December 4, 2017

December is here, and with it came some December-like weather:  cold and blustery with whitecaps being whisked down the lake by a strong northwest wind. 

But every December is different - compare this year to what 2013 brought us:

Ice in December  2013

This was actually taken on November 30, 2013! 

That northwest wind blows needles the white pines dropped during the fall (even the evergreens lose a good number of their leaves in the fall) to the edge of the lake where they can get all wrapped up into a tight bundle and then washed up onto shore.  This looked like a small porcupine curled up by beside the lake. 

A tightly wrapped ball of pine needles imitates a porcupine

Turning it over you can see the dense packing of the needles.

The week also brought some warm and wet weather, so the bird feeders came back in the house, but not before a visit from a pretty downy woodpecker.

Downy Woodpecker

Check out those claws, evolved to hang on to bark as they search for food on trees.

They work pretty well on bird feeders also. 

Did you ever think about the fact that birds have tongues?

Probing with the tongue before committing the beak

Duck season runs until December 17 in our region and the sportsmen are still out on the hunt, complete with an eager and attentive hunting dog.

Just twenty minutes after they went by, two hooded mergansers, having eluded them, arrived in the very same spot.

A couple of lucky ducks

There have been a few more ducks around this week, including this pair of common mergansers resting quietly on a rainy day. 

Resting peacefully in the rain

Time for a good stretch after my nap

A very wet squirrel was also out adding to its winter stores.

A good day for ducks, not so much for squirrels

The earlier snow is gone now.  As we await the arrival of winter to be blown in with that northwest wind, we can at least soak up the last colors of fall before they are buried under a blanket of white.

Wintergreen

May 31, 2015

Oh, the first hot summer nights of the year!  Those nights when the windows stay open and the music of the night fills the house.  Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Sarah Brightman portray it well:

Slowly, gently, night unfurls its splendor
Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender 
(Click to listen)    

Add the scent of summer rain wafting in the open windows from an evening thunderstorm and the light of a half-moon shining through open blinds, and it is enchanting.

The performance begins well before sunset when the Tree Frog sings the prelude;  one soloist starts, and within seconds, dozens (maybe hundreds) of frog calls are resonating across the lake.

By the time darkness sets in the full complement of voices has joined the fray.  The long, loud call of the American Toad is distinctive as it carries over great distances.  Later at night the Bull Frog adds its resounding bass line.  (Hint - each of the above are links to their respective call - if you click them all at once you'll get an idea of what it sounds like on a hot summer night!)

On top of all this amphibious racket, the hollow call of the loon can be heard lofting from unknown stations on the lake.  I wonder if they have established a nest at this point.  Sometimes the Barred Owl joins into the chorus, but it was absent this week;  perhaps is it on tour, serenading another audience around the lake.

When the sun rose the next morning and sent the nocturnal animals to bed, plenty of daytime life became apparent around the lake, including a couple of large birds.  A female merganser has been on the lake much later than usual;  one day it decided our dock was the perfect resting place.

 After a nap and a yawn,

it was on its way.

On a warm summer afternoon, looking for a cooler spot, I took a run along the Red Trail that passes behind Crockett's Ledge west of Lake Wicwas, and saw that the Meredith Conservation Committee has been working to ensure the trails are kept in good condition, and that soil erosion will be controlled - they had installed several water-bars along the trail.

Erosion control on the Red Trail

These were made on-site using Cedar trees harvested right in the area;  they help prevent water from rushing straight down the trail, washing the path out and sending soil and silt into the lake.  A great thank-you to all those who work so hard so that we can enjoy the wonderful natural areas they protect, resplendent with natural beauty:

Lady Slippers along the trail approaching the White Mountain Ledge

As of today, the summer weather has taken a vacation, but it will return soon enough, bringing more nocturnal entertainment.  Maybe next time I'll hear the howl of coyotes in the night.

The coyotes are losing their warm winter coats

Listen to the music of the night

May 10, 2015

Spring is popping out everywhere around the lake now;  the big event this week has been the trees going into bloom, as anyone with spring allergies will be able to tell you.  The thousands of flowers on every tree give an indication of just how much pollen can be disbursed into the air.  Look at the long flowers on the birch trees, each with gobs of pollen in them.

Birch tree in bloom

Some trees, such as the Service Berry (Shadbush) and the Hobblebush Viburnum, have much more noticeable flowers, providing cheery blossoms for mother's day.

Shadbush (Downy Serviceberry)

Hobblebush Viburnum

It's amazing how reliable the flowering of some of these trees are.  Even with the long winter and late spring the shadbush - so named because it flowers when the shad (used to) run in the rivers - are blooming within two days of their usual date. 

The maples trees are getting to ready to release their seeds in the form of miniature helicopters that will spiral with the wind in search of fertile ground many yards away from the tree that bore them.

These will soon be providing a feast for the chipmunks, fattening them up for the hawks and foxes.

Speaking of hawks, this week I spotted a much larger bird flying amongst the tops of the maple trees - a Broad-winged Hawk.

It landed in a tree right over me, giving a quick glimpse of it from below before returning to flight.

Broad-winged Hawk

Another amphibian was out this week, enjoying the nice weather and sunning itself right on the deck. 

Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor)

The Gray Tree Frog is well camouflaged for its normal habitat in the trees;  it rarely descend to the ground except to breed, which it does in both vernal pools as well as permanent ponds without fish.  It does break its cover when it hops, flashing bright yellow spots on the inside of its legs.

