prior to this point there has always been one loon out on guard duty well south of Bryant Island keeping the other loons away from the family while the other parent watched over both chicks.  The fact that they have moved farther north into the other pair's territory tells me the northern pair is gone for the winter.  And that bodes well for Harold and Betty, as one more danger to them is gone, and now both parents can provide food for the chicks.  I have yet to see either of the chicks catch their own food, though the loon experts at the Loon Preservation Committee say they are capable of it now, although just like teenagers, they'll rely on mom and dad as long as they can get away with it!

It must be an exciting time for the new chicks as they get to explore new horizons.

Harold and Betty are seeing new parts of the lake for the first time.

We were fortunate to have a beautiful day when the Lake Wicwas Association held the 11th Annual Paddle Regatta over Labor Day weekend.

It was well attended by a group of paddlers that explored some of the lake's marshes and conservation areas, including the islands conserved by Rawson Wood many years ago for loon nesting habitat, and which were in fact the nesting location for our banded pair this year.  

If you're out on the lake in the next week soaking up some sun, take a look near the shore for these interesting flowers:

Turtlehead (Chelone Glabra)

They tend to hide out among the blueberries and other low growth so you may to look a bit, but they have such an interesting bloom its worth seeking them out.  Regarding its Latin name, according to the US Forest Service, "In Greek mythology, there was a nymph named Chelone who insulted the gods; in punishment, she was turned into a turtle."

Cold nights and misty mornings will be more common now, so be sure to get out and enjoy the warm afternoons whenever you get the chance!

Morning mist envelops Wedding Island.