December 8, 2024: Ducks on the Ice

The days of ducks are just about over.  The ice slowly crept its way over the lake this week as cold temperatures settled in.  When you see Wood Ducks walking around on the ice, you know the end is near.

Why don't his wet feet freeze to the ice?!!

This little woody swam along the edge of the ice, then climbed right up and poked around for a while looking for edible bits blown onto the ice.

I found it interesting that the late arrivals were mostly males.  Are they waiting to migrate as long as possible, hoping to yet find a mate?  At any rate, it was a late season treat to see these pretty ducks on the lake right up to the bitter end.

Of course, there will still be plenty of open water on the larger lakes for the late migrants, but on Wicwas, the waterfowl show will now be usurped by passerines - the large family of birds that includes most of our song birds - because with snow on the ground and temps in the teens overnight, it should be safe to put out the bird feeders without fear of acclimating bears to the yard.  

We've already seen most of our winter residents at the feeders, including chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, blue jays, downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers, even a sparrow.  We haven't seen the Juncos yet though.  

A White-breasted nuthatch departs with his selection from the feeder.

Along with the cold temperatures came the artistic renderings of Jack Frost on the inside of the un-heated sunroom windows.

It was nice to see these because the early snow falling in the open lake before ice formed meant we didn't get the cool ice formations we get when the lake surface freezes on a calm, cold night.  The variety of crystals forming on the glass is always unique, and the detail is beautiful.

I love the way the expanding crystals spawn tiny palm trees in random places.

Lake Wicwas is very close to ice-in.  The next few days will be critical as the temperatures are forecast to rise again, so the small remnants of open water may or may not freeze completely.  

As the temperature rises and falls, and clouds form and disperse, the day to day appearance of the laket his time of year can change dramatically.

Monday

Thursday

The low December sun shines across the Chemung State Forest.

But any way you look at it, it's beautiful.

December 4, 2022: Early Winter Artistry

The battle between the seasons continues to be waged.  First a warm front pushed up from the south bringing warm gale-force winds and rain which saturated the ground and filled up the ponds.  Then a cold front made an attack, with its strong, cold, dry northwest winds driving back the wet weather.  Cold air following rain commissioned more interesting ice-art to be sculpted by nature.  Vernal pools along the Red Trail leading up to the White Mountain Ledge in the Hamlin Town Forest, which had been filled up again, were slowly draining into the soil when the cold temperatures hit.

A vernal pool beside the trail to the White Mountain Ledge.

Vernal pools typically don't have an outflow, but with the ground not yet frozen, water was seeping slowly in the soil, gradually lowering the water level as the surface of the pond froze.

Ice surrounds a blueberry bush in a vernal pool.

The artistic talent of nature is exquisite:

This ice formed some time after the cold front passed as the water needed time to cool down, but other ice formed just as the two fronts clashed, generating an interesting form of precipitation known as graupel.

Graupel

Graupel starts high in a cloud as snowflakes, but as the flakes pass through an atmospheric layer containing super-cooled water droplets, those droplets freeze onto the snowflakes, creating tiny, hard snowballs.

Being hard and round they tend to bounce and roll around, collecting in low spots.

Graupel reminds me of King Derwin of the Kingdom of Didd and his quest for a new kind of precipitation which led to Oobleck - and the rescue of the kingdom by young Bartholomew Cubbins.  Right now I'd be happy with some good old fashioned snow!

Also along the Red Lakes to Ledges Trail in Hamlin, down by the lake, I saw that the beavers have been busy.

Hemlocks girdled by beavers.

In addition to the  gnawed trees are several large scent mounds where the beavers are claiming their territory. 

Scent mounds on the shoreline tell other beavers this part of the lake has been claimed.

I won't be surprised to see a new beaver lodge being constructed in this cove over the next few years.

There was a group of common mergansers visiting Lake Wicwas this week, nine of them, apparently all males out on a guys-only trip.

A flock of male common mergansers.  Photo by Neil Crimmins.

They were traveling together and spent most of the day fishing and exploring the lake, being seen at both ends of the lake over the course of the day.

Earlier in the day, at the opposite end of the lake.  Photo by Linda Powell.

These are likely this year's juveniles which haven't yet found a mate; common mergansers pair up in late winter or early spring.

All the animals - ducks, beavers, loons - have at least a couple more weeks to enjoy open water since ice is still forming only in the smallest coves and streams.  

A topographical display of ice on a small stream.

With more warm and wet weather yesterday, we may have more opportunities for nature's ice-art.

January 17, 2021: Hungry Squirrels and Ice Art

Jack frost was busy this week, spreading his creative artwork generously in multiple locations; he really seems to revel in wide fluctuations of weather and temperature.  One of the most intricate of his creations appears when he goes out on a cold night right after a rather humid day, before the moisture in the atmosphere can escape his grasp, and he snatches it out of the air and locks it onto whatever surface he can find, in this case, our windows.

Jack Frost's artwork adorns the windows.

He most often shows his harder edges, but sometimes he relaxes a bit and shows his softer side with smooth, circular, swoops.

The very next night he walked along a small drainage that was still flowing with snow melt from the warm weather.  Here he chilled the saturated soil enough that it froze at the surface and was forced to release its heat up into the cold air, growing more of the ice needles that he usually makes early in the season.  With a plentiful supply of warm water and cold air, he made some pretty large needles.

Some of the larger ice needles I've seen.

