December 28, 2025: Otters Times Three

We have passed the winter solstice now, but the sun still clings stubbornly close to the horizon, even in the middle of the day.  This photo was taken just 20 minutes after noon.

The sun doesn't rise much above the horizon at a latitude of 43.65 degrees.

Cold sunny days give us brilliant blue skies, but along with that dry weather coming from Canada after a snowstorm, we often also get cold winds.  Outside activities require warm clothing for sure.  But the animals?  Some will spend those days in dens or sheltered in thick stands of trees, but the otters, they are tough little critters.  Some are out hunting all night while others head out right at first light when the temperature is at its lowest.  By the time I get out, the otters have already been on long excursions across the lake.  One morning I followed their antics all the way across the lake.  The three brothers (my arbitrary conclusion as they remind me of three young boys I knew) slid down out of the trees and romped across the lake.

They would sometimes run, sometime hop, sometimes slide, always seeming to enjoy themselves.

They took shortcuts across swamps and over islands that were in their way.

They led me to their latrine, which they use regularly - I've seen their signs there in summer too.

You can tell an otter latrine because their scat looks like no other animal I know:  It's wet and loose and full of fish scales.

The otters' trail led me far across the lake.

All the way to the dam where they crossed - hopefully safely - Meredith Center Road into the mill brook that leads to Lake Winnisquam.  That was the end of my pursuit, as I wasn't about to follow them over the dangerous ice in the marsh and brook.  But I have seen otter playing at the mouth of that stream where it enters the northern tip of Winnisquam, and now I wonder if they are the same family that I think lives somewhere up Blake Brook west of Lake Wicwas.  

  

The powdery snowfalls we've been getting regularly keep refreshing the surface into good tracking conditions.  I haven't seen the bobcat yet this winter, but he or she left a near-perfect set of tracks in the dry snow.

A beautiful set of bobcat tracks.

Also, more turkeys were out searching for food where the snow was cleared to reveal open ground.

Turkeys will take advantage of human changes to the environment.

If you were fortunate enough to be in New Hampshire this year, you had a white Christmas.  We received fresh snow on Christmas Eve to set the mood, and even a few Hollywood-perfect snowflakes fell on Christmas Day.  I hope you had a peaceful day around a Christmas tree wherever you are - the beavers did!

The beavers' Christmas tree freshly draped with snow.

December 21, 2025: Eagles Over the Bay

But first, more turkeys.  It was a week of big birds in Meredith.  Over the years I've seen turkeys in fields, backyards, in the forest, and along roadsides, but I'd never seen them out in the middle of a lake before now.

A turkey trek across Lake Wicwas.

This group of three female (I think) turkeys appeared to be taking a short cut across the frozen lake.  

Their sensory abilities are incredible.  As far away as I was, and being as quiet and still as possible, the slightest motion triggered their senses and they immediately went from a slow walk into a moderate trot to speed their way across the open expanse. 
Of course, they could take flight to avoid a terrestrial predator such as a bobcat or coyote, but what about an aerial attack?  I expect a mature bald eagle would be able to take down a fleeing turkey.  And that's a distinct possibility now that Bald Eagles have returned to the Lake Region.  Excellent photographer and good friend Eytan Wulfsohn noticed three bald eagles on the thin ice forming off Bay Point Inn at the end of Meredith Bay.

Photos by Eytan Wulfsohn

There were three of them, two mature and one juvenile, and he was able to run home to get his camera to take some great pictures, including the juvenile in flight.

The dark, mottled plumage of juvenile bald eagle.

This is likely a resident pair and their offspring, as there is enough open water throughout the winter for fishing.  (They use the rivers after the lakes freeze.)  Eagles also augment their primarily-fish diet with mammals and birds - maybe even a turkey or two?  

Perusing the ice edge for lunch.

By late summer or early fall, a newly hatched eagle is completely independent and the parents no longer provide food for it.  Often a juvenile will move away, but sometimes they stay in the same nesting area for a period of time.  A juvenile eagle will spend several years wandering, investigating territories based primarily on food availability.  By four or five years old they are mature, have their adult plumage and are ready to breed.  Only then do they select a nesting site and look for a mate.  Or perhaps, take over an existing mate by driving off a weaker member of an established pair.  It's actually similar to that of the Common Loon.

