September 29, 2024: Logging for Moose

It's been a couple of years since I've seen a moose around Lake Wicwas, but I know they're still here.  

Moose scat - much larger than deer scat.

This week the Meredith Conservation Commission took a survey of a forestry project performed on the Leighton Town Forest far up in the Chemung area.  The work was done in 2017-2018 and included thinning overcrowded and weak trees as well as a several-acre patch cut for habitat diversity.  Much of the forest in New Hampshire is of a common age having regenerated after the state was largely cleared of forest in the nineteenth century.  With few fires to clear areas of forest, there is now minimal habitat of the young trees that many species need to survive.  One animal that takes advantage of early-growth trees is moose.  In the summer moose feed on aquatic vegetation in ponds and wetlands, but in winter they need other food sources which includes twigs and bark of small trees.  You can still see signs of bark scraped off red maple trees along the White Trail in the Hamlin Forest but they date from the early 2000s; there are few small trees left for them to feed on.

Look for old moose scrapes (this is from 2004) near the highest point on the Arbutus Hill Pond Trail.

The photo of moose scat was one of half a dozen piles of scat we saw on our trip around the patch cut at Leighton, which indicates the cut was successful.  The forestry plan for that property includes creating additional patch cuts every five to ten years so there will be a constant range of forest ages for animals to find their preferred habitat.

Here's what the cleared area looked like in 2018 shortly after in was cut.  

And here's what it looks like from the same spot today.

That thick young forest is what many species need for food and shelter.

It shows how quickly a forest can regenerate, though it will take 50 to 100 years to fully mature, and over 200 to become "old growth" forest.  Forestry requires a long term outlook.

The forest can look pretty ugly right after logging, but in a few years they recover.  Here's what the main logging path looked like right after the work was done.  

And six years later, the same spot has filled in with thick growth of pioneer species such raspberry, birch, red maple, and white pine.  

Here's another example of before and after:

2017

And the same area today:

2024

Another ​important aspect of forestry today is having a diverse forest to make it resilient to introduced animals, pathogens, and climate change. Imagine what would happen if many acres of forest consisted of a single species and that species was attacked by an invasive insect or disease like the ash trees and the elm trees before that. Or perhaps that species can't handle the droughts or very wet years climate change is causing. Careful forestry can open up areas around under-represented trees to allow them to thrive and maintain Forest diversity in case of species collapse.  For example, around the Lakes Region we find monocultures of Eastern Hemlock which is now under attack by the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive insect that's a serious threat to the health of hemlock trees.  American Beech is facing a similar threat from the Beech Leaf Disease.

A hemlock monoculture with a closed canopy blocking light from other plants.

A knowledgeable forester also assesses soil conditions and sun exposure and will manage for species best suited to the immediate microclimate.  

There's a lot to consider in the long-term management of our forests.  If you're interested in learning more, keep an eye on the Commission's Facebook page as they will be having more public forestry tours in the future.  There's also a good article in the Summer 2024 issue of the Forest Society's Forest Notes publication [Managing for Resilient Landscapes, Aldrich and Weisiger, Pg 14]

And yes, I used to see a lot of moose, and I know I will see them again.

I froze when this big bull walked right in front of me some ten years ago.  I don't think it even noticed me, which is just the way you want it around a moose.

Back around the lake, ducks that spent the summer north of the Lakes Region have started to make their appearance on Wicwas as they return south for the winter.

Two pairs of Wood Ducks enjoy a rainy morning on the lake.

All the migrating birds - and we - will soon be treated to the great New Hampshire foliage season.

Foggy mornings and changing leaves - Fall is in the air.

June 27, 2021: A Moose in the Lake

Last week Claranne reported on a moose which, after swimming across the lake, climbed up onto land near Loon Point Road.  With her quick reaction she was able to get a picture for all of us to see it!

Our latest moose visitor after taking a dip in Lake Wicwas.
Photo by Claranne Bechtler.

Moose are such ungainly animals - look at the shape and angle of that hind leg - but what impressive creatures.  They are the largest animals in New Hampshire, easily weighing over 1000 pounds, and although the population in New England is suffering greatly due to the winter tics, they do still roam the Lakes Region.  

The warming climate means winter tics are not dying off in the winter and so are having a much greater impact on the moose.  Of course another huge factor in their decline is the loss of habitat.  Research has shown that moose can better survive winter tics when their population density is lower, but as their land is taken over by development they are forced into fewer and fewer tracts of land.  Moose need large areas of unfragmented land - they can't live in developed areas like deer - so deer have taken over from moose as the most common ungulate in the state.  According to NH Fish and Game, "prior to European settlement moose were more common than deer in New Hampshire".  You can learn more about moose on the NH Fish and Game website.

