October 27, 2024: Fly Away Woodies!

Autumn is fading fast and our last long stretch of summer-like weather is probably behind us.  Hunting season has begun with archery for deer now underway with firearms beginning on November 2nd (muzzleloaders only) and continuing through December 15th, so remember to wear bright colors when out in the woods.  Duck hunting season is in full swing as well and will continue until late December with a two-week break in November.  Why the break in the middle?  It's done to comply with federal hunting rules which allow only 60 days of waterfowl hunting.  Because some birds migrate early while others migrate later in the season, the break in the middle allows hunters to pursue all species through the season while satisfying the 60 day limit.  

Usually we're awakened on opening day at exactly 30 minutes before sunrise, but this year the first shots didn't ring out until Friday, two weeks into the season.  I expect they had good luck as there have been a lot of Wood Ducks on the lake this week.  Going past the boat launch later that morning I saw the hunters taking their boat of the a lake and thought about stopping to ask about their day, but decided I really didn't want to know - between the two hunters they could have legally taken twelve of our pretty woodies.

Wood ducks are pretty skittish this time of year, probably on high alert from being pursed for a couple of weeks as they make their way south through New England.  Detecting the slightest motion causes the whole flock to take flight.

Wood Ducks in Flight.

By first light Wood Ducks are on the move from their overnight spots and just a couple of hours later they are nowhere to be seen until evening comes. 

A flock of woodies at first light.

Wood ducks do molt into winter plumage called the "eclipse phase" but the birds I've seen this week still appear to have their breeding plumage.  As early risers, they get to enjoy salmon-colored sunrises on misty mornings.

Rising sun burns off the morning fog.

Foliage is well past peak in the Lakes Region now but there are still some pretty colors to be seen, especially in the beech and oaks when they're lit up with the warmer hues of autumn sunshine.  

There's a stray maple here and there that's lagging the others for some reason.

Many maple trees now have bare branches but earlier in the week there was still some nice color in the hills behind Wicwas.

Bare branches and morning rays.

The blueberries and huckleberries will be the among the last to hang on to bright red leaves.

As the leaves depart the trees, so do the boats on the lake, but like the trees there are a few hardy souls still hanging on to these last days of the season before they leave the lake.

A quiet boat trip on a late October evening.

Migrating birds are hopefully safely heading on their way as well.

 Fly away Woodies!

October 13, 2024: Anthocyanin

It sounds scary, but anthocyanin is what produces the red and crimson foliage that makes New Hampshire famous this time of year.  

Red Maples are the red champions of the autumn nature show.

Yellow and orange colors in leaves are present year-round but are only revealed in the fall when the leaves stop producing the chlorophyll that conceals their underlying colors. 

Photosynthesis ceases at the leaf tips first and works back towards the stem.

Trees with red leaves, however, actually create the pigment anthocyanin as they shut down photosynthesis in the fall.  They don't do it for our viewing pleasure or to extend the tourist season, but rather because the chemical helps protect plants against cold temperatures.

Black gum are less prevalent than maples but have even deeper red color in their leaves.

They use some of the sugars created over the summer to form this compound.  Anthocyanin is produced by a wide variety of plants with red, blue, and purple coloring including blueberries, tomatoes, red cabbage, beets, grapes, corn, even sweet potato.  It's one of several chemicals in the flavonoid family which are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits to humans.

Indian Cucumber has only a splash of anthocyanin.  The berries aren't edible, but the tubers are.

The color of these plants varies because anthocyanin changes color with pH level:  it is red in acidic conditions, purple in neutral, and yellow in alkaline conditions.  The chemical is thus useful in measuring pH levels - remember pH strips in high school chemistry?  Wikipedia provides lots of information on anthocyanin if you're interesed in learning more.

Jack-in-the-pulpit berries must be quite acidic.

Sumac is another red star this time of year.

Blueberry bushes are known to love acidic soil, and their leaves also turn dark red in the fall.

These were at 2400' elevation on the ledges up to Black Mountiain.

Black Mountain State Forest is in Haverhill and Benton, NH, and though the foliage there seemed past peak that far north on Friday, it was still pretty.

Thank you TB for the recommendation - it was a great hike!  

Around the Lakes Region, the maples are still at peak color.  I'll end with a few sights from around Lake Wicwas.

It's not too lake to take it all in!

October 22, 2023: Fog in the Woods and Woodies in the Fog

October days often emerge with fog in the valleys and over the lakes that sometimes doesn't burn off until mid-morning.  It's interesting to see what emerges from the fog as it lifts.  This week it has been wood ducks.

A pair of wood ducks in the morning fog.

As the day brightens more and more of them materialize.  

Each day this week I've seen at least half a dozen on the lake.

The loons paddle around in the fog as well, both the two juveniles as well as adults.  This adult was probably stopping by Wicwas for a visit or a rest stop on its way to the ocean.

A mature loon part way through its molt.

I have to look carefully to tell adults and juveniles apart now.  It's possible both of our nesting adults have left the lake as I haven't seen LuLu and Checkers with either parent this week, though it doesn't mean they won't return for visit to check on the kids.  The young ones are very quiet now - no whining and nagging for food when they're on their own.

I found the hobble bush viburnum to be especially interesting this foliage season, transitioning through a sequence of colors from green to red to a deep burgundy.

Hobblebush viburnum on October 13th.

And six days later.

They do this even as they are putting out new growth from the end of their stems.

New growth just emerging.

I'm afraid today's wind is going to bring an end to the best of the foliage for this year.  The oaks will hang on to their leaves for another couple of weeks, but the red, yellow, and orange maples will probably sacrifice most of their leaves to the forest.

A calm morning after the fog.

