August 19, 2012

So where were the spiders? 

Remember David Bowie and Ziggy Stardust?  Late summer is prime time for spiders, so I went to see where they were hiding.  They are everywhere, but when you look for them, they're surprisingly hard to find.  Here are a few I was able to capture.  Of course, Daddy Long Legs are common on trees and the sides of houses.

What's missing on this one?

Also on living on structures is the American House Spider - these however are web-weavers.

Here's another web-weaver, living way up high so I couldn't get a good look.

One of my favorite spiders is the Goldenrod Spider, which can be found on flowers, especially purple and pink ones, where it snatches small insects attracted by the nectar.

This one isn't a spider, but it looks cool and I found it on the same flowers. 

This Stink Bug was also on a pink flower - pink must be big attraction to prey insects.

Usually this time of year there are some giant water spiders on the docks, but the high water this week chased them all away.  Here's one from a couple of years ago.  I love these guys - think how many mosquitoes and other pests they must eat to get this big (it's a good three inches across).

Though not a spider, this caterpillar uses a similar thread to drop itself down from its tree.  This one was just hanging in the middle of a trail as I walked by.

Of course, there are also the predators that pry on the spiders after they fatten up on smaller insects.  This well camouflaged Pickerel Frog was hiding and waiting close by.

I also saw my first Red Eft all summer.  It's been very dry, but all the rain last week finally brought some out in the open.

Notice the little red "British Solider" lichen in the picture.

Moving up the food chain a bit, our newest loon chick continues to grow.  Though still staying close to its parents, it is diving longer and learning how to fish. 

It's still a pretty fuzzy cute little bird though.

And then at the very top of the food chain, look who visited the lake this weekend:

This young bear was at an undisclosed site on the west side of Lake Wicwas; another reminder that even when food is plentiful, bears are opportunistic and will take the easy food whenever it's available!

August 5, 2012

No posting last week, as we were in Colorado for a week of visiting family and touring the Rocky Mountains.  We had a rejuvenating vacation that included tubing the Yampa River, inspiring music at Strings, and magnificent scenery while hiking and biking in the mountains. It's great to have local hosts and tour guides!

Although much of the environment is similar, everything is bigger in the Rockies.  We saw larger versions of woodchuck (yellow-bellied marmots) and deer (prong-horn), and of course, mountains and valleys which dwarf New England.  Unfortunately, the forest fires are bigger also, and we drove through miles of scorched landscape between Fort Collins and Steamboat Springs.  Here's a sample of a lake in Colorado - at about 11,000 feet!  No fires here.  And yes, that's snow still up in the mountains.

Little Causeway Lake, Routt National Forest

Back at Lake Wicwas we were happy to find the find the forest green and lush, as some rain had fallen while we were away.  (Drought is something else the west is having in a big way right now.)  On the kayak, looking to see what new plants are blooming around the lake I found buttonbush, ripe huckleberries, and a couple of white flowers I hadn't identified before.  In this spot on the edge of an island, all four of there were growing together.

With a little research I was able to identify the plant with the rather unusual flower - it is a Turtlehead.  I'd never heard of this plant, but once you know what it's called, it's obvious, and not a name I'll likely forget.

White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra)

Here's an interesting claim about turtlehead:  according to wikipedia, the Abenaki used it as method of birth control (no guarantee made by the author).

The buttonbush name is also pretty descriptive:

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus)

The exciting news is that the newest loon on the lake has survived its most precarious period, having it's two-week birthday just today. 

Two weeks old

Its parents are taking good care of it, keeping a close eye on it, although they do both dive at the same time, leaving it alone and vulnerable on the surface.

The little guy is starting to dive already, and the parents are teaching it to fish.  Here, all three are looking for lunch.

We watched one adult catch a fish and then play with it for a long time until it was tired out, and then let the chick catch it for itself.

The chick is also starting to spread its little wings.

It's hard to believe they will be strong enough for it to fly away in three or four months.  Let's hope for a late ice-in this year since it got such a late start.

There was also a second pair of loons on the lake this weekend, travelling around together, though keeping well away from the breeding pair.

 Their wings are just a bit larger.

There was a large bass tournament on the lake this weekend, with lot of big, high-tech bass boats out competing with the loons for fish.  But I liked this different approach to fishing!

Did you happen notice the sign of fall in the background....?

July 22, 2012

Persistence pays off.  Through high water, hot temperatures, thunderstorms, and spectators, the loons hatched a chick on Lake Wicwas this weekend.  This picture was taken a long ways off on the same day it hatched. 

One day-old loon chick riding on its parents' back

Chick and parent were staying near the island and communicating with its mate who was still on the nest, but there's no indication that a second egg hatched, or will hatch.  The next week is the most critical for Lake Wicwas's newest inhabitant, and a lot of good fortune will have come together for it to survive.  Time will tell....

This week seemed to have an avian theme.  On one trip on the lake, we counted at least 35 Canada Geese swimming together in a giant flotilla.  And later, along the shore of the lake, they were feasting on huckleberries which are ripe and quite abundant this year. 

Canada Geese Feasting on Huckleberries

It was great amusement watching them stretch high to snatch a berry, sometimes standing up on rocks to reach higher in their plunder of the lake.

Back closer to home, we didn't have to search out a Great Blue Heron - one came to visit us right on our dock!

Great Blue Heron

Cool Shadow!


OK, so this isn't too exciting, but it's still a pretty bird with a pretty song:

American Robin

Tramping around the woods I continue to find more scars from the Independence Day storm.  This giant pine tree was ripped up the roots.

But right next to it are a dozen tiny seedlings that it had spawned from its pine cones, so in a hundred years, it will have resurrected itself.

While I was studying this tree, I also observed an oak leaf that had been almost totally consumed by caterpillars.

If you were on the lake this weekend, you undoubtedly noticed a lot of boat traffic, including a pretty Hobie Cat cheating the wind.

In fact, on Saturday there were over 60 boats inspected as they came in or out at the boat landing - a record as far as our Lake Host coordinator knows.  That's an awful lot of opportunity for invasive species like Milfoil to enter our lake, so please thank our volunteers for being lake hosts.  And we always need more, as there are many hours the ramp goes unstaffed, so please volunteer to be Lake Host and help keep Lake Wicwas pristine.  (Send me an email, or leave a comment if you need to know who to contact to volunteer.)

As one last salute to birds this week, this interesting creature buzzed over the lake on one of those fabulous summer afternoons.

June 30, 2011

Lake Wicwas has a new resident:  a new baby loon!  One chick hatched some time over the last few days, but we first saw it today.  Linda took most of these pictures from the deck, as the new family spent most of the afternoon fishing in the cove.

Every now and then one of the parents would come up with a tiny fish in its mouth and feed it to the chick.

Bringing a fish

In the evening only one parent was babysitting, while the other must have been out getting some private time.  The chick would ride on the parent's back until the adult dove, leaving the chick looking very small and vulnerable, floating all alone in the middle of the lake until the parent popped back up.

The Proud New Parents:

I heard reports of two eggs on the nest;  I will post more information as I get it.  The last time we had a successful nesting on Lake Wicwas was in 2007 - that year there were two.