December 21, 2025: Eagles Over the Bay

But first, more turkeys.  It was a week of big birds in Meredith.  Over the years I've seen turkeys in fields, backyards, in the forest, and along roadsides, but I'd never seen them out in the middle of a lake before now.

A turkey trek across Lake Wicwas.

This group of three female (I think) turkeys appeared to be taking a short cut across the frozen lake.  

Their sensory abilities are incredible.  As far away as I was, and being as quiet and still as possible, the slightest motion triggered their senses and they immediately went from a slow walk into a moderate trot to speed their way across the open expanse. 
Of course, they could take flight to avoid a terrestrial predator such as a bobcat or coyote, but what about an aerial attack?  I expect a mature bald eagle would be able to take down a fleeing turkey.  And that's a distinct possibility now that Bald Eagles have returned to the Lake Region.  Excellent photographer and good friend Eytan Wulfsohn noticed three bald eagles on the thin ice forming off Bay Point Inn at the end of Meredith Bay.

Photos by Eytan Wulfsohn

There were three of them, two mature and one juvenile, and he was able to run home to get his camera to take some great pictures, including the juvenile in flight.

The dark, mottled plumage of juvenile bald eagle.

This is likely a resident pair and their offspring, as there is enough open water throughout the winter for fishing.  (They use the rivers after the lakes freeze.)  Eagles also augment their primarily-fish diet with mammals and birds - maybe even a turkey or two?  

Perusing the ice edge for lunch.

By late summer or early fall, a newly hatched eagle is completely independent and the parents no longer provide food for it.  Often a juvenile will move away, but sometimes they stay in the same nesting area for a period of time.  A juvenile eagle will spend several years wandering, investigating territories based primarily on food availability.  By four or five years old they are mature, have their adult plumage and are ready to breed.  Only then do they select a nesting site and look for a mate.  Or perhaps, take over an existing mate by driving off a weaker member of an established pair.  It's actually similar to that of the Common Loon.

The return of turkeys and eagles to North America are success stories in restoring extirpated species to their native territories.  Both populations were first thinned out by overhunting (some states had bounties for killing eagles), further hurt by habitat loss, and then completely done in by the pesticide DDT.  But with new regulations and, in the case of the turkey, reintroduction of birds from the Alleghany Mountain area in New York, both species are now flourishing - and adding greatly to the excitement and quality of life in New Hampshire.

An impressive bird to see return to New Hampshire.

Back closer to Lake Wicwas, the lake and shores were crisscrossed with tracks beyond turkeys - lot of members of the mustelid (weasel) family:  mink, otter, and ermine (the winter name for the short-tailed weasel in its white coat).  The tracks of latter were the hardest for me to determine, but following the tracks for a while led me to conclude it was an ermine by its behavior.  It spent a lot time hopping from tree to tree like a squirrel does. 

But the tracks were too large for a squirrel.   

Too large for a squirrel, too small for a fisher.

The ermine was hunting for mice and other small rodents under the snow, using its hearing to detect its prey chewing on something down in the subnivean zone.  When it pounces down on it, if it misses, it will relentlessly pursue its prey until it secures it.

They also locate prey with their excellent sense of smell.  Ermine are extremely reclusive - I have only seen an ermine once, and it was in early winter, after it had donned its white coat but before snow was on the ground so it was highly visible.

In snow, with that camouflage, I could step on one and not even see it!

One more bit of news:  The winter solstice occurs today at 10:03 am.  The days are already getting longer!

December 10, 2017 - First Snow

The first real snow of the season fell yesterday, and it immediately transformed the world into a winter wonder land.

It's nice to have winter arrive, but why does the snow always seem to come just as the ice is almost ready for skating?  The calm weather this week had allowed the lake to spread a perfect layer of smooth ice just before the snow fell.

The Full Cold Moon reflects off newly formed ice on December fourth

Ice working its way slowly across Lake Wicwas under the setting moon

But we'll take the snow (is there a choice?) and it sure does make everything look pristine.

Hemlocks are still holding onto their cones

Snow-covered pines on Sheep Island

A tunnel of snow

With the snow the bird feeders came out, both because the birds can use it with much of their food supply covered up, and because we'll be able to see if the bear is still active.  It didn't take long....

A goldfinch scratches its chin

A Tufted Titmouse waits its turn on a snowy branch

I can't wait to get out after the first snow to see what's been out and about in the world, and sure enough, even coming home from the concert last night there was already the trail of a fox trotting down the road in the still-falling snow.  This morning there were mouse prints in the snow by the stone wall where it has its nest.

