October 12, 2025: Hoppers and Hawks

Adding to the migrating raptors this week was a Red-tailed Hawk rising up on the thermals over the summit of Bald Knob in the Ossipee Mountains.

Red-tailed Hawk in the Ossipees

I had some nice views of it with the sun shining through its plumage, though it quickly rose up to a small spec in the sky.  It didn't have a very red tail, or perhaps the bright light washed the color out.

Raptors use these thermals in their migration by riding them high in the air, sometimes thousands feet, without using energy flapping their wings.  Then they soar southward for miles, slowly losing altitude, until they find another rising thermal air column.  And if there's a stiff northwest wind, all the better.  

I also heard a red-tail hawk up on the hills behind Lake Wicwas this week but I couldn't see it.  They typically don't stay in the Lakes Region through the winter, migrating just south of us, but perhaps that boundary is moving north now.

I found myself looking skyward for other reasons also.

The foliage doesn't seem as bright this year, perhaps due to the drought conditions, but there are plenty of beautiful trees in localized areas, especially around the lake where they had plenty of water all summer.

Looking down can be fruitful too.  That's where I found this huge American Toad camouflaged among the dry leaves.

American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)

There are migrating birds on the water too, including this flock of four mallards foraging for food in the shallow water near the dam on Wicwas.

Must be something good down there.

They're losing their iridescent summer colors.  

Paddling the marshy shorelines also reveals bright red American Cranberries ripening amongst the wetland growth.

If you see people tramping through the marshes in tall rubber boots, that's what they're collecting.

One must be prepared to take stowaways on board when paddling through the marshes.

Lots of little bugs hopped on my boat.

These appear to be different than the longer, thinner bugs that hop onto my kayak earlier in the summer.  I think these are a species of Planthopper, likely the Common Pondlily Planthopper.

Common Pondlily Planthopper (Megamelus davisi)

Wikipedia states there are over 12,000 species of planthoppers;  these are in the family Delphacidae, which includes "only" 2000 species.   

Thankfully these insects are purely herbivores.  That protrusion on its head is for sucking plant juices rather than human juices, so these are harmless to us; most had jumped ship before I got back to port.  But on my way home I passed by yet another pretty wetland plant, a variety of St John's Wort growing on a boulder in the lake.

Bog St. John's Wort  (Triadenum fraseri)

There's always something new and interesting to discover on the shores of your favorite lake.

October 5, 2025: Summer Continues

It's hard to remember it's October with seemingly endless summer weather coming day after day.   The forecast for Meredith is for three more days with the temperature hitting 80 degrees before rain arrives on Wednesday.  On one of those gorgeous days this week I took a long, peaceful paddle around the lake and was treated to several large bird sightings.  First was this mature eagle perched in a prime spot to watch over the world.

Farther along I saw an eagle fly high over the lake, and later a third one, immature, swoop down low, right at the loons.

An eagle on the hunt for fish - or loons.

The loons were aware of both of these. They sent out a general alert about the high-flier, but when the immature eagle came on its strafing run, they let out some pretty impressive shrieks that resounded across the lake.  Fortunately, all the loons evaded the attack.  There were three that I saw on this paddle, two together which swam amicably towards a third.   All were adults in various stages of losing their sharp summer plumage.  I didn't come across Spangle.

The northern territory male loon is still on the lake as well.  Perhaps he's sticking around to keep other loons out of his territory, or perhaps he's making sure he's visible to any eligible females that might fly over Wicwas on their way to the ocean.  (I don't know about this, I just like to consider various hypotheses - which sounds better than just making stuff up.)

The rest of my trip was spent just savoring a quiet, late summer day - and I wasn't the only one doing so.

A couple of painted turtles soak up some warm summer rays.

Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris)

Groundnut (Apios americana)

Groundnut, also know as wild potato, has edible tubers and legumes.  The tubers were an important food source for the native Americans, and were boiled like potatoes.  Europeans also relied on them during their early years in Massachusetts.  [Ref: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center]  I've seen groundnut growing in multiple locations around Lake Wicwas.