Over the years I've seen moose swimming in the lake, munching on aquatic vegetation in the marshes, and wandering among the young forest in the Eames Conservation Area.

A moose munches on aquatic vegetation in Harris Cove on Lake Wicwas early one morning.

Today I don't see as many signs of them as I used to, but if you hike on the White Trail (up to Arbutus Hill Pond in the Hamlin-Eames-Smyth Conservation Area) you can still find signs of moose having scraped bark off red maple trees - look for scars running up and down the trunk, about four to six feet above ground level.  

Healed-over scars from moose scraping trees near the White Trail in the Eames Conservation Area.

The Meredith Conservation Commission is currently working on a habitat cut along the White Trail, clearing an area that will allow young trees to grow back.  Moose consume leaves and aquatic vegetation during the summer but when the leaves are gone and the ponds and wetlands freeze over, moose use the tender bark of young trees as a food source to survive the winter.  The clearing will also provide habitat for a wide range of other animals that need young, successional forests to live, including many bird species such as the common yellowthroat and the chestnut-sided warbler.

Chestnut-sided warbler in a young maple forest.

 

While I'm on the subject of different habitats, the newly restored field at the Page Pond Conservation Area along Barnard Ridge Road appears to be the new nesting site of bobolinks.  

Bobolink in the field off Barnard Ridge Road.
Photo by Eileen Moore.

The bobolinks' arrival last week was noted by Squam Lakes Science Center Executive Director Iain MacLeod; he believes they were driven out of another field when it was mowed, destroying their nest.  They are displaying nesting behavior at Page Pond, so we're hoping they'll have a successful nesting here.  If you walk up the trail through the field you are likely to see them.  The field is a wonderfully different habitat than our many forests and is becoming home to a wide range of non-forest dwelling species.

Finally, our own nest of loons on Lake Wicwas is still being well tended to and we should be seeing new little chicks any day now - fingers are crossed!

Mom or dad loon heading back up for its shift on the nest.
Photo by Dave Thorpe.

Whether on land or water, large or small, there's always something to be seen around the lakes.

Just in, this late-breaking news:  We have a chick!

Introducing Coco.

She was first observed on June 26 by Linda Powell who has named our newest lake member Coco.  Sadly, it appears Coco isn't going to have a sibling as the second egg was left on the nest, intact, for reasons unknown.  Hopefully we'll have a long summer ahead of watching little Coco grow big and strong.  But please be extra careful on the lake for the next few weeks as Coco cannot dive to protect herself yet.  (No, we don't know that it's girl, but that's what Linda has decreed!  ; ) 

The proud new parents take Coca on its first tour of Lake Wicwas.

June 20, 2021: Rocky Mountain Pelicans

On our final hike in steamboat springs last week we went up to find an abandoned uranium mine just east of steamboat. We weren't far up the trail when a flock of large birds came soaring up the west flank of the mountain from the Yampa valley.

A flock of large birds over the Yampa Valley, the Flattop Mountains are in the distance.

In the distance it was clear they were large with some white visible so my mind went to bald eagles, but I'd never seen eagles in a flock, let alone in formation. I lost sight of them as they dipped below the tree line but a few minutes later they circled up nearer to the ridge we were hiking and I got a better look - they were pelicans! 

American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

I remember reading somewhere about pelicans in Colorado but didn't really believe it, and certainly never expected to see them. But there they were, undisputable pelicans; I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen them with my own eyes.  Turning to my favorite bird resource, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, I find that they migrate across much of America west of the Mississippi river on their way to breeding grounds primarily in Canada, but also in pockets of Colorado, Wyoming, and the Dakotas. So much for me thinking they are purely ocean birds - though the brown pelicans I see in South Carolina are strictly seacoast dwellers.

Back in new Hampshire we've had some perfect summer weather, simply ideal for a guided paddle around Lake Wicwas on Friday.  The Lakes Region Conservation Trust organized the paddle which was attended by an enthusiastic group of twelve kayakers and canoers who toured eight LRCT-protected easements as well as four protected by the town of Meredith.

A colorful group prepares to depart on a two-hour tour.

The paddle was organized and led by LRCT Land and Stewardship Director Dave Mallard and me.

