June 18, 2023: Introducing LuLu and Checkers

We spent the past week in southern Maine, exploring the coast from Ogunquit to Cape Elizabeth, but that is going to have to wait until after the loon news, because, while we were away we received news that the first pair of loons hatched two chicks!  This was well before we had expected, meaning the pair had nested almost two weeks before we discovered the nest - that was one well chosen nesting sight.  The chicks were first spotted on Wednesday by Lois Crane, so she earned the naming rights.  This years chicks (so far) are LuLu and Checkers!

Introducing Checkers and LuLu, offspring of the northern pair.  Photo by Amy Wilson.

Quite a few people have been treated to seeing them up-close as the family slowly paddles along the shore line, the parents diving for tiny fish to feed the chicks. 

Finding the right size fish isn't always easy.  When the family came by our house I watched mom catch a minnow and then spend a good five minutes trying to get either of the chicks to eat it. 

"It's kinda big mom"  

It's so big it tipped the little chick's tail right out of the water when it picked it up in its beak.

"I'm trying!"

That minnow may weight more than the chicks!  They would take it, try to swallow it, but gag and drop in the lake.  Mom would catch it again and re-offer it, swimming back and forth between them.  

At first both chicks refused to even try, but eventually each made a gallant effort, but it was just too large to get down their little throats. 

"OK, I'll try again."

Nope.  Back to Checkers.

After a while dad came over to see what was going on. 

"What's taking so long over here?"

But eventually mom gave up and ate it herself.  These pictures were all taken from the deck which facilitated seeing their leg bands under the water.  I also took some video during part of the long ordeal.

If you hear the family approaching - they make the most gentle cooing sound - sit perfectly still at the shoreline and you may get a good show.  They keep to the northern end of the lake, but the southern pair has yet to produce chicks; if they do, the rest of the lake might have their opportunity to observe chick rearing in action.  Just be respectful - they need to be undisturbed to be comfortable fishing for enough food to nourish all of four of them.

Unfortunately, not all is calm and serene.  There is a rogue loon that has been harassing the family multiple times a day.  I heard wild yelling off in the distance and knew something traumatic was happening.  Then later the action unfolded within my view.  The rogue loon came into the cove where the family was fishing.  They moved away from it the best they could, but when they were backed into the end of the cove, they had no choice but to defend their offspring - a loon will kill other loons' offspring whenever it can.

Mom's on the left covering up the chicks, the rogue is on the right, with dad in between.

Close enough.  Time to go on the attack.

There are two loons in that scrum.

Mom mostly protected the chicks (again, love the bands) but there were a couple of worrying moments when she abandoned Checkers and LuLu to join in the battle.  After a lengthy, violent battle, our large male - he weighed 14.5 pounds in 2019 when he was banded - was able to repel the intruder. 

The rogue in high speed retreat.

With dad in hot pursuit.

After driving the rogue well out of the cove, dad came back to check on the family.  

And all is well - for now.

This is a good moment to remember our own fathers, and all they did for us in our lives.  Thank you dad, and happy Father's Day!  

I was able to get some shaky video from the altercation and their battle calls are clearly heard:

Yet another attack occurred again later in the day with the same result.  It could be a long, stressful summer on the lake.

Now on to Maine.  

Of course we enjoyed the beautiful rocky coast of southern Maine, but also sought out some other unique habitats including the Wells Barren Preserve, about six miles inland.  It's an unusual habitat which supports several rare birds and continues to be maintained via controlled burns.  One area appears to have been burned very recently as it was just emerging with new growth.  

Recent burn area at the Wells Barren Preserve.

We identified 15 birds while we were there, but they were hiding out in the trees and I didn't get a single good picture.  The best was this Brown Thrasher, which I've seen in South Carolina but not previousluy in New England.

Brown Thrasher

Back near the coast at a very small and quiet state park on Cape Elizabeth called Kettle Cove, I came across another bird I see only occasionally, a cedar waxwing.

Cedar waxwing in Kettle Cove.

This park is overgrown with a very aggressive invasive species, Morrow's honeysuckle.  

