January 19, 2025: Tracks are Back

Cold weather and a touch of snow has all the creatures of the north out and active this week - including humans.

Ice fishermen and bob houses appeared on Lake Wicwas during this beautiful winter week, and the skaters were enjoying the ice, skating right through the thin layer of snow.  It was busy at the boat ramp!

Lots of people out enjoying winter fun on Lake Wicwas.

The local motorcycle gang was out in force too.

With metal studs screwed into their tires they were ripping up and down the beautifully smooth ice hidden by the sheer layer of fluffy snow.  

A lot of effort is put into homemade studded tires.

A thin layer of fresh snow provides a perfect substrate for animals tracks.  On a run along the trails at Whitten Woods in Ashland I found tracks of many animals, including one I always enjoy finding:  Snowshoe Hare.

The unmistakable track of a rabbit or hare.

There were a lot of these tracks all around the more remote section of the North Peak Trail where there had been few human visitors.  Lagomorphs (hares and rabbits) have very distinctive tracks that makes them easy to identify from other animals, but determining hare versus rabbit is more difficult.  Based on the size of the prints and length and width of the track, I believe these are Snowshoe Hare tracks.

This hare was travelling from right to left.

The side-by-side prints on the left are from the larger hind feet, while the smaller prints, one in front of the other, are the front feet.  Lagomorphs land on their front feet, then pull their hind legs forward, planting them ahead of their front feet, pushing off with their powerful hind legs.  Here's a slow motion video of the process.

Birds tracks are also not easily differentiated.  

About nine inches between tracks.

I don't know what bird made these tracks.  The print is small, but there's a long distance between them which hints that it's a long-legged bird rather than my first thought of a grouse.   The prints are too small for a turkey.  Maybe a pheasant?

Those are two gloved fingers.

These tracks wound all around the trails, again at the northern reaches of Whitten Woods, and there's a lot of toe-drag in the snow.  Any ideas?  

Whitten Woods is a nearby place to visit for a two to five mile hike on well maintained trails, and the best view is from the short walk to the South Peak.

Squam Lake and the Ossipee Mountains from South Peak.

I'll bet it's a great spot to watch the sun rise.  

All the upcoming ice events are still looking good.  We're also following the Alton Bay Ice Runway.  The runway has over 10 inches of ice now and with cold weather in the forecast, the runway may be FAA certified next weekend - I'll keep you posted.

Did you happen to see the full moon on Monday?

The Wolf Moon sets over Wicwas.

It was spectacular!

January 28, 2018 - A mid-winter celebration

This week we celebrated a life milestone (which will not be revealed) with a trip to a warmer climate for a few days.

Delnor Wiggins State Park

Yes, it was a trip south to savor a taste of summer at the beaches and wetlands of southwest Florida.

Corkscrew Swamp

Of course a trip anywhere must include a stop or two to sample the local flora and fauna, and this one allowed opportunities to look for some of our summer friends who travel south for the season.  Several migrating birds that spend summers in New Hampshire were spotted, including yellow-rumped-warblers and ospreys.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Osprey returning from a fishing trip

The warblers were catching insects in the Corkscrew Swamp, while the osprey were fishing in the  waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  We didn't see any Great Blue Herons, but we did see several of it's smaller cousin, named of course, the Little Blue Heron.

The Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea) is about half the size of the Great Blue Heron

These were fishing in ponds and estuaries, and were quite successful in their endeavors.

Another similar bird that appears to be a mash-up of two of our favorite summer birds - the Common Loon and the Heron - is something called the Anhinga.

Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)

The anhinga is a diving bird shaped somewhat like a loon, and it fishes like a loon although it doesn't catch fish with its beak, rather it stabs its prey spear-gun style with that long, sharp beak.  At breeding time, it nests like a heron, building a nest of sticks in a tree.  We were fortunate enough to be near the nest at meal time, which was reminiscent of the feeding of the Great Blue Herons seen up at Arbutus Hill Pond in Meredith last summer.

There were also many beautiful animals that have no counterpart in New England, including 'gators, Snowy Egrets, and the ungainly, yet wonderfully elegant, Brown Pelican.

