November 26, 2020: Happy Thanksgiving!

I decided to post early this week so I could wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you found a way to connect with your family and friends - we need some warmth in our lives on this cool and wet Thanksgiving 2020.

After a cold morning in Meredith the ice on Lake Wicwas was creeping out into the lake, further evidence that winter is getting closer.

But, to my surprise, Betty and Harold are still here!  I had seen a couple of loons fishing far out in the lake several times this week and they were acting suspiciously like our two loon chicks.

Harold and Betty, still on Lake Wicwas.

But they were also fishing in deep water, and I wasn't confident I could differentiate between five month old juveniles and molting adults this late in the year.  So I sent a few grainy pictures off to John Cooley at the Loon Preservation Committee, and he was able to confirm they are juveniles.

With that expert input I am confident these two are Betty and Harold.  John said the scalloped pattern on their backs is a distinctive feature on juvenile loons.  

They returned the next day and came close enough for a better look.

He added that one and two year old "sub-adults" have a more subtle version of this pattern, but when it's this distinct one can be confident it's a juvenile.  

John was pleased to hear that two of them are getting along well together in contrast to the sibling rivalry that loons often display.  He noted also the fact they are foraging in deep water and catching large fish is a good sign as they move onto their new fishing grounds in the Atlantic Ocean.  Our new loon couple that has taken over Harris Cove as their home appear to be excellent parents!

"Hey, are you going to share that?"

Now we just have to hope they have the good sense to get out of Dodge before ice-in.  It's nice to know we have observers on all corners of the lake who will keep watch as the ice closes in and reduces the take-off runways.  It seems every year the LPC has to go out and rescue a loon or two that doesn't get off their lake in time.

I had another interesting wildlife encounter this week.  I was on my to get the mail right around sunset when I came over a rise in the road and saw three deer standing in the middle of the road, mom and her two kids. Mom didn't hesitate for an instant, in fact, she acted so quickly that she literally leaped right over both her kids - which are pretty much full grown now - to dash off into the woods. One of the kids sprinted right off after her but the other just froze, kind of like the proverbial deer in the headlights.  But then it regained it's composure and also ran off, but in the opposite direction.  

Walking back down the road after retrieving the mail I could hear, and occasionally see through the leafless trees, the separated deer bounding along ahead of me.  Then about half way back there came a dramatic crashing of hooves through the forest up towards the road, and dashing across right in front of me was mom, with junior about 30 yards behind in rapid pursuit!  Mom clearly didn't waste any time running ahead to round up her lost child and bring the family back together.  Everything happened so quickly I wasn't able to get any pictures, but it was an experience to remember and that image of Mrs. Whitetail vaulting over her kids is burned into my memory!

It looked kind of like this.

Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are (or were), and I hope you enjoyed a nice turkey dinner, just not one these guys!

November 22, 2020: An Avian Love Triangle

It had been a quiet week on the lake until yesterday, when on a morning walk mother nature presented me with one wonder after another.  The most dramatic was the interaction of three Hooded Mergansers: two males in a lengthy encounter over a single female.

A trio of Hooded Mergansers

When I first saw them, the two males were circling around each other with the female some distance away.

It didn't take long before the action started, with one of the males swimming aggressively at the other.

I would assume the aggressor is the current mate of the female, trying to force off a would-be courter of his girl, but there's no way to be sure.  Un-mated mergansers will pair up in the fall and stay together through the winter months.  

After a few surface attacks, the fight became more animated and resulted in airborne maneuvers.  

The flight was short, with both of them circling back toward the object of their affection.

That swoop in the water shows their flight path.

But as they got close to her the battle was on again with one turning to push the other away.

This cycle repeated several times.  

After each foray they made their way back towards the female.  It makes me wonder what she is thinking.  Is she flattered?  Is she watching to see if she wants to pick a new mate?  Or is she just appalled by the whole ordeal?

She doesn't seem to be paying any attention to their antics.

Just looking away.

At any rate, after a stretch of this behavior, she either got fed up with it or decided that the distraction of one of their fights was a good time to take off and make her escape.

Watching, waiting for the right moment to make her exit.

In the foreground of the next photo you can see the wake from where she took off in the opposite direction just before the guys landed:

But she didn't get far - both males were immediately off in hot pursuit.

Running on the water for take-off.

Airborne!

It didn't take long for them to catch up to her.

And with that, they were gone, sure to continue their challenge elsewhere on the lake.  We'll never know who was threatening and who was defending, but it was fascinating to watch the competitive forces of nature in action.

Farther along my walk I saw, way far out in the lake, what I thought was my first loon sighting in many days.  It's behavior told me it had caught a large fish, too large to swallow alive, and the loon was playing with it, tiring it out enough to swallow it.  A picture in the low light was just good enough to show this was in fact the case, and a little flash of orange indicates the bird was going to  have sunfish for breakfast.

It's an awful photo, but you can see how big the fish is.

It also looks as though it may be a merganser rather than a loon, but it's too grainy to be sure.  It seems like all our resident loons are now gone.

A few other observations from my walk:  First, the Witch Hazel have started to bloom.

A witch hazel blossom

This is the only plant I know of that blossoms in late fall, almost winter.

Second, the Hobblebush buds for next spring are already in place.

Next year's hobblebush viburnum.

Another unusual plant behavior: putting out buds in the fall.  Both of these have stories behind them, but they will have to wait for another day.

And finally, frost on the goldenrod.