Mouse prints, with the tail imprint barely visible

And right next to them, the landing mark of an ermine where it dropped down looking for a meal, but there was no sign of a capture, at least at that location.

Ermine landing mark above the mouse trail - about 4 inches long

I found the track of a coyote as well.

Coyote tracks this morning

And saw where it ventured to a small stream for a drink.

So, we may have missed the skating window again this year, but I'm looking forward to the season of observing animal tracks, and at least we should be able to get out on the skis soon!

Some trails will be ski-able with one more good storm

December 30, 2012

It's nice to have it looking like winter at Lake Wicwas.  A couple more storms brought light fluffy snow to the area, enough to allow some skiing on the more gentle and smooth terrain, but the snow was so light it was barely sufficient.  After the first storm we had a sunny and calm morning.

First Ski of the Year - December 28, 2012

After last night's storm, today was quite cold and windy.  And it looks like tonight will be the coldest day of the year so far, and the wind is still howling at 20 to 30 mph, bringing wind chills down to ten below zero.  But the forecast looks good enough for the travelers to escape before the weather gets bad again.  Have a great winter in the warm south!

Our neighbors were fortunate enough to see a weasel, probably an Ermine, snow white with a black-tipped tail, before they left.  It was bounding across their property with a mouse in it's teeth.  When it saw a human it dropped its kill, and dashed off to hide, but after waiting and watching quietly, it returned to collect it's dinner and dash off with it.  A pretty neat sight one is only likely to see in the winter.

The next day I found these weasel tracks in the fresh snow - the distinct double track of a weasel, and based on the size of the track it is likely an Ermine or a Long-tailed weasel.

Long-Tailed Weasel or Ermine Tracks

On Wednesday I saw an interesting flying creature - actually, I heard it first.  This extremely noisy apparatus came flying over the lake in the early afternoon.

An ultra-light must a great way to see the area, but it sure doesn't look all that secure hanging in the air barely above the tree tops.  And it certainly isn't a peaceful ride.

I was rather surprised to see see the lake still not completely frozen as recently as Friday.  The entire wide portion of the lake, from Loon Point, down along Sheep Island, and over to the Rawson Wood Islands was still open.  The picture below was taken from the Hamlin area, looking east towards Corliss Hill.  The cold weather tonight after the snow should finally freeze it up, but probably  not safely.  I measured four inches of ice about 20 feet out from shore in our cove a few days ago.

December 28, 2012

November 13, 2010

Lake Wicwas experienced both extremes of November this week:  cold, wet, windy weather early in the week, offset by fabulously warm, sunny, calm days with crystal blue skies on Friday and Saturday.  With very low humidity - dew points were in the teens - the temperature dropped into the twenties over night, and I saw the first skim of ice on Lake Wicwas in the protected marshes, with some wonderful shapes and patterns.

 As late as noontime the frost was still holding on in shaded areas even though the temperature was well into the fifties in the sun.  The combination of temperature and low humidity was just right to form ice crystals on the edges and the veins of dry leaves lying on the ground in a field that was exposed to radiational cooling.  Leaves just a few yards, leaves away under the cover of trees had no such crystals.

By early afternoon it was warm enough to go for a paddle.  It was so calm, and with not a single other boat on the lake, the entire lake was a mirror from shore to shore.   

I saw only a lone duck, and just one loon, though it took us some time to identify it, as it already had its winter colors.  All the boats are off the lake now, some shrink wrapped for their own form of winter hibernation.  All the docks have been pulled as well, excepting the three docks on the Henmor Properties….  The water is perfectly clear, and the lake level is back to within one or normal level;  the town has removed a board from the dam, and with water flowing rapidly the lake will soon be down to its winter level.

With not a lot of human activity around the lake this time of year, it is one of the best times to see uncommon animals, and on Friday we were treated to a visit by an ermine.  It spent several minutes searching all the holes around our yard where the mice, chipmunks, and squirrels might hide.  I was amazed at how quickly it could move; I thought a chipmunk or squirrel is fast, but this animal is in another league.  I’d be looking right at it, and it would just disappear, and reappear several yards away.  The ermine also had its winter coat on already – snow-white, with just a black tip on its tail, and a pink nose.  The long-tailed weasel has almost identical markings, but is quite a bit larger.  Based on its size, this was almost certainly an ermine.  It was far too quick and shy to get a good picture, but here are a couple of shots as evidence.

Ermine in Winter Coat

 I also saw a fair amount of new beaver cuts, mostly young saplings used for food more than construction.  They must be stepping up their activity to build their stores for the winter.