Another interesting ice formation was several weeks in the making, but it also has do with changing weather:  Jack made us a lake-volcano.

I call these volcanoes because it appears a rock has erupted up out of the ice.  But of course, the lake froze right after the water level was high due to the melting of three feet of snow, and when the water drained out, the ice dropped back down around the rock.  A couple of weeks ago we had an earthquake; this week, a volcano.

I received a couple of enquires this week about all the holes in the snow with leaf debris scattered about them.

Who lives down there?

These aren't actually homes, but are signs of red squirrels foraging down below the snow cover for something to eat.  Looking carefully I could sometimes determine if they were successful in obtaining a meal, and if so, what they extracted.  Here's a hole where it's pretty clear the squirrel came up with an acorn or two.

Acorn Scraps

Other holes showed a lot of conifer debris thrown out of the hole, making me think the little guy was in search of hemlock or pine cones.  

It's not obvious that our friend found anything to eat in this next one, but it certainly found oak leaves and a pine cone.

Why it didn't open the cone is unknow to me - did it know there were no developed seeds inside?  Perhaps it was focused more on acorns as all the oak leaves suggest.  Another question is how they know just where to dig.  I can only assume they're able to smell oak or pine or hemlock aromas down below the snow - the rodent equivalent of following your nose to the bakery aisle at Moulton Farm.

Finally, I'm happy to report, in addition to squirrel tracks, there are miles of human tracks everywhere on the lake and on the trails all around the Lakes Region.

Lots of people have been enjoying the Bald Ledge Trail at Sky Pond in New Hampton.

The surface of Lake Wicwas is peppered with boot prints, ski tracks, ice fishing holes and sled trails, even mountain bike tracks.  Jack Frost isn't the only person taking advantage of the beautiful winter weather.

The Snake River draining Lake Winona into Lake Waukewan. (Bald Ledge)

December 9, 2018: Ice In

After the failed attempt at ice-in on November 22nd, Lake Wicwas froze over again on December 6th, and this time I think it will stick.  On December 3rd there was a significant portion of the lake open.

December 3rd

By the 4th the wind had blow it out even more.

December 4th

But on the 5th the wind let up and by the next day it was frozen over, and though it looked like it was snow-covered it was just the thinnest dusting from an overnight flurry.

December 6th

By the next day those flakes had blown around and the ice was evident.  And out in the middle where it had just frozen, it looks like perfect, smooth black ice.

This could make for some great skating

I did get to skate on December 6th in Marion cove which has been frozen for three weeks and is already 8" thick.

Although the lake is frozen, the edges are still very thin with some open areas including those that the animals - such as beavers - have made to escape one last time before they are locked in for the winter.

A hole in the ice at one of the beaver's favorite trail heads

Here's the evidence they left  to prove they were out after the most recent snow.

I found evidence of a less common animal on a hike to Welch and Dickey mountain in Thornton, up at an elevation of 2700'.  Their track is distinct;  only a member of the Leporidae family makes these track patterns:

Snowshoe hare tracks in fresh snow

These are a rare sight for me though I do see them occasionally in the Meredith Community Forest and the Hamlin Conservation Area.  It's hard to believe they can eke out a living all winter in the barren habitat high in the White Mountains.  They must tough it out just so they can live in such a beautiful place.

The Kinsman, Cannon, and Lafayette Ranges (L to R) from Dickey Mountain

Back at the lake the recent the thaw-freeze cycle has left some interesting ice formations.

No skating on this sinking puddle!

With cold and dry weather in the forecast these will be visible for quite some time.  And, if it stays cold and the snow holds off long enough, there will be some great skating out there now that the lake is frozen.

October 21, 2018: October Ice

First ice of the season

Yes, that is ice on Lake Wicwas.  Only in one protected cove, but nonetheless, on October 19th, it's the earliest I remember seeing ice on the lake.  The prior earliest date in my records was on October 28th, back in 2011, and that occurred where I usually see first ice, in a marsh beside Sheep Island.  This year it formed on a night when the temperature dropped to 28 degrees and there was a light frost with a few ice crystals forming on low-growing leaves.

There should be more opportunities to see these form over the next few weeks.

We took a trip to Colorado last week and there was a lot more ice and snow out there, at least at elevations above 10,000 feet.

Colorado's Front Range

Not to be outdone, New Hampshire's Mount Washington, almost 4000 feet lower in elevation, also had some snow last week, but they weren't skiing there like they were at 12,000 foot high Loveland Pass in Colorado.

Ski tracks in Loveland Pass

At lower elevation we found a New England Thanksgiving favorite.

Two of a large flock of turkeys at Castlewood Canyon State Park

It seems turkeys are just a plentiful in Colorado as they have become here over the last 20 years.

On a couple of hikes in Steamboat Springs I found larger wildlife up at snow level, and signs of  even larger wildlife down below the snow line.

Mule deer on Mount Werner

Bear scat on Emerald Mountain

That's one large pile of bear scat - larger than those I find in the Lakes Region.

It was nice to find some good color in the trees when we returned, though the peak color is moving south now.

Still color as of today (from the boat ramp)

I was out on the lake yesterday; it was pretty, but rather windy so I didn't see any bird action, but I did hear a loon on the lake earlier in the week.

If you drove up to the lakes from the south this weekend you probably had a beautiful trip.  I'm still planning on another hike or two to take advantage of the fall weather and the increased viewing through bare branches on the trees.  Maybe a few more paddles on the lake too - we'll see what the weather brings us.