August 10, 2025: Shelburne, Vermont

We took a trip to northern Vermont this week to explore the Shelburne area along Lake Champlain's eastern shore.  Little did we know we’d be heading right into the worst part of the smoke blowing in from the wildfires in Canada. We didn’t have any big hiking excursions in our plans, so the smoke didn’t impact our activities but it did reduce visibility and paint the sky a dull gray all week. One of the highlights of the trip was a day at the Shelburne Farm, and right there at the first field we entered was an osprey nest.

Osprey on a man-made platform at Shelburne Farms.

There didn’t appear to be any juveniles in the nest, and several times a second osprey tried to land on the nest but the inhabitant refused their approach every time. There wasn’t any physical altercation between them, just a lot of squawking at each other.  Eventually the nest-sitter flew off to harass the intruder. 

Off on the attack.

And then returned to its place as king of the roost.

Returning Home

This made me aware that I haven’t seen or heard as many osprey on Lake Wicwas this summer as in recent years. They must have found some other primary fishing spot.

 
The Shelburne Farm and its opulent house and barns were built by Lila Vanderbilt Webb, the youngest daughter of William Vanderbilt, and her husband William Webb. Her inheritance allowed the couple to purchase 33 farms covering 4000 acres along Lake Champlain in the late 1800’s.

That's just the barn.

The farm is now “an education nonprofit on a mission to inspire and cultivate learning for a sustainable future.” [Ref: Shelburne Farms]  It’s a beautiful property, open to the public with no admission fee.

The Shelburne Inn overlooking Lake Champlain.

With a view across the lake to the Adirondack Mountains in New York.

We also spent a day at the Shelburne Museum which is a huge outdoor museum with more than 40 structures covering everything from farming to the history of the circus in America. 

There’s an up-and-down sawmill like the one that cut timber at the Page Pond mill dam on Meredith Neck.

Up and down Sawmill originally powered by the White River.

This sawmill was built in 1873 and operated in South Royalton Vermont, probably until the mid 1800s when it would have been upgraded to a circular saw which continued to operate into the early 1900s.  I loved the juxtaposition of the 1873 sawmill with a truck load of saw logs heading off to a 2025 sawmill.

There’s also a two-lane covered bridge that was moved to the museum from Cambridge Vermont where it spanned the Lamoille River for over 100 years.

I don’t think I’ve seen a two-lane covered bridge before.


Nestled in between Shelburne Farm and Shelburne Museum is Shelburne Bay Park which extends about a mile along Lake Champlain.  One of the park's trails goes up and over a steep hill – too steep in places for logging to have taken place, and that's where I found quite few very old trees that escaped the sawmills.  Most impressive was this White Oak which I knew was something special when I saw the incredibly thick and deeply furrowed bark.

Other ancient trees there were Shagbark Hickory, Red Pine, and Eastern Cedar.

Cedar

Shagbark Hickory

References I found estimate the oldest trees in the park to be 200 years old, perhaps older. This means they survived the clear cutting of New England during the mid-1800’s Sheep Craze when much of New England was put into pasture land, and again around the turn of the century when, after the forest had regrown for 50-80 years, most of New England was deforested for the second time for lumber, charcoal, and paper.  Lime production was an important Vermont industry and it required a huge amount of wood. A lime kiln operated in South Burlington from 1825 until 1971. [Ref: MyChamplainValley]

While we were away I received multiple reports and pictures that show all is well with our loon family even though there were a number of rogue loons visiting the lake. 

Spangle is molting her baby fluff, revealing bits of her juvenile chevron pattern underneath.

The family is becoming more independent now.    

One loon and one chick.

Thank you all for keeping us updated while we were away!

August 3, 2025: Skunking through the Flowers

We've had the cutest little young skunk slinking through the yard all week.

It's been here almost every day, snuffling around amidst the flowers, foraging for grasshoppers, beetles, grubs, and caterpillars which it quickly gobbles up.  

