May 29, 2022: Paddling with the Bears

While out on an evening paddle on the lake last week I saw a brown blob swimming along the water - it looked like a duck, but it was too brown for duck.  It couldn't be a beaver because there was too much of it above the water.  Same thing for a mink or an otter.  Suddenly it dawned on me when I saw a bit of orange on the forward end of the blob:  it was a bear.  It was moving fast - I don't know whether that's its normal cruising speed or whether it didn't like the sight of me heading towards it.  At any rate, it made a beeline for its point of access and climbed right up onto shore.

Mr. Bear leaves quite a wake.

It was crossing from the north side of the lake near the outlet, making landfall on the Marion Conservation land near the powerlines.  When it was on dry land it certainly wasn't being discreet as it crashed along through the underbrush.   

He looks a little thinner soaking wet.

Just another typical day on Lake Wicwas.  

But that's not all.  Driving over a rise in the road two days later I found this.

There he is again.

I stopped and he just kept ambling down the road towards me until he decided he really better not get any closer.

And just like that, he was gone.  

Our loons haven't nested yet as far as I can tell - the two of them are still out swimming and fishing together except when there are altercations with a third, rogue loon.  At one point two loons were having a loud, flapping battle right next to me on the shoreline.  It was the sound that caught my attention - I thought there was a bear or a moose climbing up on shore, but couldn't see anything.  Then I saw the two loons thrashing at each other and suddenly diving and disappearing.  Tom and Pat B. caught another example of the situation when three loons popped up near their boat, apparently oblivious to the boat as they noted the loons "barely noticed us as they were so involved in themselves."  They took this video:

As long as there is a loon harassing the pair they may not nest, and the time is here for them to do so.

There have been a few other birds I don't see very often around the lake, all seen while on various paddles.  On one warm, moderately windy day I saw two birds soaring over the lake enjoying the thermals.  One is a common sight:

Turkey vultures are often seen soaring over fields and roadways.

The other I have only seen a couple of times, hunting in winter at the bird feeders:

Cooper's hawks are not rare, but rather secretive.

I'll remind you that I'm not expert in these matters and it's possible this is a sharp-shinned hawk as the two are very similar, so I'd be happy to hear any thoughts on the identification.  The shape of the tail and the size of the head pointed me to the Cooper's hawk.  Both the Cooper's and the sharp-shinned dine primarily on smaller birds, keeping out of sight until attacking at high speed.  Being smaller than broad-winged and red-tailed hawks gives them the ability to catch their prey in flight with their great speed and agility even in dense forests where a fleeing bird will attempt to evade them.  

One last bird, considered more an ocean bird than a lake bird is the spotted sandpiper which was flitting along the shoreline, stopping here and there in search of something to eat - insects on the rocks or larvae in the water.

Spotted Sandpiper

And finally, as the spring/early summer wildflower season reaches its climax, the pink lady's slippers have joined the parade.  I was able to find one in its early stage of blooming:

A pink lady's slipper just before blooming.

And many in their full glory.

Everyone's favorite!

Lady's slippers, trillium, fringed polygala, bluets are all in bloom.  This long weekend is the perfect time to see what you will find in the forest - just wear your bear bell in case you also see a bear!  Happy Memorial Day!

Note:  If you're interested in a local walk this weekend to look for wildflowers here are some suggestions:

• The Beaver Pond Trail at Page Pond (Trail head on Blueberry Hill Rd)
• The Quarry Loop Trail at Page Pond
• The White Trail at Waukewan Highlands
• The Yellow Trail at Hamlin-Eames-Smyth  

May 22, 2022: It's Mating Season

First it's the prey.  Lots of small ripples on the surface of the water raised our curiosity when it continued for an hour or more.  Linda was the first to investigate and found a very large fish - a largemouth bass - swimming casually around in shallow water very close to shore.

Papa Largemouth.
(A polarizing filter helps to reduce reflections from the water.)

There are lots of bugs on the water, so the ripples were probably the fish rising to catch them.  

Lots food for birds and fish right now.
(No polarizer has surface reflection.)