A reminder if you're out enjoying nature:  the tics are plentiful this year.  They like to hang out on the edges of grasses and leaves, extending their legs with a glob of sticky goo on the end to instantly attach to anything that brushes against them.

Wood Tic

To not leave you with that vision, I did see a merganser this week.  Our good friends on the lake (who treated us to fresh-caught salmon straight from Lake Winnepesaukee and home grown rhubarb pie!) saw a dozen or so mergansers fishing by the outlet.  So I guess they are still passing through the Lakes Region.   Be sure to note the fish in its beak!

April 19, 2015

The ice has been creeping out of Lake Wicwas slowly and steadily - yesterday's wind really helped move things along.  I think by tomorrow morning I will be able to declare ice-out, but we'll have to wait until dawn to know.  Here's how things looked from the boat landing this evening at 4:15pm.

Almost Ice Free

Right in sync with the ice leaving, many animals are emerging and returning to the lake.  Today I heard the wonderful sound of a hundred Wood Frogs singing in a vernal pool, calling to their mate as spring brings thoughts of love. 

I also saw my first amphibian of the year, a tiny leopard frog in a wet spot right beside the lake, having just emerged from the mud down below the frost line.  And there are lots of birds on the lake now, both permanent summer residents such as the black ducks, as well as the transients on their way farther north - Mergansers and Buffleheads.  Some of these arrived when there were only small gaps in the ice, plowing through the ice and slush like a maritime ice-breaking ship.

This pair of Common Mergansers found enough open water to get their dinner before grooming - and resting - on a nice, warm, comfy patch of ice.

Common Mergansers

Cold feet anyone?

The next day a female Hooded Merganser came swimming by - no sign of a mate for her yet.

Female Hooded Merganser

And I saw my first loon on the lake just today - only one;  I don't know if it is half of our nesting pair or not.

Various mammals are out and about more as well.  The first beaver of the year swam by as soon as there was a significant gap around the edge of the lake, and the next day a muskrat cruised by.  I wonder if it was the muskrat that enjoyed snacking on all these clams.

Sign of a good feast

I saw deer tracks in the mud, and caught a Gray Fox and a Raccoon out prowling for food.  The raccoon could also have been the consumer of the clams - they are excellent swimmers and love all types of seafood.

Raccoon on the Prowl

Just 90 minutes later, so is the fox

Raccoons are also pretty vicious - if these two met up, it might be a good fight.  But with all the food sources around (raccoons like wood frogs too) at this time of year they would probably leave each other alone and go after the easy pickin's. 

Here's another sign that summer is coming - buds are swelling and turning red, here on blueberry bushes.

The winter of 2015 is finally setting on Lake Wicwas.

April 27, 2014

I was not here for ice out, but the reports I received indicate it occurred on April 21, at least by my definition.  This was late, but not the latest I have recorded - that occurred in 2008, on April 24.  There are a few man-made piles of snow around, but the only natural ice I found was hidden under a cave of granite.

The Last Bit of Winter

Tracking season may be over, but this is the best season for seeing wildlife.  This week I saw loons, mergansers, osprey, bufflehead, pileated woodpeckers, wood ducks, fly catchers, beaver, and fox.  Plus the evidence of bear, deer, and moose.  I'll provide a few notes.

First, the Wood Ducks have returned to nest.  One evening the pair flew in together and swam in the cove a bit before flying up to perch on a tree that fell over the lake on the shore where they nest.  They sat there - side by side - for 10 or 15 minutes, preening and scouting the area for signs of danger.  They took off together and flew in close formation, making two full reconnoitering circles of the cove, the second wider than the first and just above the tree tops.  Now confident that they wouldn't disclose their nesting site, the duck (female) dipped down into the trees and went to the nest, while the drake (male) took another big circle and made a dramatic landing in the lake to attract the attention of anyone in the area.  He then floated conspicuously in the middle of the cove, a good decoy to protect the nest.

A Living Decoy

As John Audubon said "Few birds are more interesting to observe during the love season than Wood Ducks".  Even with all that effort, their eggs, once laid, will still be vulnerable to a wide range of predators. 

The beaver we watched swim across the cove was dragging a branch along in its teeth, which forced it to swim more slowly than usual, and also seemed to bring more of its body above the water than is common.  Most often, all one can see is the nose, eyes and ears protruding above the lake surface.

Beaver Bring Home the Bacon

The Pileated Woodpecker visited in the rain, stopping to pick something - insects? - out of an old white pine stump.

Pileated Woodpecker

Later that day I found a fresh hole in a pine where it had been hacking out large wood chips to get to a nest of carpenter ants.  There are several prior holes in this same tree.

Signs of deer included droppings, nibbled branches, and fur.  This patch of fur was beside some cherry branches that had been bitten off.

Fur from a White Tail Deer

Perhaps the deer scratched itself with its hoof, helping to shed its winter coat in preparation for warmer weather.  The fine threads of the inner augment the insulating properties, allowing this deer to survive the minus 17 degree temperature we saw this past winter.

The trees are also now starting to put on their spring emblems, with vibrant buds swelling and bursting out.

Blueberry Bud

Red Maple Blossoms

The arrival of the fly-catchers means there are only a couple of more weeks of walking peacefully in the woods before the onslaught of black flies and mosquitoes arrives - enjoy it while you can!