August 16, 2026: Flying Loons and Flourishing Fungi

I simply have to start this week with a fantastic photograph taken by Debby Crowley.  She was in her kayak watching for Pip when this caught her eye. 

Photo by Debby Crowley

Catching a loon flying fast overhead is no easy task!  An opportunity to see something like this isn't a lucky moment, but as any photographer can tell you, it's most often the result of much time spent in the field. Thank you Debby, and I'm glad you stayed upright!

One morning while I was loon watching, I caught Pip doing a foot wag. 

Now that's a foot!

Pip has now grown into a handsome young juvenile loon.

Pip will be dressed in this chevron plumage through the rest of its summer and fall here on Wicwas, so even as it grows, it will be distinguishable from all the other loons on the lake.

Much easier to photograph than an airborne loon was this osprey, perched stationary on one of its favorite lookouts points on Lake Wicwas.

This tall spike of a tree is on the southeast corner of Wood Island with a broad view of the lake. 

This section of lake is a prime spot to look for osprey diving into the lake to catch fish.  A good time to watch is late afternoon and evening on a clear, calm day.  If you see a raptor soaring overhead, stop and watch a while from a distance and you might get a show. 

When I was scouring the tree tops for osprey and eagles, I saw an indication that this might be a good mast year for white pine. 

A good crop of green cones on the tall pines.

Lots of birds and small mammals will appreciate this bounty come winter.

The evening primrose have bloomed and I've been checking in the morning for the pretty primrose moth, but I haven't seen one yet.  

Evening Primrose, with no moths, just a beetle.

If you see one you'll know it.  With soft pink and white coloring, it's one of the prettiest moths you'll ever see.

In the forest, there were some new sights this week.  Mushroom season is picking up speed now and Indian Pipes are decorating the hiking trails in damp areas. 

In another somewhat damp areas I came across this small, delicate plant, one I haven't seen before. 

Woodland Horsetail at Page Pond.

It's a Wood Horsetail, a perennial.  Just like the club moss (see Sept 20, 2015) horsetails are decendents of huge trees that grew a hundred feet tall in the Carboniferous period 300 million years ago.  Today's horsetail species max out at about 20". 

Finally, to end the week, here's a pretty melody courtesy of a Song Sparrow singing its heart out one morning.

Whatever the song sparrow might lack for flamboyant plumage, it makes up for with its voice.