New Hampshire is incredibly fortunate to have so many generous, forward-looking people who have seen the importance of protecting our water and land resources.  On the trip we saw loons, kingbirds, painted turtles, yellow warblers, tree swallows and even got a glimpse of the loon nest.  In the marshes we saw blue flags (wild iris) and rose pogonia blooming.  

Rose Pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides)

Blue Flag (Iris versicolor)

The iris are almost gone-by but the small and delicate rose pogonia will be in bloom for a while - look for both in dense, boggy wetlands.

We're still waiting for definitive confirmation of the female nesting loon as she's been quite protective of her leg bands.  I did confirm there are two eggs still in the nest, though it was a little concerning that the nest was unoccupied with only one parent nearby, nonchalantly preening near the nest.

Two eggs sit unattended.

There were no boats in the area and no indication of where the other loon was or why it left the nest.  Hopefully it just needed a quick dip to cool off.

There was another large flying creature that landed on the lake when we were away, but the quick eye of Debby Crowley caught the renegade as it came in for a landing.  

Landing on Wicwas.  Photo by Debby Crowley.

Debby reported that the loons did not appreciate the stranger on the lake, but they also apparently didn't run off to hide - maybe they were curious about this large, noisy intruder too.

 A loon checks out the unusual beast.  Photo by Debby Crowley.

While I'm sharing stories from outside the Lakes Region I want to share this fabulous picture a friend took of a red-tailed hawk sitting in the top of tree along the Marginal Way in Ogunquit Maine.

Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).  Photo by John Windyka.

  

Red-tailed hawks are very large birds, and with a wing span of almost five feet they are often mistaken as immature bald eagles.  Keep an eye on the sky for both of them which are present in the Lakes Region.  This is one of the best photos I've seen of a red-tailed, with the sun illuminating the tail from above and those steely eyes staring right down at the camera.  Thanks for sharing John, and thanks also to PC for sharpening up the photo!

Finally, happy Father's Day to my dad and all fathers - this is your day to enjoy and remember what joy you've brought to the world.  Here's one many-times over dad, who's hopefully about to become a new father once again:

The soon-to-be father enjoying some personal time on the lake before his life gets very busy.

Now this late breaking news:  Claranne B. just reported a moose swimming along the shore of Lake Wicwas!  It the stomped right up onto land and walked across Loon Point.  It's a rare treat to see a moose, and great to know they are roaming around the Lakes Region!

April 12, 2020: Loon Dance

It was a good week for ducks.  A large assortment of waterfowl is in the Lakes Region right now, some here for the summer, others just stopping in to refuel on their way to breeding grounds farther north or west.  One of the more distinguished visitors seems to be present only for a day two each spring before moving on.

Ring-necked Duck.

A flock of ring-necked ducks stopped for a rest and some nourishment on their way to Canada or perhaps northern Maine for the summer.  There were eight males all congregating around a single female; I wondered whether she was being harassed by them, or whether she liked all the attention.

She certainly had her pick of mates, and didn't seem to have any trouble holding her own against them.

Whether pursuing or chasing away, she's in control of the situation.

Where are all the other females?

Ring-necked ducks are divers, but not for fish; they consume mostly plants but also eat animals such as snails, nymphs and leeches.  [Ref: Cornell Lab or Ornithology]  I love their sharp mating-season plumage.

Here are a few of the other ducks that stopped by Lake Wicwas this week:

Mr. and Mrs. Bufflehead

Mr. Mallard

Mrs. Mallard

Mr. and Mrs. Common Merganser

I also saw the loons for the first time, and not just two.

Three loons in a dance.

The third loon is perhaps the same rogue we've had on the lake for several years now, and they were certainly engaged.  I had heard some loud vocalizations indicating there was unhappiness on the lake; later I observed an interaction of all three.  It was far away, but I was able to record enough for you to get the idea of what was going on.  Click here to watch the dance.

This fascinating behavior went on for about 20 minutes before two of them moved away down the lake.  According to Stokes' book "A Guide to Bird Behavior" [Donald and Lillian Stokes, Little, Brown and Company, 1989] this behavior isn't necessarily aggressive, but rather a way to "appease aggressive tendencies".  Stokes says that all the behaviors displayed in that video, "Bill-dipping, Splash-dives, and circling around each other", may take place at territory boundaries by neighbors who know each other.  So maybe the pair is telling the rogue that he's ok as long as he stays in his territory.  The display took place at the mouth of Marion Cove, and the next day, a single loon was out fishing in that cove. So I'm putting the pieces together and predicting our mating pair and our regular rogue are back in their usual areas of the lake.  Now let's see if the second pair that owns Harris Cove will return.

