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