This continued for a second day, and now there was a school of mixed species swimming around the area together, perch, bass, and sunfish, all not seeming to bother each other.

A mixed school of fish is waiting for lunch to arrive.

Yellow Perch

Sunfish (Pumpkin Seed)

And now there were two largemouth bass.

Note the distended belly on the lower fish.

They were swimming and circling close together over an areas swept clear of silt - all the clues of a largemouth bass nesting area.  Bass nesting starts in the spring when the water temperature rises to about 65 degrees, at which point the male bass will select a site and clear it out by fanning the bottom with its fins.  When the water has been warm for a few days the females will arrive near nesting sites and the male will go in search of an egg-bearing female, herding her to the nest site.  At the nest the male will strive to keep her there, swimming alongside and circling the female, sometimes bumping her abdomen to encourage the release of her eggs.  When she does release eggs, she will only release a portion of them, saving the remainder to deposit in another male's nest, increasing the odds of her offspring's survival.  

After spawning the male will remain at the nest to defend the eggs from predators - that's probably why all the other small fish are hanging around the nesting site, hoping for an easy meal of fresh fish eggs.  After the eggs hatch in about a week the male will continue to defend the small fry for up to two more weeks when they will disperse from the nest.  During this time the male will not eat - until it's so hungry that it just can't resist all the young fish it has been protecting, and will often eat much of its own young.  The strongest and fastest will escape and survive, keeping the gene pool strong.  Still, males may die from the exhaustion and lack of food from defending the nest.  By Saturday only one bass was to be seen, and it was busy chasing away any smaller fish that dared enter its lair.

The second mating scene this week is a predator of the first:  Our loon pair, which has been spending lots of time poking around various islands in search of the perfect nesting site:  one close to the water (because they can't walk on land) but not too close to the water level (so a heavy rain won't flood the nest) and on a lee shore (so waves won't flood the nest).  It's not clear to me whether they have learned the boat patterns on the lake to know where they're safe from boat wakes, but they seem to do a pretty good job with that.  I only recall one year when a nest was located where it received a lot of boat wake.  

There have been a few territorial fights where one loon - presumably the mating male - chases an intruding loon.  These chases of high-speed wing-rowing along the water can go on for a quarter of a mile across the lake.

Wing-rowing to drive off an intruder (photo taken a few years ago).

After one of these events, successful in driving off the unwanted loon, the victor swam slowly back to a tiny island it has been scouting with its partner.

Returning home.

Arriving at the island, a second loon magically appeared.

There she is.

She was probably hiding safely out of site so as not to reveal a possible nesting site to the intruding loon.  They once again perused the real estate as a potential place to live for the next four or five weeks.

"It seems rather small to me."

They seem confident they'll be able to nest in peace somewhere on the lake, because on Thursday, they were actively mating.

I'll try to keep this R rated.

Eggs are usually laid a few days after successful fertilization which may require several copulation attempts.  With any luck they will be on a nest by next weekend.  And a few weeks after that, they'll be in search of those tiny bass minnows to feed to their chicks.  The timing of nature sure has things figured out.  

And the blueberries!  

A bumper crop of blueberries has started.

Hot weather interspersed with plenty of rain has the 2022 crop looking fantastic.

Maybe they'll be some left for us after the birds and chipmunks have their fill.

Next weekend is Memorial Day - Hello Summer!

May 15, 2022: The Eagle has Landed

Summer hit the Lakes Region with a bang this week with a 60 degree temperature swing over 48 hours, from a low of 34 degrees on Tuesday to a high of 94 on Thursday, and all living things around the lakes took notice.  The spring peepers were singing up a storm, the birds were feasting on the explosion of insects, and leaves on the trees were practically growing as you watched.  I wasn't the only one out enjoying the warm sun, which here in mid-May is now as intense as it is in late July.  On a morning paddle around the lake I spotted a bald eagle soaking up the rays.

When I first saw it the eagle had its wings spread out, perhaps to dry them, or perhaps just to feel the warmth of the sun on its body after a long cold winter.  