Our rogue loon in his territory of Marion Cove.

The past few weeks I've been avoiding the popular outdoor areas, instead visiting less traveled places to get outside for some exercise.  Last week brought me to a remote conservation area in Ashland where I discovered another benefit of avoiding crowded trails:  greater chances of finding wildlife.  Some large wounds on a couple of red maple trees right beside the trail had a tale to tell.

Scrapes over seven feet high.

Our thoughts went to bears, porcupine, deer, and moose.  When I got home I checked a couple of books and was able to confirm they are moose scrapes, with the height, direction (vertical), condition (smooth), and hanging parts at the top of the scrape all helping in the identification.

Moose will scrape upwards with their lower incisors to peel off the bark and nutritious cambium underneath.   That also explains why there was no bark on the ground since they eat what they peel off.  The height of the scrape proves the impressive size of moose, the largest animal in our New England forests.

On the same hike I saw my first reptile of the year, out warming itself in an open sunny spot.

Garter snake, the first reptile of the year.

On another walk, visiting the artwork on the Meredith Sculpture walk once more before some of them are replaced this summer with new artwork, we enjoyed this group of flying ducks.

Coming Home, by Elise & Payne Junker

I know you'll be able to find these birds on your own excursion in the fresh air.

And lastly, a couple of glimpses of  welcome changes that are on the way:

Tree flowers are out.

Chickadee posing with red maple buds.

The trees are starting to bud.  Yes, a brighter future is ahead.  Happy Easter!

September 8, 2019: Bumble Bee Season

Bumble bees are certainly around all summer, but this time of year they seem to be particularly noticeable.

A bumble bee searches for pollen on lantana flowers.

These large members of the bee family are important pollinators and are presently found swarming over the tiny blossoms of plants like goldenrod and Linda's Coleuses.

Golden rod is a favorite provider this time of year.

These non-aggressive bees are covered with thick hair which keeps them warm and explains why they are the first bee to become active in the spring as well as why they can hang around into fall even after the other bees have disappeared.

A nice warm fur coat.

Similar to other pollen collecting bees, the worker bee's mission is to collect enough food for the queen to lay eggs and fatten up to survive the winter.  In late summer only worker bees and queen bees are born, and all of them will leave the nest.  The worker bees feed the queen, and every bee in the colony will die when winter finally arrives except for the queen; only the queen will hibernate and live through the winter.  In the spring the queen will find a nest location, lay her eggs, and sit on them for two weeks to keep them warm, just like a bird does.  When they hatch, the new season begins.  [Ref:  Alina Bradford, LiveScience, 2017]

Large pollen sacs to bring home for the queen.

Several species of bumble bee have seen dramatic reductions in population in New Hampshire, and NH Fish & Game has listed four species as species of Greatest Conservation Need.  (Who knew Fish & Game studies bees?)  [Ref:  Sandra Rehan, NH Wildlife Journal, May/June 2016]  Rehan and other researchers at the University of New Hampshire are studying the cause of population decline which appears to be due to multiple factors including habitat loss, insecticides, climate change, and pesticides.  [Ref:  NH Wildlife Action Plan, Appendix A]

It's good to know Linda is doing her part to help these important insects survive.

Coming in for a landing on Linda's lupines.

The town of Meredith recently completed a habit logging project on the Eames property up behind the Hamlin easement.  The goal was to improve the quality of the forest and create greater habitat diversity for a range of birds and mammals.  I went for a short walk through the logged area (there are no trails in the area logged) and I saw that the project already appears to be bearing fruit.

This moose print in the soft soil is larger than my boot.

That's the track of a good size moose that was using the logging trail for ease of movement, and was probably enjoying the new browse area.  If you are hiking along the magenta trail - which is in the process of being re-blazed with white trail markers - and you see a large clear cut along the trail, know that this is NOT on town land.  That clear cut was done by a private land owner adjacent to the Eames property.

Clear cut along the border of the Eames Conservation Easement

If allowed to grow back to forest, this cut will provide excellent browse for moose and deer for many years, as well as a young successional forest habitat for ground birds and small animals.

I don't have any new pictures of the loon chicks this week, but I did see another very promising event.  One of the chicks came through the cove by itself and spent a long time fishing all along the cove.  And I saw it come with a fish on two of its dives.  So at least one of the chicks is providing for itself - good news especially as fall arrives and the parents will be going on their way in the coming weeks.  And fall is coming, as seen by misting mornings becoming more common.

A misty morning on the day I walked the logged area in Eames.