May 4, 2025: Fiddleheads Erupt

A few sunny days in late April really get things moving - the sun is as strong now as it is at the end of July.  In warm, damp, sunny spots ferns are shooting out of the ground, their fiddle heads mimicking the top of a violin.  

While on shaded forest floors, the Trailing Arbutus are now in full bloom.

They are so small you may have to look carefully to find them.  Trailing Arbutus, along with Partridge Berry are some of our forests' more common ground covers, helping to maintain moisture in the soil as well as providing food and cover for the smallest of animals.  I saw my first bee of the year buzzing among the Trailing Arbutus - it was a bumble bee, the primary pollinator of this plant.  These large bees with a hairy coat can stand colder temperatures, and are the first  bees to emerge after winter.  If you find Trailing Arbutus flowers, pinch one of their flowers and smell the strong, sweet perfume that attracts the bees. 

More birds arrive daily now - this week there's been a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers here every day.  

Yellow-rumped Warbler.

They flit erratically among the bare branches picking off insects and caterpillars. 

Caught this one in action.

Yellow-rumpeds spend the winter farther north than most warblers so they arrive early, allowing us to see them rather than just hear them since the bare tree branches give them no cover.  

How they got their name.

Bare tree branches let me watch a Tufted Titmouse forage around in a young successional forest picking off insects and spiders.  

We'll lose those bare branches in just a few more days so the birds will be well hidden up in the treetops.  The trees are now starting to put out leaves; the view down on treetops from Crockett's Ledge shows tinges of pale yellow-green aspen and dark red maple buds.

Just a smattering of color against brown branches.

Other new arrivals this week include Oven Bird, Common Yellowthroat, and Veery.  But my bird of the week was this Broad-winged Hawk which spent time hanging out amidst the warblers.

Broad-winged Hawk

I was surprised that while it was here the warblers will still flying around in the trees.  The hawk wasn't trying to be secretive because it twice flew from one tree to another. 

It also walked up and down a branch, showing off its talons.

So the warblers were certainly aware of its presence.  Are warblers smart enough to tell a broad-winged hawk apart from the smaller Merlin and Kestrel, and know that broad-wings mostly go after small animals on the ground?  They should keep in mind that these hawks do occasionally take a bird on the wing.

One quiet morning as I was listening to the birds' sunrise serenade beside the lake, I jumped a foot in the air when a beaver gave a loud slap just a few yards away from me. I hadn't seen it coming and it really is startling when you're not expecting it. I watched it swim back and forth, and it presented me with a couple more tail slaps.

There was another noisy event on the lake this week:  The loons are back to fighting over either territory or mates.  Two days after I took a nice trip around the lake and was pleased at seeing two pairs of loons peacefully enjoying their separate territories, I witnessed the most intense loon battle I've ever seen.  I heard a ruckus and looked out and saw two loons in a wing-rowing chase winding back and forth across the lake at breakneck speed - they looked like waterskiers carving up the cove.  When they reached the end of the cove they went back and forth multiple times, chasing, diving to make sharp stops and turns, barely losing a beat.  I had watched for a long time not wanting to look away, but eventually I got my camera.

They went out of my sight, but then came back and I took more video until they went far down the lake.  I checked my watch only after they'd been at it for at least a few minutes - I have no idea how long it was going on before they caught my attention, but it was ten minutes that I watched before they went back out of sight, still in active combat.  

I'm amazed at their endurance; that video was only two and a quarter minutes of a fight that went on well over ten minutes and they never once stopped going full tilt.  I can only assume one of the contestants is the north territory male.  It seems it would be one doing the chasing to drive another away, but it could be the other way around.  It could also be two females fighting over who gets to pair with the male.  Hopefully someone will give up rather than fight to the death.  But what will happen if the weaker bird gets so exhausted it can't escape?  I was happy to see a pair together fishing peacefully in the northern territory the next morning.

Some of the trees and shrubs I like to watch progress in spring are Service Berry, Black Cherry, and Hobblebush Viburnmum, all of which are pushing out small leaves now.  The viburnum is the furthest along, already forming flower buds.  

Hobblebush Viburnum early buds.

All three of these shrubs/trees might have blossoms by next week - stay tuned!