As leaves turn and start to drop from their branches, the sightlines through the forest are returning.  I had walked this section of trail a few times this summer but never saw this huge hornets nest until now.

It's a beauty - and so big it's bent the branch it's attached to almost 180 degrees - they must manufacture some pretty strong glue.  Bald-faced hornets are aggressive and pack a powerful sting, so I was careful in walking behind the nest to take a video of the residents coming and going as they performed their duties.  Click below to see the video:

They know to create the opening facing away from the prevailing winds.  I wonder how many hornets call that nest home.

 

Soon all the leaves will be gone, and the hornets too.  But as long as they last, let's relish in these last glorious days of summer.

September 28, 2025: A Goldfinch Buffet

Large numbers of American Goldfinch have been feasting on the wildflower buffet provided by our hot, dry summer, and Linda's patch of Woodland Sunflowers is a popular dining spot now that the daisies and black-eyed Susans have closed up shop for the summer.

An American Goldfinch dines in the sunflower department.

Goldfinch are so light (they weigh about half an ounce) they can flit from blossom to blossom, perching on the top of each stem to rip out seeds for as long as they like.  

Did you see the bumblebee sharing the flower patch?  Here's an interesting fact about goldfinches:  They are strict vegetarians, consuming animals (insects) only by accident.  And for this reason, when a Brown-headed Cowbird lays an egg in a goldfinch nest for the goldfinch pair to raise, it inevitably dies because it can't survive on a diet consisting of purely seeds.  [Ref: Cornell Lab of Ornithology]

Several varieties of asters have taken over the open fields from the Black-eyed Susans as the predominant flower, and the goldfinches enjoy these as well.  I think asters must thrive in dry hot weather because they're so abundant and healthy.  I found these Savory-leaf Asters a couple of weeks ago, but they are still blooming, even without much rain.

Savory-leaf Aster (Ionactis linariifolia)

Without much rain until Thursday that is, when the Lake Wicwas weather station recorded 3.5" of much needed precipitation.  

That was a good start to addressing the rain deficit present throughout all of New Hampshire.

The goldenrod doesn't seem quite as prolific as some years but it still dominates many fields.  I found a monarch partaking in the nectar on this goldenrod plant.

I also learned of a new flower, easily overlooked as it's not very flamboyant.  I had probably assumed it's a goldenrod plant that hasn't turned yellow, but in fact it's a related plant called Silverrod.

Silverrod (Solidago bicolor) also known as White Goldenrod.

Both silverrod and goldenrod are also in the Asteraceae (aster) family.  Yet another variety of aster was growing on the ledges of Mount Cardigan and Firescrew:

Mountain Aster (Oclemena acuminata)

Also at an elevation of 3100' on Cardigan were quite a few Mountain Ash trees.

America Mountain Ash (Sorbus americana)

This reminded me of a stand of Mountain Ash on Mt. Roberts.  Look for them if you hike Mt Roberts at this time of year.  

There are at least two varieties of Tussock Moth caterpillars feeding on deciduous trees right now.  I've seen Hickory Tussock and Spotted Tussock caterpillars so far.

Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillar

Spotted Tussock Moth caterpillar on a birch leaf.

Keep your eye out for these on your walks.  They are pretty, but not good to touch as their long hairs have toxic chemicals that can cause a skin rash.

Now an update the loons.  Through I didn't Spangle this week, others have, and Eric Smith sent me some great pictures of her that he took last week.

Photos by Eric Smith

As large as she is now, she's still happy to have mom or dad bring her food.  

Amy Wilson also took some great pictures of Spangle swallowing a large sunfish that one of her parents caught for her.  You can see those pictures here.  

It appears only one parent is present, so it's possible the male has moved on the to ocean for the winter.  Thank you Jeff and Amy for sharing these great photos!  

