November 3, 2024: Autumn Visitors

We were treated to a couple of fall visitors this week.   The first was this young bobcat that snuck by the house in search of a mid-afternoon snack. 

On the Prowl.

It crept along the path through the blueberry bushes where the chipmunks and sparrows collect seeds on the ground. 

Finding no prospects there, it walked up to the corner of the house under the deck and waited a long time, listening to all the tasty sounds in the air:  birds singing, chipmunks chipping, squirrels rustling the dry oak leaves.  Being primarily ambush hunters, bobcats have a lot more patience than I do - I gave up watching before I saw if an unsuspecting prey put itself into a position where the cat thought it could make at attempt at it. 

It's hard to tell without a frame of reference, but this bobcat was much smaller than even a mature female, so I'm pretty sure it's one of this year's litter.  I've seen a young bobcat still with its mother as late as December so seeing this one out hunting on its own and looking healthy is a good sign its mother taught it well.  

The next visitors were a pair of deer that were grazing under the tall Red Oaks, greedily gobbling up the heavy load of acorns dropped on the forest floor this year.

Sibling No. 1

Sibling No. 2

The excellent acorn crop will provide sustenance for many animals, likely resulting in healthy populations of everything from squirrels to turkey to deer next year.  

These animals and others that don't head south or hibernate are growing their warm winter coats at this point even though they didn't need them this week as a warm air mass settled in for most of the week.  Thursday was anything but a clear fall day.  

The view from the Blueberry Ledge Trail on Mt. Whiteface.

On the hike up Mt. Whiteface I recognized this red moss from my recent visit to the Philbrick Bog.  

Sphagnum Moss

Though far removed from the geography of a bog, this high elevation area of dense spruce trees has the same properties of wet, acidic, and low nutrient soil.  I probably wouldn't have noticed it if not for its red color and the fact I had just seen it in the bog.  I love the way multiple plants share the same piece land as much as I do the fabulous colors of nature.

Sphagnum moss, Haircap moss, and Eastern Hemlock all sharing the land.

At a lower elevation of the mountain, this large, bright fungus growing ten feet off the trail on the base of a tree caught the corner of my eye. 

There are several different fungi that have a similar look, one of which is called a Turkey Tail fungus (another is called False-turkey Tail), both named for their similar appearance to the tail of our well known Thanksgiving fowl.  

Cornell Lab of Ornithology photo.

Finally, a quick update on our Wood Thrush that came through New Hampshire and was picked up by the tracking station on Red Hill on September 14th.  The thrush has made its way as far south as Georgia where it was last detected on October 8th.  

The path of Wood Thrush #55768.

Wood Thrushes may overwinter in Florida (or go on to Cuba or South America), so it may be stationary now until spring comes.  We can continue to watch for it here, hoping it will return in the spring.  Until then, we'll enjoy the last vestiges of fall.

Milkweed pods prepare to disperse their seeds for next year's crop.

September 22, 2024: Spring Peeping into Fall

This confused little Spring Peeper was climbing up the side of our house one evening right at supper time.

Look at the little suction cup pads on its toes.

Does our house look like a tree?  

Spring Peepers are the smallest frogs we have in New Hampshire, less than an inch in length, and have a distinguishing X-mark on their back.  They make up for their small size with a large voice - these are the frogs that create the loud peeping sound that keep you awake on early spring nights.  According to NH Audubon, a large group of them can make enough noise to be heard two and a half miles away!  [Ref:  NH Audubon]  Spring Peepers are similar to Wood Frogs in many ways including being able to climb trees, breeding only in vernal pools, and synthesizing antifreeze which allows them to survive subfreezing temperatures over the winter.  This feature lets them hibernate near the surface so they can emerge early in spring to get to vernal pools in time for their offspring to mature and leave the pool before it dries up in summer.

Walking along the White Trail in the Smyth Easement on one of these fine falls mornings I saw a spider web reflecting a sunbeam that found its way through the forest canopy.  

The owner was home and right at the center of its web.

I don't know what kind of spider it is other than it's in the orb-weaver family, and it's a pretty tiny spider to have created such a large web.  It likely means I was the first one on the trail that day, though because it was so visible in the sunbeam, I was able see it and leave it undisturbed for the next hiker to find.

There's been a cormorant hanging around the lake recently, taking advantage of the good fishing in Wicwas to fuel up during its migration south.  

Double-crested Cormorant

Keep your eye out for them this time of year on any of our lakes.  They can look like a loon from a distance, but they typically ride lower in the water.  They may look dark and plain, but up close they are actually quite pretty.

On the subject of birds, the NH Audubon Society has just established a bird tracking station on the Lakes Region Conservation Trust fire tower atop Red Hill in Moultonborough.  This joins a network of stations used to track birds across the country.  The Red Hill station already tagged its first bird, a Wood Thrush passing through New Hampshire on its way south.  Two days later the same bird was in Pennsylvania!  

Since then the station has detected two migrating Eastern Whip-poor-wills.  Birds are tracked using miniature transmitters attached to them.  The stations pick up the signal from the transmitter when the bird flies near a station, much like the ez-pass system on our car.  You can learn more about the system here.  With fall migration in full swing now, there should be many more birds detected over the coming weeks.  You can monitor the station's observations and track the birds' travels on-line at this link.  

It may be hard to believe, but the transmitters are so small that they can also be attached to bats and even insects, including dragonflies.  I don't know if any dragonflies have been tagged in our area, but they are very active right now especially in the marshes around the lake.  I watched male dragonflies hovering over their claimed territory until another one entered its air space. 

Then it zipped after it to chase the intruder away before returning to its sentry post.

Dragonflies have amazing joints and muscles that allow their wings to rotate in a figure eight pattern, providing the ability to hover as well as enabling high speed flight and rapid maneuvering to capture insects on the wing.

Four wings that move independently give dragonflies great acrobatic abilities.

Those marshes around the lake are starting to age into their soft golden hues of fall now.

Autumn marshes and Red Maple trees in wet areas are early signs of the coming season.

One of the prettiest times of year in the Lakes Region is almost here.

P.S.  For you historians, the Meredith Historical Society will be featuring our own Dean Dexter next Tuesday when he presents "The Smiths of Wicwas Lodge".  The event is at the Meredith Community Center on Tuesday, Oct 1st.  Doors open with snacks at 6:30pm and the presentation starts at 7:00.  I hope to see you there!