April 13, 2025: Spanish Moss and Soggy Snow

We spent the past week in South Carolina where it was nice to see something other than snow in the tree branches.  When we returned to the lake on Thursday night we found quite a change had taken place in the days we were gone.  Not only was all the snow gone, but the lake was almost completely open.  We were greeted the first night home with the call of a loon drifting over the lake.  The next morning was dull and gray - a perfect day if you're a duck - and we were immediately treated to a smorgasbord of ducks on the lake including mergansers, wood ducks, mallards, black ducks, and these ring-necked ducks which are always a treat to see.

Ring-necked Duck.

Later in the day a pair was having an afternoon siesta near the shoreline.  

Sleeping with one eye open at 1:00pm.

I was careful not to disturb them, but eventually they woke up and perked up a bit.

When they suddenly leapt out of the water, I thought I had startled them.

But in fact, their flock, which was hidden around a point of land, had taken flight, and they were just heading off to catch up with their friends.

Can you see the mallard on the rock near shore?

Another early migrant was an Eastern Phoebe.

Eastern Phoebe perched over the lake, hoping the insects are out soon.

And no surprise, with the ice out, the beavers are back on their evening cruises across the lake in search of food and timber for building supplies.

There were branches nibbled clean of their bark showing they had been on shore, and sure enough, come night fall, one arrived to feast.

That's one big beaver that seems to have stored up plenty of winter food, but nonetheless is looking for something fresh to eat.

Now, South Carolina.  Our hostess arranged for perfect weather in the mid 80's all week and not a drop of rain.  A fun part of visiting new areas is finding unfamiliar things to investigate, such as these blossom-type items scattered all over the ground in a Low Country forest.  I figured they were pollen-producing blossoms of a tree and it didn't take long to identify them as Sweetgum.  

The dried up, brown spikey-thing (a "gumball") tucked into the leaf litter on the left was a helpful clue.

Imagine how much pollen can be expelled from all those blossoms.  

Male flowers of the Sweetgum tree.

Not far away at food-serving facility beside a lagoon I saw a large bird we don't have in New England but is easy to identify.

A Black Vulture looks for easy pickings.

Black Vultures don't venture north of Massachusetts, but maybe soon they'll make their way up here like the Red-bellied woodpeckers and winter Bluebirds have.

On the Isle of Palms we saw the usual culprits such as Laughing Gulls, Egrets, and Boat-tailed Grackles, but also a new bird for me, Willets.

Willets foraging in the surf on Isle of Palms.

It took a bit for me to recognize them as they were wearing winter or immature plumage.  (Thanks RB for the confirmation!)

Along Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, a pair of Barn Swallows was dashing around over the marsh collecting insects, but then perched on a railing just for our enjoyment.

Barn Swallows at Shem Creek.

There were also pelicans gliding low over the creek watching the fishing and shrimp boats for cast-off fish.

Over at Folley Island we saw Pelicans performing their freefall crash into the Atlantic Ocean.

Searching for targets.

On the attack.

Contact!

No trip to the Low Country would be complete without a visit to a stand of Live Oaks with their Spanish Moss.

This is "Oak Alley" at Boone Hall Plantation which also provides much history of the slave trade and life in South Carolina.  It's worth a visit, for the history lesson as well as the flowers.

Some of the gardens in front of the plantation Mansion.

And then, after a beautiful trip through the Shenandoah Valley where we drove along miles of Red Buds and flowering trees, watching summer return to late winter, we were back in New Hampshire.  And yesterday, mother nature made sure we knew that as we woke up to this on Saturday morning.

Back to snow in the trees - we should have stayed down south another week!  Thanks for a great visit!

August 13, 2023: Lake Darner

I can't think of a more appropriate name for this large dragonfly, one of the most conspicuous around the lakes with it's large wingspan and colorful body.  

It's certainly a member of the Mosaic Darner family which contains 41 North American species including the largest dragonfly we have here; I think this is a Lake Darner (Aeshna eremita).  If you remember from a recent post, the blue coloring shows it's a male; the females are green.  Note the large clasper on its tail.

The clasper is used to hold onto its partner during mating.

Darners are active during the day, especially in late afternoon as they patrol the sky, snatching small insects on the fly.  

Here's an interesting creepy crawler I see every now and then.

It's called a millipede even though it doesn't have a thousand legs.  It does however, have four legs on each of its segments.

That's because each segment actually consists of two segments fused together, which is why each has four legs.  I counted 53 segments so this millipede has about 212 legs on its three inch long body.  

