June 27, 2021: A Moose in the Lake

Last week Claranne reported on a moose which, after swimming across the lake, climbed up onto land near Loon Point Road.  With her quick reaction she was able to get a picture for all of us to see it!

Our latest moose visitor after taking a dip in Lake Wicwas.
Photo by Claranne Bechtler.

Moose are such ungainly animals - look at the shape and angle of that hind leg - but what impressive creatures.  They are the largest animals in New Hampshire, easily weighing over 1000 pounds, and although the population in New England is suffering greatly due to the winter tics, they do still roam the Lakes Region.  

The warming climate means winter tics are not dying off in the winter and so are having a much greater impact on the moose.  Of course another huge factor in their decline is the loss of habitat.  Research has shown that moose can better survive winter tics when their population density is lower, but as their land is taken over by development they are forced into fewer and fewer tracts of land.  Moose need large areas of unfragmented land - they can't live in developed areas like deer - so deer have taken over from moose as the most common ungulate in the state.  According to NH Fish and Game, "prior to European settlement moose were more common than deer in New Hampshire".  You can learn more about moose on the NH Fish and Game website.

Over the years I've seen moose swimming in the lake, munching on aquatic vegetation in the marshes, and wandering among the young forest in the Eames Conservation Area.

A moose munches on aquatic vegetation in Harris Cove on Lake Wicwas early one morning.

Today I don't see as many signs of them as I used to, but if you hike on the White Trail (up to Arbutus Hill Pond in the Hamlin-Eames-Smyth Conservation Area) you can still find signs of moose having scraped bark off red maple trees - look for scars running up and down the trunk, about four to six feet above ground level.  

Healed-over scars from moose scraping trees near the White Trail in the Eames Conservation Area.

The Meredith Conservation Commission is currently working on a habitat cut along the White Trail, clearing an area that will allow young trees to grow back.  Moose consume leaves and aquatic vegetation during the summer but when the leaves are gone and the ponds and wetlands freeze over, moose use the tender bark of young trees as a food source to survive the winter.  The clearing will also provide habitat for a wide range of other animals that need young, successional forests to live, including many bird species such as the common yellowthroat and the chestnut-sided warbler.

Chestnut-sided warbler in a young maple forest.

 

While I'm on the subject of different habitats, the newly restored field at the Page Pond Conservation Area along Barnard Ridge Road appears to be the new nesting site of bobolinks.  

Bobolink in the field off Barnard Ridge Road.
Photo by Eileen Moore.

The bobolinks' arrival last week was noted by Squam Lakes Science Center Executive Director Iain MacLeod; he believes they were driven out of another field when it was mowed, destroying their nest.  They are displaying nesting behavior at Page Pond, so we're hoping they'll have a successful nesting here.  If you walk up the trail through the field you are likely to see them.  The field is a wonderfully different habitat than our many forests and is becoming home to a wide range of non-forest dwelling species.

Finally, our own nest of loons on Lake Wicwas is still being well tended to and we should be seeing new little chicks any day now - fingers are crossed!

Mom or dad loon heading back up for its shift on the nest.
Photo by Dave Thorpe.

Whether on land or water, large or small, there's always something to be seen around the lakes.

Just in, this late-breaking news:  We have a chick!

Introducing Coco.

She was first observed on June 26 by Linda Powell who has named our newest lake member Coco.  Sadly, it appears Coco isn't going to have a sibling as the second egg was left on the nest, intact, for reasons unknown.  Hopefully we'll have a long summer ahead of watching little Coco grow big and strong.  But please be extra careful on the lake for the next few weeks as Coco cannot dive to protect herself yet.  (No, we don't know that it's girl, but that's what Linda has decreed!  ; ) 

The proud new parents take Coca on its first tour of Lake Wicwas.

June 28, 2020: Bobolinks and Ospreys

We took a trip to the coast of Maine this week for a little anniversary getaway, pandemic-style.

Plenty of distance here.

We found a gorgeous, quiet campground in Wiscasset, far enough off the main drag to be peaceful, but still with easy access to the great central coast areas of Boothbay, Damariscotta, Newcastle, Pemaquid, and Popham.  The Chewonki Campground is right on the Monstweag River, surrounded by tidal marshes and fields full of wildflowers.

Foggy sunrise is the standard on the Maine coast.

Tidal marshes along the Monstweag River change constantly throughout the day.

Some of the best birding was to be seen right there, including swallows, goldfinches, yellow warblers, and especially bobolinks which were plentiful, visible, and loud.

Yellow Warbler

Bobolink

The bobolinks liked to sit high in a tree with a good view of the field and sing their rambunctious song, although the bright sky behind them made them difficult to capture in a photo.

Every now and then this one would fly down to sit on the tallest stem in the field, and then fly back up to a tall tree.  The bobolink's habitat is that of tall grasslands which is probably why I haven't seen one of these before - we don't have a lot of wild grasslands in New Hampshire - but I'm hoping that as the fields in Meredith's Page Pond Town Forest are restored we will have this special habitat in town and we'll be able to host a wider range of birds such as these.

Wildflower fields attract a different set of birds, bees, and butterflies than found in forests.

 

There are so many wonderful places to visit with nature in the Wiscasset vicinity that we couldn't possible see them all in a week.  The most spectacular vista we saw was probably Pemaquid Point.

Pemaquid Point at the western edge of Muscongus Bay.

I kept my eye open for whales and dolphins, but saw none, though we did see a couple of seals.  A bit up John's River, Pemaquid Harbor and the historic colonial community were also very picturesque.

 

But the best nature moment came when we were hiking in the LaVerna Preseve in Bristol, along the western shore of Muscongus Bay (from here you're looking out at Monhegan Island, some twelve miles offshore).  Along the trail on the shore of Muscongus Bay Linda saw an osprey nest with a white head poking up above the sticks.

Osprey nest at LaVerna Preserve.

As we watched quietly, one of the residents spread its wings and took off right over us.

 

It then spent the next 15 or so minutes flying off somewhere behind the trees, then circling back in a well-defined flight pattern where it flew over the nest, circled downwind, then came up into the wind and landed gently on the nest.  Sometimes it would just do a touch-and-go, not landing but appearing to drop something down into the nest.

Osprey on approach to runway 16R.

We wondered if we were bothering it by standing there, but thought that unlikely considering there is a constant flow of hikers walking by all day long - the nest is literally feet from the trail.  More likely we think it was collecting food or nest material and bringing it to the nest.  The male osprey typically brings the building materials, while the female arranges them to suit her domestic fancy.  The male also usually brings all the food to the nest during nesting season, while the female tends to the eggs and chicks.  Whatever the activity was, we enjoyed seeing the nesting behavior of a bird we see regularly in the Lakes Region.

Back at Wicwas, it was nice to see familiar faces again;  mother mallard and her seven not-so-little ducklings came by the very first evening home to greet us.

They tend to visit us twice a day, morning and evening.

As for a quick check on the loons, they are still hanging in there, dealing with the double challenge of heat and now low water - the lake is down several inches from when they nested.  But both pairs are still on their nests, so we're still hopeful for chicks.  They should be hatching just about one week from now - we'll let you know as soon as there is any news!