Snowy Egret near the Naples Pier (love those yellow slippers)

Anyone want to mess with me?

A brown pelican glides low over the gulf waters

We also found some other friends that are smart enough to travel south with the other animals for the winter.

Thanks M&N for everything!

We knew we had picked a fine time to be away from central New Hampshire just by watching the weather reports of snow, ice, and freezing rain.  Learning that we had lost electricity for a day just added to the picture.  When we returned the result of the weather was evident, as the lakes had reformed into frozen icy glaciers.  But it didn't take long to see people out taking advantage of whatever New England doles out.

Fat biking on Lake Wicwas

These two were moving along quite nicely on what are called Fat Bikes:  bicycles with low pressure tires (3-10 psi) in the range of 3 to 5 inches wide that can ride on a variety of soft surfaces such as sand and snow.  Evidently they also have soft enough tire composition to provide traction on clear ice.  If anyone recognizes this couple, I'd be happy to send some pictures to them.

Later that day there were some other two-wheeled vehicles out on Lake Wicwas.

A faster mode of two-wheeled transportation

A couple of short videos:

They're also a little louder than fat bikes.  These high-tech machines have spikes mounted into their tires so they have no problem with traction on ice.

The snow surface is rock-hard at the moment, and with no snow in the immediate forecast, ice sports may be the activity of the week.  There certainly won't be any animal tracking, as I had to really stomp on the snow to break through the crust.  But until new snow falls, we'll enjoy the ice:  next weekend brings the New England Pond Hockey Classic to Meredith Bay, and they will be loving the current conditions in the Lakes Region.

February 3, 2013

Winter fun on frozen water!

The big event in Meredith this weekend was the New England Pond Hockey Classic.  This annual tournament includes 200 teams from every New England state, as well as teams from as far away as Canada, Washington DC - even Florida - and the weather was just about perfect for them.  The frigid weather of the prior week was broken with a 50 degree heat wave and heavy rain on Wednesday.  But just in time the cold weather returned, and the ice conditions on Meredith Bay were beautiful.  We visited the event on Saturday, and it was quite the scene.

2013 New England Pond Hockey Classic on Meredith Bay

20 hockey rinks back to back, with games in progress on each one,

Just of few of the 20 Rinks

except when the sweepers were out clearing a rink that had built up too many shavings.

Clearing the Ice between Games

There were people everywhere, some walking, some on skates;  food of all types being served for players and spectators, and of course, a beer tent (this is hockey after all).

There were cars and trucks and ATVs on the ice.

Back Side of the Food Court

A Plethora of Emergency Vehicles were on Hand

Even a helicopter made the show.

Close Air Support

It was definitely worth going down to see the all the action.  And the bay will be just as busy next weekend, as the ice rinks are taken over by fishermen for the Great Ice Fishing Derby - be sure to check that out if you're in the area.

Over at Lake Wicwas, the ice surface isn't quite as good, as there was snow cover on the lake before the warm weather and rain.  But the snow did saturate sufficiently that one can skate all over the lake, with large glass-smooth sections followed by some careful gliding over the bumpy spots in between. 

A Rare Skating Opportunity in February

A check on the ice thickness showed 12 inches - less than usual at this time of the year.

There was no hockey on Lake Wicwas, but the ice fishing is picking up.  There are half a dozen bob houses on the lake, with a small community growing between Bryant Island and Sheep Island, as well as in other locations on the lake.

Fishing Community between Bryant and Sheep Island

Not to be outdone by Lake Winnipesaukee, Lake Wicwas had its own air force this weekend, with an airplane bringing much needed supplies to the fishermen (more beer?).

The Wicwas Air Force

All this excitement and the derby is still a week away - I expect even more activity then.

And then there was this action taking place today:  Motorcycle Ice Racing!

Motorcycle Ice Racing on Wicwas!

A gang (that was the term they used!) set up a good size oval track right in front of the boat landing and was having a grand time. 

Their bikes are set up with some serious steel studs screwed into their tires.

After a few laps the course had to be scraped

before the next round could begin.

Here's a short video of the action.

There's no reason to be bored in New Hampshire in the winter!

I'll close with some quieter scenes that Jack Frost left on the windows this morning.