Skunks are a real asset to gardens, keeping down the population of garden pests, but we're not so sure we want a skunk living close by once it grows up.  Skunks are like porcupines in that their defenses are so strong that they have almost no predators and don't feel a need to flee.  They are more likely than most animals to stand their ground and deploy their defense mechanism if needed.  

Juvenile skunks are often out during daylight when they're learning how to find food, and this one was not one bit fazed by our presence.  It would walk right up to the door where I was standing.

Mature skunks are primarily nocturnal and we definitely don't want to step outside at night and startle a skunk that might give us a spray!  Living amongst nature is rewarding, but his situation is something we'll have to figure out. 

Here's one tasty little tidbit our young skunk would be happy to find, but hopefully not up on our deck.

A Geometer

Inch worms are the larvae of moths in the family Geometridae.  The name comes from the Greek geometer which means earth-measure - an apt term for a caterpillar that measures out it travels across the planet one inch at a time.  Sometimes this one has a hard time deciding just where it wanted to go next.

On an early morning paddle this week I came across a thick mat of a newly flowering, tiny aquatic plant.

I think this one is a Conespur Bladderpod. 

Conespur Bladderpod

It's similar to the flower of the Floating Bladderwort, but this one grows in a thick tangled mat rather than a single free-floating plant. 

I also saw Spangle and Star fishing for breakfast with mom - and enjoying the sunrise.

They are growing nicely but they still have along way to go before they're ready to fly.

Photo by Ken Buckley

Spangle is already demonstration her independence by spending time away from the rest of the family.  It's nice to watch the nesting season progressing smoothly, at least in the southern half of the lake.  

That morning was one of several warm and calm mornings this week - it's the most beautiful time of day.

Sunrise on Lake Wicwas.

July 27, 2025: No new Veeries this Year

There's sad news on the Veery nest, but let's start with something pleasant.  Checking the Evening Primrose flowers as promised, I did find a Primrose Moth one morning.  

Primrose Moth  (Schinia florida)

This insect is considered an "obligate species" because it is entirely dependent on one plant, the Evening Primrose.  Where there are no evening primrose plants, there are no primrose moths.  Adult moths spend their days hidden inside the closed-up blossom.  When the sun sets, the blossom open (thus the name "evening primrose") and the moths can move safely under the cover of dark to drink the flowers' nectar using their long proboscis.  Eventually they will lay their eggs inside a primrose bud for safe keeping.  When the larvae hatch they will feed on the primrose blossoms before burying into the ground to overwinter.  In the spring when the earth warms, the caterpillars emerge to feed on the primrose plant and the cycle repeats.  Thus the moth's entire life cycle is dependent on this single plant species.  [Ref:  A Study in Pink and Yellow, Gita Yingling, Sept 2024]  

It is a pretty insect.

We had an entertaining few minutes when a Gray Catbird came to our water feature for a bath.  It hopped in and out of the water a dozen times, splashing around and diving under to get all its feathers clean.  It looked like a wet rag by the time it was done.

Gray Catbird takes a bath.

Now the sad news.  Last year's veery nest was destroyed by a predator, so this year I used a trail camera to learn who might be the culprit if it happened again; unfortunately, it did:   A raccoon took out the veery nest.  The 'coon was happily using the trail for easy egress through the forest.

 Its sharp nose picked up the scent of the nest.  

From there it took just a moment for it to zero in on the nest and head straight to it.  It was quite tentative as it approached, not sure what it would find.  I love the way it held its left front paw up close to its chest, ready to defend against something larger than it hoped to find.  Note how close the mother bird let the raccoon get before it flew off.  The raccoon sniffed a bit, probed down into the nest, and then proceeded to gobble up the four little chicks.  You may want to skip the video if you don't want to see the deed take place.