The return of turkeys and eagles to North America are success stories in restoring extirpated species to their native territories.  Both populations were first thinned out by overhunting (some states had bounties for killing eagles), further hurt by habitat loss, and then completely done in by the pesticide DDT.  But with new regulations and, in the case of the turkey, reintroduction of birds from the Alleghany Mountain area in New York, both species are now flourishing - and adding greatly to the excitement and quality of life in New Hampshire.

An impressive bird to see return to New Hampshire.

Back closer to Lake Wicwas, the lake and shores were crisscrossed with tracks beyond turkeys - lot of members of the mustelid (weasel) family:  mink, otter, and ermine (the winter name for the short-tailed weasel in its white coat).  The tracks of latter were the hardest for me to determine, but following the tracks for a while led me to conclude it was an ermine by its behavior.  It spent a lot time hopping from tree to tree like a squirrel does. 

But the tracks were too large for a squirrel.   

Too large for a squirrel, too small for a fisher.

The ermine was hunting for mice and other small rodents under the snow, using its hearing to detect its prey chewing on something down in the subnivean zone.  When it pounces down on it, if it misses, it will relentlessly pursue its prey until it secures it.

They also locate prey with their excellent sense of smell.  Ermine are extremely reclusive - I have only seen an ermine once, and it was in early winter, after it had donned its white coat but before snow was on the ground so it was highly visible.

In snow, with that camouflage, I could step on one and not even see it!

One more bit of news:  The winter solstice occurs today at 10:03 am.  The days are already getting longer!

December 14, 2025: Ice-In

A few more cold days and a calm night early in the week gave Lake Wicwas its earliest ice-in since 2019, being declared on Wednesday morning, December 10th, when the last open area north of the Rawson Wood Islands froze over.  (Thank you KM and LB for the reports!)  By then some of the coves already had six inches of solid ice and were ready for skating.  A few people got out there before the second snow of the season fell and put an end to skating for now. 

Good skating in the cove before the snow.

On my skating trip I found that the otters had also been out enjoying the ice even before the lake froze up.

River Otter tracks frozen in the ice near Sheep Island.

With no concern about falling through the ice, otters get to have fun playing in the ice and slush long before it's safe for humans.

Otter hops and slides.

We'll never know if in fact Spangle, our juvenile loon, made it off the the lake before it froze over, but I'll assume she did, and count it as another successful loon fledged from Lake Wicwas.  That makes eleven loons fledged over the past ten years.

Our second snowfall mirrored the first, dropping another four inches of beautifully light, dry snow - a good medium for seeing animal tracks, large and small, and I found both during a pretty winter walk at Page Pond.  

A gorgeous day at Page Pond Town Forest.

On the small end, I saw that lots of mice had been out scampering on the snow in search of seeds, their long trails flopping on the snow with every hop.

Mouse tracks with their distinctive tail drag in the soft snow.

Their long excursions over the snow leave them vulnerable to attack by predators that may be watching from perches in trees that rodents often scamper between.

A long mouse trail in open cover.

That's one of the reasons we leave a few trees in the fields.  When the snow pack gets deeper, the mice, moles, and voles will create tunnels under the snow for safer travel.  But even down there in the subnivean zone they remain vulnerable to foxes with their excellent auditory and olfactory hunting skills.   (See March 17, 2019:  The Subnivean Zone)

On the larger end of the animal kingdom were signs of a robust deer population in and around the Page Pond Town Forest.  There are deer tracks crisscrossing much of that large unfragmented area of conserved land, and we came across several areas where deer had bedded down for a nap, melting the snow right down to the leaves.

At one spot there were three such beds close together, making me think it might have been a doe with her two fawns.

With winter firmly settled in, it's safe to put out the bird feeders, and it didn't take long for the birds to find them.  Chickadees are always first, but the nuthatches, woodpeckers, titmice and other birds are smart enough to follow the chickadees, knowing chickadees will lead them to food.  A nearby birdwatcher has seen Bluebirds, Carolina Wrens, and an American Tree Swallow - I'll be watching for them as well as many others that should arrive soon.  He also observed momma bobcat and her two kits walking along the ice at the shoreline.  I'll definitely be watching for them and their tracks; they are a lot of fun to follow to learn about their behavior.  (Thanks for sharing RB!) 