A few people have asked about Spangle's younger brother, Star.  He disappeared around August 15th, at a time when there were rogue loons on the lake, sometimes as many as four at once.  We'll never know, but it's possible that Star was killed by one of these rogues.

Lastly, fall foliage season has begun.  I think the Lakes Region and north will be past peak by Columbus Day, so do your leaf-peeping early this year!

September 21, 2025: A Flock of Flickers

Tomorrow marks the autumnal equinox, and fall migration is well underway.  I was in Wilmot for a forestry class, and from one open meadow we watched a kettle of a dozen or more Broad-Winged Hawks fly over us using the warm air from the field to gain altitude on the rising thermals.  There was also a Red-tailed Hawk mixed in with them.  Another migrating species seen this week was the Northern Flicker.

Northern Flicker

There was a flock of a least a dozen birds feeding madly on some type of insect in the gravel road. 

Picking insects from the road.

They were borrowing a trick from crows which pull up chunks of sod in lawns to find grubs; the flickers were turning over small stones to find their prey.

Stones uprooted in search of insects.

That first photo was a male flicker, identified by the black "mustache" on its face.  The female is lacking that mark.

Female Flicker.

Both have a black chest mark and a red chevron on the back of their head; the eastern version, described as the "yellow-shafted" group, has yellow wing feathers, the edges of which can be seen in the above photo and the following photo.  In flight, a conspicuous white spot is visible from behind.  

Note the red chevron and yellow wing edges.

Either way, It's a handsome bird.

The Lakes Region is right at the southern limit of its breeding range (which is likely moving northward now) so this flock was probably traveling together on their way south, which for some flickers may be as near as southern New Hampshire.

This was another week of totally rain-free, warm, sunny days.  I spent one afternoon just drifting in a couple of secluded marshes watching birds and dragonflies.  The dragonflies provided the best entertainment as dozens of them darted over the water and vegetation, defending their own territory and testing the defenses of their neighbors.  Only for a moment would one hover over its claim before an intruder had to be sent away, but I was able to capture a few of them.

The next day a pretty Autumn Meadowhawk posed on a railing for me.

Male Autumn Meadowhawk

The bright red abdomen indicates it's a mature male.  Earlier I had seen a duller meadowhawk which was probably a female, or perhaps an immature male.

Floating peacefully in the late afternoon September sun, reflecting on the beauty of life, one has time to discover the smaller aspects of the world that usually go unnoticed.  On this day, low in my kayak, small white specs on fading green lily pads caught my eye.

I thought they were eggs of some sort.  But looking closely, I saw small spikes sticking out from some of them - they looked like legs.  So I plucked one of the pads and brought it home for further study. 

A macrophotograph revealed more detail.

A little digging brought me to conclude these are the shed exoskeletons of a small insect that hatched from an egg in the water into a larval stage, and when ready, climbed onto a lily pad to shed its shell and fly away as a winged insect.  My best guess is a species of midge in the family Chironomidae, which are small non-biting insects.  One study of New Hampshire lakes by Donna Frances identified 65 species of midges.  [Ref:  Distribution of Midge Remains (Diptera: Chironomidae) in Surficial Lake Sediments in New England]

I'm afraid I have to close this week on a sad note.  Rhys Bowen passed away suddenly this week.  Many readers of this journal knew Rhys from his many years of work with the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, most recently as Chair of the Board of Trustees.  In fact, the day before he passed, Rhys was with a team evaluating a property as a possible conservation opportunity.  Rhys was an expert birder; he led guided bird walks for the LRCT, and was one of my go-to experts for bird advice, whether on a bird identification, or for finding good birding spots from South Carolina to Alaska.  When I corrected a birding ID on this blog, it was usually Rhys that gently noted I may have made an error.  

Rhys was a good friend who gave so much to me and so many others in our community.  I am among the many who will miss him greatly.