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!

October 30, 2022: Leaf Recycling

The palette of the lake is becoming less varied by the day as November gathers near, but there are still splashes of brightness to be found:  shiny red partridge berries, deep orange beech leaves, bright green moss, and gently frosted oak leaves.

Oak leaves on a frost morning.

Many cultivated flowers survived the first freeze on Friday night so if you planted some hardy flowers in your garden this summer they are likely still blooming.  

Linda's foxglove continue to bloom.

A very few wildflowers are also soldiering on.

The aptly named Frost Aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum)

But most have passed by.  Even the goldenrod has succumbed to the cold.

Goldenrod, no longer golden.

The most prevalent hues in the forest now are green needles and brown leaves.  Shuffling though the  blanket of leaves on the forest floor this week I was struck by the amount of energy that trees put into the thousands of leaves they construct every summer, just to cast them off in the fall.  Each of these tiny chemical factories - and a single oak tree might have a quarter of a million leaves on it - spends the summer taking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and using solar energy, manufacturing the sugars that are essential to the plant's existence, as well as to every animal on the planet.  And when the factory shuts down in fall, a deciduous tree just lets them all go.  

But then I realized the tree is not actually done with them.  In fact, trees may be the original recycling plant.  Once the leaves and all other tree debris are on the ground a whole new biological system of fungus, bacteria, and other life forms takes over.  There are literally billions of living organisms that process this organic material and in turn allow the tree to reabsorb many of the nutrients it put into making those leaves.  

A single teaspoon of soil in the forest contains billions of living organisms, including perhaps half a millions round worms, half a billion fungi, and many billions of bacteria.  [National Geographic, Sept. 2022, Ferris Jabr, pg. 92]  Most of these are obviously microscopic and far too small to see with the naked eye, but some, such as the snow flea which I most often see in the winter when their black dots stand out on top of a white layer of snow, can be readily observed.  These organism seen under high magnification are absolutely fascinating, many of them having legs and mouths, and look like creatures from a Star Wars movie.  The above referenced article has amazing pictures of them taken with an electron microscope.  All these organisms decompose those leaves, releasing the nutrients within, which can then be taken up again by the tree and many other plants and animals.

The past week's events brought us to our childhood home of Concord Massachusetts where we had a moment to visit the the Old North Bridge, the scene of the "Shot Hear 'Round the World" (Ralph Waldo Emerson).  Although just 90 miles to the south of the Lakes Region, some trees in Concord have many of their factories still attached, though even there the production of carbohydrates has ceased.

A maple tree at the Old North Bridge.

While marveling at the beautiful colors that nature gives us I noticed a nice size hornets next snuggled in with the leaves.

A bald faced hornet's nest by the "rude bridge that arched the flood".  (Also Emerson)

The inhabitants of the nest are likely gone at this point, but I'll bet there were a lot of hornets buzzing the tourists all summer.

We witnessed no musket fire at the revolutionary battle field, but we did see a huge red-tail hawk fly across the open field and land in a tree directly above us.  

A bird of prey stands sentry over the historic battlefield.  (Poor photo - all I had was my phone.)

This bird was clearly acclimated to tourists as it had no concern with us at all and spent the next hour flying from tree to tree searching the field for small animals as people passed near by.  

Back in New Hampshire, cool nights means fog has been forming over the lake - perfect for the upcoming spooky night.

Happy Halloween!

October 4, 2020: A Melancholy Day on the Lake

It's possible our loon parents have left the lake, and Harold and Betty are missing them terribly.  Yesterday I found them together, swimming slowly all the way down in Marion Cove, searching for their parents.  

Harold and Betty in perhaps their first exploration of Marion Cove.

It was the first time I've seen them north of Bryant Island, let alone all the way around the corner in our cove.  I'm certain they were out trying to find mom and dad.  

"Where are you mom?"

One of them was constantly wailing out the saddest sounds I've ever heard a loon make.   Click below to listen (sorry for all the background noise).

One of the two siblings showed me their wings and their maturing flight feathers which will soon be taking them off the only body of water they have ever known, and on to the foreign, salt-water world of the Atlantic Ocean.

"I can fly with these now!"

They are certainly looking like young adults now.

I wonder what it is that makes the parents decide it's time to leave their offspring all on their own.  Do they wait until the chicks have proven adept at fishing and have made good progress in their flight lessons?  Or is it something in their instincts that just makes them up and leave one day, never to see their kids again?  It's hard enough for parents and children when the kids leave the nest even when you know you see them again - I can't imagine what it's like for a loon family at separation time, but I guess those melancholy sounds give me an idea.

On a happier note, (no pun intended), our trees seems to have come though the drought this summer just fine.  I had wondered if the foliage would be muted this year due to a lack of rain but that doesn't seem to be the case.

They may not be as brilliant as some years, but I still give them a 7 or 8 out of 10.  And it's not just near the lakes, but the mountains are beautiful also.  This week I was on Mount Whiteface with a friend (thanks for the great hike JL!) and the colors were just about peak there in the southern White Mountains.

The drainage that feeds the Wonalancet River between Mt. Whiteface and Passaconway.

Farther down the drainage, with Mt. Chorcorua in the distance.

Central and northern New Hampshire had a little more rain than farther south; in another week or two we'll see what the forests to the south have to offer.  I met two people from Townsend Mass on the Hamlin Trails yesterday who said the leaves in Massachusetts were just falling off the trees.

If you've been out at all you have noticed that color isn't the only thing in abundance right now.  The oak trees are putting out another tremendous acorn crop, just a couple of years after the last one.  

Just a fraction of the acorns collected below one red oak tree.

Spent acorn caps from a branch knocked off in the wind.

That was the year we had "squirrel-ageddon".  This year someone called it a "chipmunk-apolypse" - there are chipmunks running around everywhere!  These high mast years bring about a large spike in the rodent population, which in turn will enable a healthy predator population of hawks, owls, fox, and ermine.  But even with all those chipmunks collecting acorns, soon to be followed by the deer, bears, and turkeys, they are so plentiful that many nuts will missed or forgotten and will germinate to create new oak trees next spring.

Speaking of turkeys, they continue to be quite visible around the lakes.  I came upon a flock up in the Oakland Cemetery a couple of days ago, and before that, a few took a stroll through our back yard.

I just caught the last one in line as the flock scurried into the woods.

What a strange looking bird.

All summer long turkeys have been turning up the oak leaves to uncover last years acorns buried under the leaf litter.

Ruffled up leaves from the turkey's acorn hunt.

This activity slowed during the middle of summer when lots of other food was available, but it has increased again the past couple of weeks.  

I'll close with a few more examples of nature's autumn glory, including colors across the spectrum, red to purple - even all the colors combined together: white.

Nodding Ladies Tresses, one of my favorite, delicate, fall flowers.

From the red of the hobblebush viburnum,

To the purple asters,

Fabulous fall colors surround us everywhere we look.

Update:  I just heard from someone that they think they saw an adult with the chicks this morning in the fog - more to follow.

12:00 noon update: I'm at the boat ramp doing my Lake Host duties, and one chick and one parent are here fishing right in front of me!  So maybe yesterday was just a trial run, letting the chicks know what to prepare for.  Or maybe they just needed a weekend away.  I'll assume the second chick is with the other parent; I'll keep watching.