October 11, 2020: Snow on the Rock Pile - (Important Update on the Eagle!)

Mother nature gave me my first glimpse of winter this week:  snow on the top of Mount Washington. 

A snow-capped Mount Washington behind the Mountain Ash berries on the summit of Mt. Roberts.

I had a beautiful hike with a good friend up in the Ossipee mountains on Friday, and there it was, the first snow, along with ice in the shallow ponds at 3000' elevation, still there after noon.  The foliage in the vast hardwoods throughout the Ossipee range was good, though a little muted at the highest elevations.

Turtleback Mountain and Lake Winnipeaukee from the summit of Black Snout.

   

Yellow birch and beech leaves glow along the High Ridge Trail.

There is a bit of sad news to report from Lake Wicwas this week.  Dean Cascadden reported that an injured eagle, first noticed by another Wicwas resident, was resting on the shoreline of Bryant Island, appearing very lethargic.  He called NH Fish and Game to report it and they said if it was still there 24 hours later they would come and assess the situation.  I went out to take a look, and by that time it has made its way up on shore and was roosting on railing, but it was the saddest, most sickly looking bird I've ever seen.  

A very sick-looking bald eagle.  Photo by Dean Cascadden.

The next day, being still on the island, Fish and Game went out and had to euthanize it - it had been shot by a shotgun and could not be saved.  I'd like to think it was a case of mistaken identity as hunting season is in progress (as noted by the shotgun blasts around the lake) but it's hard to imagine any bird could be mistaken for a bald eagle....

UPDATE:  After publishing this entry, a reader (many thanks Tony!) sent me this letter from Iain MacLeod, Executive Director at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center.  Apparently the initial assessment by Fish and Game of a shotgun injury was incorrect.  A later necropsy determined that the eagle was "likely" on the losing end of a fight with another eagle.  And this bird has a well known history, being banded in 1999, and since 2003 has been breeding on Squam lake where she has raised 26 chicks!  There is more information in Iain's letter, including, while still sad to lose an eagle, it is all part of the normal - and healthy - circle of life.  Here is Iain's letter (apparently not everyone has picked up on how to spell "Wicwas):  

The old female eagle from our Squam nest was found mortally injured this week. She was found on an island on Wickwas Lake and subsequently died. She was initially thought to have been shot, but x-rays revealed no shot and the cause of death was determined to likely be from a fight with another eagle. This location is well outside her territory and means perhaps that she was ousted from her breeding territory and was roaming into other territories.

 

She was hatched/banded in 1999 at Little Quabbin Island in Ware, MA. She has been breeding at our nest on Squam since 2003.

 

I saw her on February 18 of this year along the Squam River in Ashland and I assume that she was the breeding female this year at our nest. On May 22 I photographed an adult eagle with the two small eaglets at the nest on Big Loon Island and that adult was banded (presumably our girl).

 

So, it will be interesting to see what happens around the nest this winter and next spring. We perhaps now have a new younger female in residence.

 

Although it’s sad to lose her (she has raised 26 chicks here), this is all part of life as an eagle. The leading cause of mortality in NH’s wild Bald Eagles is fatal injuries from fights with other eagles – a sign of a healthy population with plenty of young fit eagles ready to take over territories.  

 

Iain MacLeod

Executive Director

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center

PO Box 173, 23 Science Center Road

Holderness, NH 03245

Phone: 603-968-7194 x123

www.nhnature.org

On a happier note, Harold and Betty's parents did return!  There were happy reunions upon their arrival from their short time away.

The happy reunion.

But the parents seem to be leaving regularly, only to come back again, and in the process the chicks are adapting.  On Wednesday Harold and Betty were back in Marion Cove, again searching for their parents.  

But this time their calls were much less mournful, and had more of a demanding tone, kind of like, "Come on mom and dad, when are you going to get back - it's time to eat."

And yesterday, while Lake Hosting at the Wicwas boat ramp, Marge Thorpe observed the terminus of a training flight when the entire family came zooming in for a landing.  They can fly!  Normally we expect the parents to depart the lake weeks before the juveniles do, but this makes me wonder if Harold and Betty are now tagging along with their parents on their flights, so maybe when the parents leave, the kids will go with them.  From this point on I'd be most interested in hearing about any loon sightings you might have on the lake.  (You can leave a comment below or send an email to lakewicwas@aol.com.)

I'll close with a few displays of nature's beauty in New Hampshire.  If you can get out this afternoon or tomorrow you'll still find plenty of good leaf peeping opportunities in the Lakes Region.