This must be the time of year when white-tail deer mothers decide it's time to let their new fawns head out into more exposed areas to learn about the world.  I saw one spotted fawn with its mother at Ramblin' Vewe Farm while I was mountain biking, and another the next day along Chemung Road.  And then a friend sent me this great video of a fawn right in his yard.  (Thanks JW!)

He noted that he hasn't seen its mother yet, but he did see a fox watching it.

And finally, there's a story regarding the southern pair of loons, but I don't know what it is.  There's an injured loon on the lake that may be the result of the battles that took place when the southern loon chicks Chip and Dale were killed. 

Who is this injured bird?

However, no one has seen any bands to indicate this bird is one of that pair, including the LPC biologist who came this week to do his end of the year survey before heading back to school.  (Thank you Will for all you did for the loons this summer!)  It's been so long - since July 15th - that the pair may have left after their chicks were killed.  But as we know, lack of evidence doesn't prove anything.  So we'll wait and see what we can determine.  Because all four legs of the southern pair have bands, even a good sighting of a bare leg will prove it's not one of the nesting pair.

Whoever it may be, the wound on this birds head hasn't affected its fishing ability, as I watched it dive and within seconds it came up with a nice size yellow perch.

Now that's a good breakfast.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the lake, the parents of LuLu and Checkers continue to fend off challengers every day.  Yesterday there were four adult loons interacting, and not in a friendly way. 

Two pairs, or three against one?

It could have been three rogues which the male was keeping away from the chicks, or it could have been both the male and the female taking on another pair while the chicks were away in some secret cove.  I did receive a report of three loons flying in on the same day I saw this interaction, so that may be the answer.   (Thanks AW!)

A standoff.

And then the watch for an underwater attack.

Knowing that even a full grown loon can be killed by another loon means the chicks aren't safe yet, but with their parents strength and experience, they are doing great.

LuLu, now in juvenile plumage.

Checkers is still sporting a little fluff on his tail and neck.

LuLu and mom snuggling?

No, both chicks still constantly nag their parents for food, and make this awful, whining sound when they're hungry - which seems to be always!  They'll learn to be self sufficient eventually.

We'll provide updates on the story of the southern pair if we learn more.

March 12, 2023: Otters Like Snow Too

After a slow start the winter of 2023 is turning into a good one for snow fans, human and animal alike.  There's a deep snow pack now to protect the roots of sensitive plants and to provide refuge for the creatures that find safety in the subnivian zone.  Of course, predators such as foxes and owls whose survival depends on catching the animals that are now hiding under the snow aren't having an easy winter, and neither are large animals such as deer and moose that need to move around through the deep snow to forage for food.  But the one animal that truly enjoys the snow just for the fun of it is the otter.  On a snowshoe trip along the shore of Lake Wicwas we found lots of otter tracks and slides running all up and down over the slopes near the lake.

River otter slides up and down through the woods,

and onto the lake.

Even on the flats the otter would take a few hops and then slide a long way on its belly, sometimes paddling itself along with its feet.  

Along flat areas too.

We also found the holes in the ice where the otters had popped up from under the frozen lake.

A secret passage that lead to the lake.

Near one of the holes was an otter latrine where it did its business.

Otter scat is easily identifiable by its loose form and its contents of essentially 100 percent fish scales.

There's always a lot of fish scales in otter scat - because fish is almost their entire diet.

Based on the track I think there were at least two otters romping around in the snow together.  I don't get many opportunities to see river otters in person, but here's a picture of one I saw last April just as the ice was leaving the lake.

An otter belly-slides across the melting ice.

 

On our snowshoe trip we also saw a bobcat trail and even a spot in the snow where it had bedded down for a time to watch for any careless red squirrels that might come by for dinner.  No pictures of these however.  

In the midst of all this I received a reminder that motion towards spring continues regardless of the snow.  A Wicwas loon-watcher was at York Harbor, Maine this week and saw some loons in the Atlantic Ocean, and they have put on their summer breeding plumage! 

A common loon in York Harbor, Maine.  Photo by Lynne McMahon.

Lynne sent a couple of pictures - what an encouraging sight to see!  I always hope that someday, somewhere, someone will see one of our banded loons in the ocean so we'll know where they go in winter.

Like the otters, I've been having fun sliding on all this snow, including a fabulous trip with family up to Jay Peak in Vermont, where it is definitely still winter, and will be for many more weeks.

A wintery scene in northern Vermont, five miles from Canada.

There aren't many visible signs of spring around here yet, but the plumage on those loons proves that the season is coming.