Morrow's Honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii)

It has a pretty flower and it grows vigorously which is probably why it was introduced to North America, but that's also why it's so detrimental.  It crowds out every other plant, including even early, shade-tolerant flowers like the trillium, because it leafs out early, before the native plants have a chance to receive any sunlight.  It also produces lots of fruit, which is good for birds, but that too is changing nature.  A diet of Morrow's honeysuckle will change the color of the cedar waxwing's tail from the usual yellow to orange due to pigment in the honeysuckle berries.  This change has occurred in just the last 35 years. [REF:  1,  2]  I wasn't aware of this when I saw the birds in the large honeysuckle stand so I didn't know to look for an orange tail - you can decide.

To me the tip looks half yellow and half orange.

We also visited the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge in Kittery at Cutt's Island.  I hadn't been there before but the Carson refuges are always beautiful.  This section of the 9000 acres refuge has a 1.8 mile trail that goes along the intertidal water of Chauncey Creek behind Cutt's Island.  It was a bird paradise and I identified 29 unique species - the most I've ever seen at one location - including a new bird for me:  a Glossy Ibis!

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)

This odd but handsome bird was poking down deep into the marsh with its long, curved beak, probing for food.  They have a very broad diet that includes mollusks, snakes, fish, and grain.

Another new bird for me was seen at Nubble Light.  There were two female Common Eiders paddling along with a brood of 11 chicks.

Female Common Eider  (Somateria mollissima)

Walking along the Marginal Way between Ogunquit and Perkins is must-do whenever we're in the area.  In June there are lots of bright flower beside the path, though most of them are cultivated.  

Most wide-spread and in its glory right now is the beach rose.  

Beach rose (Rosa rugosa)

Beach rose grows extensively along the entire New England Coast so I always assumed it was a native plant.

Cape Porpoise in Kennebunkport.

What a surprise to learn that it, like so many other invasive species, was introduced to North America from Asia.  Beach rose has been designated as invasive in several states, though it has such valuable properties in stabilizing sand dunes and other shoreline soils that it's generally not removed.  In Maine it's on the "Advisory List of Invasive Plants".

One last image of Maine before I end this long post.  This was a picture I didn't know I took.  It must have been an erroneous click of the shutter, but it's one of my favorites of the entire trip.

There was much more nature to be seen at the lake this week, but this post is long enough.  I'll try to fit them next week.

May 7, 2023: Black and White Warblers Crash the Party

This spring party is feasting on a buffet of insects, providing much entertainment.  The air show started a few weeks ago when the phoebes appeared, but really hit its stride this week with the arrival of masses of yellow-rumped warblers.  Whereas the phoebes - which have taken up residence near our house - dash out from a tree branch to catch a bug and then return to the same tree to watch for the next victim, the yellow-rumped warblers were flying along quickly from tree to tree, the whole flock moving rapidly in the same direction.  As I was watching the yellow-rumped's do their thing, I noticed one bird acting differently - rather than flitting about catching flying insects, this bird was rapidly climbing up and around the trunk of an oak tree like a nuthatch.  With binoculars, I saw it was the Black and White Warbler.  I hear their distinctive "squeaky-wheel" call often, but rarely see them, and have never gotten a picture of one before, but I was able to here.

Black and White Warbler

They move so fast it's hard to get a picture that isn't blurred by their motion.  According the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, black and white warblers often travel with large bands of other migrating warblers.  The B&W's come all the way from Florida or Central America to breed here.  Their diet consists almost entirely of spiders and insects, especially their larva, all of which they pick out of crevices in the bark of trees.  Black and white warblers are ground-nesters, usually building their nest at the base of a tree or a rock for protection and cover.   

Belting out it's high-pitched squeaky-wheel song.

Other additions to the spring bird arrivals this week included the Winter Wren and the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  Here's one of the many Yellow-rumped warblers.

The robins are once again building their annual nest under our deck.

Mrs. Robin collects nesting materials.

They've been doing this for so many years I guess they just don't mind being disturbed every time we walk by.

The cool and damp weather has meant a long season for the trailing arbutus - they are still blooming.  The service berries have joined them now, as have the fly-honeysuckle.

Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)

You're surely aware that all the rain in the northeast has caused significant flooding and washouts of roads and trails.  A beaver dam on Meredith Neck failed and now the pond is just a shallow mud hole after the rush of water took away part of Meredith Neck Road.  There were reports of the beavers rebuilding the dam that held back the pond after the first breach, but they haven't been seen since it failed a second time with the latest rain.  All the beaver dams around Wicwas seem to have held.  The water level in the lake was as high as twelve inches above normal, but it's now coming back down.  Profile Falls in Bristol is gushing, and the trail to the Pemigewasset River is impassible due to flooding.

Profile Falls on the Smith River.

The first warm sunny evening following all that rain sure got the Spring Peepers excited:

I went for a kayak the day the weather was clearing; I did get a few showers on me, but it was worth it, as our male loon gave me a great show as it performed a thorough preening routine.

Afterwards, he wanted to make darn sure I knew it was him out there:

Making sure I saw his leg band.

Things are getting busy around the lake as spring hits its stride - I barely mentioned all the plants now bursting out with buds and leaves - maybe next week.  I'll close with a video of a Turkey Vulture that was enjoying the airflow being forced upwards by the cliff at Crockett's Ledge.  

While I was there I also saw an osprey fly right overhead.  Ledges provide good vantage points for observing animals as well as great views!

May 7, 2017

The cool, wet weather that has engulfed much of the country this week has certainly slowed the progression of spring.  As of today there is still barely a hint of lemon-lime below the low clouds hanging in the hills of New Hampshire's Lakes Region.

Only a few pale green leaves at this point

Clouds veil Crockett's Ledge

Some of the early flowering trees are putting out their blossoms regardless of the weather, and it being so cool we should be able to enjoy them longer than usual.  Dogwood, Hobblebush and Honeysuckle all made their debut this week.

American Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)

I also saw an interesting tree that I had never seen before, and it took me a long time to identify it.

The beautiful yet greatly conflicted Boxelder (Acer negundo)

I finally determined that it is a boxelder.  It seems to be a rather conflicted tree, called an elder, considered a species of maple, and with multiple common names that reference three different type of trees:  boxelder, boxelder maple, maple ash, and ash-leaved maple. [Ref:  Wikipedia]  The boxelder is not indigenous to New Hampshire but has been naturalized here and planted frequently as a shade tree due to its fast growth.  [Ref:  "Eastern Forests," Ann Sutton, Knopf, Inc, 1985]

Along with the budding trees come the insects that feed on them.  One of the prettier ones is the aptly named Spring Azure.

The Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon) blends into its surroundings when not flying

We saw several along the Winnipesaukee River Rail Trail between Tilton and Franklin.  It's a pretty blue butterfly when airborne and the inside of its wings are exposed, but when it lands it becomes almost invisible, even if it lands right by your foot.  Or, maybe, on your foot.

That's the toe of Linda's sneaker

It's a common butterfly this time of year in many habitats from woodlands to clearings to roadsides, and it feeds on the early flowering trees such as dogwood and viburnum.

With the spring runoff the Winnipesaukee River was raging with rapids.

The Winnipesaukee River along the Rail Trail, flowing at over 1900 cubic feet per second

Unfortunately, there are some less savory characters that also arrive to feed on the trees, including the Tent Caterpillars, which are plentiful now.

Tent caterpillars waiting for more leaves to feed on

Plants aren't the only victims of the arriving insects - mammals, including humans, are subject to the tiny deer tic (though actually arachnids, not insects) which have made their presence known.  These are so tiny it is best to use a proven bug spray on your shoes and clothing when you're out.

An arachnid in the palm of my hand

There has been a sighting of our banded female loon, and I just received an update from the Loon Preservation Committee saying that no, the banded loon seen earlier this spring on Lake Massebesic (see April 23 post) was not our loon.  But it is great that our pair has now returned!  They took a fishing tour through our end of the lake on Saturday, when I saw them for the first time.  But for several days prior a single loon, likely the same one that's been on the lake for three years now, has been living in the cove.  We watched it groom itself in hopes of looking sharp to a potential mate.

Be careful with that beak!

I took some video to show how it travels around in circles as it paddles with one foot while grooming its underside.

                           Grooming Video                  Swimming in Circles


And after all that hard work, a nice nap was in order.

A quiet afternoon means nap time on Lake Wicwas

I'm sure the trees are about ready to explode at this point, and just one warm sunny day is all it will take for them to burst out and paint the world green again.

Red Maple ready to explode