Momma and a kit scouting the lake edge a few years ago.

Perhaps you were out enjoying the milder weather yesterday and found your own nature signs.  But if not, today promises to be another good day, perhaps with more sun.  Winter is not only beautiful in the Lakes Region, but with snow on the ground it offers the best opportunities to see what animals are running around in your neck of the woods!

Happy Tracking!

December 7, 2025: Winter Arrives

Winter arrived this week, in a serious, but not too harsh manner.  We had two nights with temperatures in the single digits which ushered in eight inches of beautiful light snow.  It made for easy shoveling and some fabulous early season skiing.

There weren't many animals tracks in the fresh snow, perhaps because of the cold.  I saw only fox tracks and a few short squirrel tracks where they went digging in the snow for food.  I always enjoy seeing the fox use my ski track for easy transportation.

They'll follow the packed down track for long distances, stepping out here and there to investigate a scent or detour to a known good hunting spot, but soon return to the trail.

The snow caused our cove to freeze up, with 4 inches of ice by Friday, though the main part of the lake was still wide open.

Did you see full moon this week?

Still open water on Friday

By Saturday, with calm overnight, most of the lake was iced in, which is a little concerning considering the juvenile loon was still on the lake on Friday.  People are watching carefully to see if she's gone or still swimming in a little sliver of open water.  

I took one last hike up behind the lake before the snow fell and I was able to find one set of needle ice growing beside the trail.

Needle Ice growing out of damp soil.

That will be it for needle ice this year.  I wrote more information about this interesting ice formation a couple of years ago:  Needle Ice

Through the bare branches in the woods, I noticed for the first time a couple of caves in the ledges along the Red Trail.

Curiosity made me investigate whether anyone was living there; I found no signs of porcupine (the caves are too large for them) or bears (the caves may not be well enough insulated with the large, exposed openings).

I also could see the cliff face at Crockett's Ledge.

It's incredible how trees can find the smallest foothold to take up residence in a granite face.

I also witnessed a nice turkey parade as they followed their leader calmly away from my presence.

Now I'll probably only be seeing their tracks in the snow, because winter is here, and it's probably here to stay.

The scene at Cannon Mountain this week.

November 30, 2025: Hooded Mergansers

Every fall migration is different.  Some years it's Ring-necked Ducks, others it's Buffleheads.  This year:  Hooded Mergansers.

We've seen several different groups of them stop on the lake to refuel, sometimes just two or three, other times half a dozen.  These are small diving ducks that make a quick plunge down under water to hunt for fish.  This female came up once with a meal too large to consume during her dive.

I love the pretty shape their tails make as they swim.

The explanation for this is they are small, yet tall birds with large heads that make them top heavy. 

The widespread tail helps them maintain their balance while swimming and sets a stable base for them to dive.

Tail feathers spread out for stability.

One morning there was just one pair on the water - or at least a male with aspirations to become a pair.  He was doing his best to impress his chosen bride but it seems she was either not impressed, or perhaps playing hard to get.  She spent a lot of time with her head down low or even under water.  

I took some video of him going through the courting rituals of head bobbing and dipping, but even after that great display she wandered off away from him.

But eventually she seemed to warm up enough to follow him along.

I came upon more red fruit for the animals this week, including this red apple still hanging on a tree.  

At first I thought it was the Charlie Brown Leaf of apples, the last one still clinging to its branch, but then I noticed there were quite a few more up higher.

This tree was loaded with fruit a few weeks ago, and since there were no apples rotting on the ground, I'll assume the deer, fox, bears, and squirrels have been cleaning them up.

There are also these plump, juicy cranberries growing beside the Laverack Trail behind the Meredith Village Savings Bank in Meredith Village.  

I wonder if they'd make good cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving Dinner.  Better off to leave them for the birds.

We're getting more signs of cold weather now; this gray squirrel has done a good job insulating its nest high in an oak tree with lots of fluffy leaves to keep out the cold north wind.  

A Gray Squirrel nest tucked into the fork of a tree.

Perhaps he's related to Happy Jack Squirrel in Thornton Burgess' stories Old Mother West Wind.  We'll see plenty more winter signs in the days to come.

We still have a few more weeks for migrating birds to stop by the Lakes Region so maybe we'll see some other species, but I won't mind if the mergansers keep coming.