Spring Sunbathing

I've seen a juvenile bald eagle quite frequently this spring and I can only guess this is the same one.  It was perched high in a white pine on one of the Rawson Wood islands where it had a bird's-eye view of everything going on around Lake Wicwas.  After watching this magnificent bird for a while I went on my way without disturbing it.  Even before it's fully mature there's little question about why this bird is at the top of the food chain.

There are too many new birds arriving now to list them all, and a group of bird-watchers saw and heard a couple dozen of them on Wednesday morning when Iain MacLeod of the Squam Lakes Science Center led a bird walk on the Laverack Nature Trail at Hawkins Brook.  I learned how to identity a few more birds by their song, and also learned that a crow called the fish crow has recently arrived in New Hampshire from the deep south when we saw one of those at the brook.  They are visually indistinguishable from our common American crow, but the fish crow has a distinct call, a short, nasal kah-kah.  Here a few other birds seen that morning on Hawkins Brook:

Red-winged blackbird

Canada Goose

Swamp Sparrow

There were also quite a few painted turtles swimming in the clear spring water of Hawkins Brook.

I think they appear flattened due to the refractive property of water.

Soon the tree pollen will be in the water, decreasing the visibility.

I think this is a birch tree that is releasing its load of pollen.

The warm weather has also brought out an abundance of wildflowers including bluets in sunny patches and these wild strawberries I saw blooming on Wedding Island.

Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

On that same paddle I saw serviceberry trees in bloom in many spots along the shoreline, including this one, also on Wedding Island.  

Serviceberry, also know as Shadbush (Amelanchier arborea)

Serviceberry got its name from the fact that it blooms right at the time when the ground has thawed sufficiently for funeral services to be held.  I'll close with this serviceberry tree that bloomed just across the cove from the Blue Heron Lodge, right on cue for the service of Joan Harris that was held on Friday at Oakland Cemetery.  Joan will long be remembered by all who love the natural beauty of Lake Wicwas.

In memory of Joan Harris

May 8, 2022: Buds and Blossoms

Last week the red maple and the trailing arbutus - two of the earliest plants to wake up in the spring - were on display.  This week things really got moving with a lot more gearing up for summer, including some small but pretty flowers.

Common violet (Viola papilionacea)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

It's not surprising that the tiniest flowers - the arbutus - were first to bloom, followed by slightly larger blossoms, with the largest ones - think sunflowers - not blooming until late in the summer.  And then just yesterday I saw my first trillium of the year, a purple one.

Purple Trillium (Trillium erectum)

With the early head start on most other trees, the red maples are already forming small red leaves on their branches.

Early red maple leaves.

Black cherries have also put out leaves and are now forming buds that will turn into bouquets of delicate white flowers, and eventually cherries.

Black cherry (Prunus serotina)

The blueberry buds are swelling and will burst out soon.

Blueberries getting ready for summer eating.

That always gets me thinking of blueberry pancakes even though I know I still have two months to wait.

The oaks are always the laggard in the forest, whether it's putting out the leaves in the spring or hanging on to them late into fall.  But they are forming buds now, and some of them will survive long enough to become leaves.  Others will meet a different fate:

Look at that tasty morsel.

No leaves on that twig!

As the compost pile has warmed up and started cooking again we've had some visitors digging in it overnight so I set out the camera to see who our late night dinner guests are.  My first guess was correct:

This nice plump raccoon seems to have survived the winter just fine.

But it also has a least one other dining companion sharing the table.

A turkey looks for discarded seeds.

The turkeys are just picking over the dry plant debris, not digging down into the pile like the raccoon looking for more substantial items.  I guess I need to bury new additions to the pile a bit deeper.

We have seen plenty of of turkeys around the lakes as well as signs of them digging in the leaves throughout the woods; I hope they're eating lots of tics!

Scouring the woods for seeds and bugs.

Scratching up leaves - the dry land version of the snowy egret scratching in the mud in Shem Creek.

Wishing you all a Happy Mother's Day!

Sweet White Violets for Mom!