Frosty goldenrod.

Even in November there's something new to see.

November 15, 2020: It's November

Well, it had to happen sometime.  The nice da capo back to early fall was great while it lasted, but alas, reality has returned.  I even had to change the journal banner photo from fall foliage to November drab.  But wasn't that warm, calm, summer reprieve wonderful?

One benefit of drab November with no leaves on the trees is improved visibility through the forest and all the sights that become newly available.  Linda took advantage of that one morning when she spotted a barred owl that might have been hidden from sight a few weeks ago.

A barred owl watches me carefully.

I didn't realize it actually had its back to us until it turned its head around.

Now it's facing forward.

That neck rotation always amazes me.  I'll bet the owls also appreciate the better sight lines when spinning their heads around in search of prey. 

This particular bird was being harassed by a flock of blue jays which were scolding loudly, encouraging it to move along, and it did so, flying a few dozen yards at a time, perching in different trees on the way.  I doubt that a large owl is endangered by the much smaller jays, but the racket they make alerts every potential food source within earshot to take cover, so the owl might as well move on to a place where it can hunt in peace.

Last week I mentioned that we took a walk in the Kelley-Drake Conservation Area in New Hampton.  Along the margin between one of the fields and the forest I noticed a very interesting moss, one I didn't recognize.

Running Clubmoss (Lycopodium clavatum)

I had never seen a moss that grew like this and it took me a little time to track it down.  The unusual attribute was long trailing stems that ran along the ground - some over a foot long - which ended up being the trait that led me to its identification.

It turns out this is not a moss, but is in the family of "fern-allies", being more closely related to ferns than to mosses.  Way back in September 2015 I wrote about another clubmoss, the Tree Clubmoss, so I really should have recognized this relative.  

Running Clubmoss grows throughout much of North America, thriving in both moist and damp conditions.  As with mosses and lichens, running clubmoss reproduces via spores rather than seeds, and the spores are highly flammable.  In the early days of photography its spores were used by photographers as flash powder.  [Ref:  borealforest.org]  I once tried to ignite spores from a club moss, but wasn't successful.

Its spores have been used for many purposes over the centuries, including by Native Americans for treatment of eczema and chafed skin [ibid] which is interesting considering that the plant contains lycopodine (thus its scientific name) which is poisonous because it paralyzes motor nerves.  [Ref:  Plants for a Future]  Another feature of clubmosses, especially appreciated this time of year, is that it's an evergreen, and so provides a bit of color in the drab of November.

A bit of color among November's browns and grays.

Those warm sunny days this week may be the last we'll see for a long time, but every season, even drab November, brings it's own special beauty.

Jack Frost made a visit to the lake last night.

Maybe skating season is next.

November 8, 2020: A November Day on Waukewan

It didn't feel much like November, but yesterday sure seemed like a perfect day to be on the water.  So I loaded up the kayak and took a paddle around Lake Waukewan.  It was a brilliant day:  bright, warm, a moderate southwest wind, and almost no one out on the lake beside the birds.

Chapman Island in Lake Waukewan

There were several flocks of Common Goldeneye on Waukewan, and they'd fly around from cove to cove searching for the best fishing spots.  They make the most interesting whistle when they fly, and between that and their conspicuous white and black coloring, they are easy to identify even from a distance.

Common Goldeneye in flight.

The gold eye and white face patch are distinguishing too.

I also saw three single loons (I couldn't tell if they were juveniles or adults), a few Common Mergansers, and several pairs of mallards.

Three Common Mergansers huddle under the Goldeneyes' flight path.

After circling the lake I paddled down the canal all the way to Main Street and Frog Rock Tavern.

The end of the canal before it goes under Main Street and on to the Mill Falls.

The Waukewan canal is quite a wonder of construction for circa 1818.

The 0.2 mile canal is lined with granite and has lasted 200 years.

Houses on Water Street (left) and High Street (right) line the canal

There was a slow but noticeable current in the canal.

On Friday, another fabulous November Day, Linda and I visited a very close-by conservation area we hadn't been to before, the Kelley-Drake Conservation Area in New Hampton.  

Lake Pemigewasset from the Kelly-Drake Conservation Area.

This is a beautiful piece of protected land that abuts the western shore of Lake Pemigewasset, less than two miles from Lake Wicwas.  We walked three miles of trails and the first stop was at the homestead of the very first settlers in New Hampton, arriving in 1775 and spending the first winter in a tent before developing their homestead.

One of several cellar holes.

The Lake Trail took us to the shore of Lake Pemigewasset; the Ridge Trail brought us through a tremendous stand of mature hemlock and pine - not old growth of course, because everything around here was cut at least once, but still very impressive trees.  There are also wonderful fields around the homestead that are being maintained, full of wildflowers and very old apples trees.

Milkweed seed pod

Add in a visit to the Drake Cemetery, and you can easily spend a couple of hours and walk three or four miles if you're so inclined.  I highly recommend a visit if you haven't been there yet.

Back at Lake Wicwas I've only seen mallards and wood ducks migrating so far, and I haven't seen the loons since before last week's snow.  We'll keep a watch out.  I did see the deer family come to visit again early one morning, but this time they were heading right into Linda's garden, and that's about the only time it isn't fun to have deer around.  Fortunately the local deer are not acclimated to humans and the slightest motion sends them prancing on their way back to the safety of the forest!

Mom and junior first.

With the straggler hurrying to catch up.

I still love to see them!