Damp mornings bring out the bright colors of the leaves that have left their homes and found their way to their final resting place, ready to start the process of giving themselves back to the forest floor to sustain new life as they decompose.

I hope you're able to take in the fall beauty that nature has left to give us before it fades into a much different personality, known as "November".

Two different beings pursue their piscium prey below the rising fog.

October 23, 2022: Maddie and Mom

I said last week that it looked like both of our loon chick's parents had left the lake, but in fact mom is still here.  I saw two loons far apart during a paddle this week and I could tell one was a juvenile and one was an adult by the plumage and I was confident the juvenile was our chick Maddie.

The chevron pattern on her back is the plumage of a juvenile loon.

It's difficult to tell an adult loon apart from a first year chick at this time of year due to the adults losing their distinguished black and white plumage, but the second bird I saw had remnants of spots on its back indicating it was an adult.

From a distance I couldn't tell this wasn't a juvenile.

But blowing up the pictures revealed a few faint white dots.

I watched to see if I could catch a glimpse of a band but the loon wasn't cooperative so there was no indication it was connected to Maddie.  Until, that is, Amy Wilson was able to collect the proof that in fact, Maddie and her mother are still here and together.  

Maddie and her mom enjoy a peaceful early morning moment.  Photo by Amy Wilson.

I say peaceful, but based on others' reports, Maddie was probably nagging her mother for breakfast.  Though she is perfectly capable of fishing on her own, when mom's around she's more than willing to let her do the meal prep.

It was this moment however, that provided proof of identity:

Photo by Amy Wilson

Our female loon had two feathers clipped during its banding process this summer, and the absence of those feathers is conclusive.  

Now I'm not complaining about the great weather we're having, but we will need some cold to arrive in time to send the loons on their way before they molt their flight feathers and can't leave the lakes.  It probably won't be a problem on the small lakes which freeze early, but the larger lakes sometimes freeze over so late now that loons can get stranded without the ability to fly.

In spite of the warm weather the season is progressing, though it's easy to convince myself it isn't when we have gorgeous days like the past two have been.  They started out cold with a touch of frost forming in areas exposed to the sky and radiational cooling.

Oak leaves tinged with morning frost.

Then the days quickly warmed as the sun rose, and by noon the forest was warm and bright, glowing with October sunlight illuminating vibrant yellow and orange leaves.

Beech trees in their fall glory.

The red maples have dropped much of their foliage, letting the oaks, beech, and aspen have their moment in the spotlight.  On a bike ride in Dorchester on Friday the aspen were the stars of one section of trail even as many of their leaves lay freshly fallen on the trail.

A trail passing through a stand of aspen trees.

A pastel pallet of aspen leaves.

Even the beavers appreciate the fall colors, using them to decorate their homes for the season.

Beaver lodge dressed up for fall.

Frosty, foggy mornings, warm afternoons - I'll take as many of these fall days as mother nature will give us.

We still have two more weeks of daylight savings time!

October 9, 2022: Fall Gets Busy - and Pretty

Fall foliage season is in full swing right now, and it's a good one.

The colors are peak in the mountains, and just about peak here in the Lakes Region.  If you have a chance to get out today or tomorrow in either location you won't be disappointed.

Color in Franconia Notch

A walk around Lake Wicwas or anywhere in Meredith or a surrounding town will be rewarding.  This was the view yesterday from Crockett's Ledge in the Hamlin Conservation Area where it's not quite peak color yet:

View of the Belknap Mountains from Crockett's Ledge.

If you want to head north, I can recommend a very short hike in Franconia Notch that brings you to a wide viewpoint over Cannon Mountain and the Franconia Range including Mt. Lafayette.  

Bald Mountain overlooking Franconia Notch and Mt. Lafayette.
The trailhead is right at the main Cannon Ski Area parking lot (Peabody Slopes, not the Tramway).

It's just under one mile round trip, and you can make it a loop by going over to Artist's Bluff, another great view point, which makes it a 1.7 mile hike.  Or, if you still have a boat in the water, a paddle around a local lake will provide lots of great foliage sights, especially the maples along the shore line.

If you go for an excursion be sure to keep your eye out for wildlife as the animals are active now, preparing for winter.  Beavers are swimming across the lake every evening in search of food for their winter stores.  On one paddle to the dam on Lake Wicwas a beaver popped up barely10 feet from my kayak.  I had just an instant to prepare for what I knew was coming as the aquatic rodent looked at me and processed what I was before it dove and gave me a good dousing with a huge tail slap right beside my boat!  And those beavers have been busy.  The dam was stuffed full of a dense pack of tree branches and mud.

The water level is rising, and this is why.

A sturdy and well decorated dam.

The town came and cleared it out, and two days, it was packed right in again.

It's getting darker for my morning walks even though I've pushed them back by over an hour, but it does make them a little more mysterious.  Just yesterday I saw a dark object cross the trail in front of me and I knew it was a bobcat.  I kept walking and it paralleled me in the woods, perhaps 20 yards off the trail.  Was it stalking me or just annoyed that it couldn't take advantage of the easier - and quieter - travel on the trail?  I wasn't at all concerned, but I don't know - perhaps I should be....

A bobcat and I watch each other as we walk along in the dim light.

On another excursion I saw a large flock of at least 25 turkeys.

Happy turkeys with lot of seeds to find now.

This was a flock of multiple hens and their offspring as they into gathering into larger groups in the fall and winter.

Lastly, on Tuesday while doing trail work on the Red Trail in Hamlin at the spur that leads to Lake Wicwas I saw Maddie and what I presume is her mother.  No pictures of them, but I'm sure they are enjoying the beautiful fall weather and foliage just as we are.