A veery egg weighs about 2.5 grams; four new born chicks probably weigh about a third of an ounce.  That tiny bit of sustenance seems hardly meaningful to a 20 pound raccoon, but animals will take any bit of food they can find.  Before the raccoon found the nest, but after the eggs had hatched, the camera took hundreds pictures of mother flying back and forth all day long catching food and bringing it to her chicks.  Here are just a few, ending with a close up of her tending to her chicks.

Veeries will occasionally have two broods in a summer, and since the pair won't have to raise this brood, they may try again.  Let's hope they find a nesting site farther away from a trail.

On a much happier note, the loon chicks Spangle and Star are doing great.  Spangle has even caught her first fish!  Star is still a bit smaller, but it looks like he might be catching up.  Maybe with Spangle preoccupied with her fishing, Star is getting more fish from mom and dad.

Spangle and Star with a proud parent.  Photo by Deb Crowley.

To close on another pretty note, if you're out near a field or maybe just a quiet road side, be on the watch for Queen Anne's Lace - it's having a good summer.

Queen Anne's Lace.

Which the honey bees and other pollinators appreciate!

July 20, 2025: The First Egg Hatches

Last week I came across a Veery nest on the ground.  The incubation period for Veeries is about 12 days, so I went back on Thursday to check on its status. Last year a ground nest was destroyed so I wasn't sure what I would find, but was pleased to see the nest intact and the first egg had hatched.

One of the four eggs has hatched.

By the appearance of the tiny chick it must have just hatched; there was no sign of the other three eggs starting to crack.  Mother veery keeps a neat house as she had already removed the egg shells.  I'd love to go back in two or three days to see if the other eggs have hatched, but I'll resist the urge in order to minimize disturbance.  The veery nesting period is 10-12 days so I'll check next week to learn whatthe status of all the eggs.    

The blueberries ripened up nicely in the hot weather this week and should remain plentiful for at least another week.  With a little luck you'll gather some before the birds and chipmunks get them all.  A large flock of Common Grackles was raiding this blueberry bush and feeding them to their young, sometimes two at a time.

Common Grackle with a mouthful of blueberries; its offspring waits beside.

The Annual Loon Census sponsored by the Loon Preservation Committee occurred yesterday.  Volunteers and professionals alike went out on many of New Hampshire's lakes between 8:00 and 9:00 am to determine how many loons are in the state.  Five loons were counted on Wicwas this year:  The single banded male in the northern territory and the family of four in the southern territory.  The two chicks, Spangle and Star are doing well, and Spangle is starting to dive.  They might not catch their own food for quite a while, but it might help them avoid predators from above such as eagles.  

There is a dramatic difference in the size of the two chicks - Spangle looks to be almost twice the size of Star.

This photo taken by Dave Thorpe during the loon census hints at why, and indicates that it may take Star some time to catch up.  

The stronger, faster bird gets to the dinner table first.

The mid-summer wildflowers are starting to take over the flower show now.  Daisies are going by but Black-eyed Susans are coming on strong and the evening primrose are starting to bloom.  

Evening Primrose

I try to remember to check these in the morning, looking for the Primrose Moth.  If I see one I'll share it here.

I was treated to a rare sighting of a Scarlet Tanager yesterday when it flew down from the high tree tops and into my sight.  I've been hearing it for weeks, always looking for it, but he is way up high, hidden amongst the leaves.  I had been listening to him sing for a long time, unable to find him when suddenly something attracted him down to a Red Maple tree right in my sight where he perched for several minutes.

The bright red and yellow plumage of a scarlet tanager.

He even sang for me.

Another special summer moment provide by mother nature!

Let's end with a dragon - one of the most brilliantly colored of all the dragonflies.

Eastern Pondhawk

Bright scarlet birds and emerald green dragonflies - the variety of nature's creations is endless.

Correction:  Jen Esten and Jon Waage, authors of the The Nature of Pleasant Lake blog, observed that the mustelids in last week's video were likely River Otters.  Checking with the photographer about the location of the video supports otter as the correct identification.  Thank you Jen and Jon!