June 7, 2026: Turtle Time

Like many animals at this time of year, the turtles are active and are getting busy reproducing.  I saw this Painted Turtle sunning on a log in a quiet corner of Lake Wicwas. 

Turtles don't soak in the sun just to feel good; there is important physiological value to their sessions in the sun.  Jen Esten and Jon Waage, authors of  The Nature of Pleasant Lake newsletter, wrote about turtles recently:

Being cold blooded, turtles need to sunbathe to elevate body temperature which in turn raises metabolic rate.  Sunbathing also periodically dries their shells, helping control mold. Rocks and logs are safe places to get some sun.  In addition to the sun’s warmth, they need the UVB rays to produce Vitamin D3 for processing calcium required for shell and bone growth.  UVA rays help with several body functions.  Sunning spots can get crowded!  Allowing fallen trees to stay in the lake helps.  These turtles feed on aquatic plants, algae and small aquatic invertebrates and fish. Young turtles are mostly meat eaters but become more vegetarian as they age.  They can live for 30 years or more!

We have a healthy painted turtle population in Wicwas even though a lot of their eggs are dug up and eaten by various predators before they hatch.  This excavated turtle nest was beside a trail in the Hamlin Town Forest this week.

Leathery egg shells left by a predator that consumed their contents.

Every year I find one of two of these dug up nests, often right on the shoulder of roads near water bodies.  Sometimes I even come across a mom laying her eggs.  This good size snapper was right on the side of Chemung Road at the Chemung State Forest.  

A female snapping turtle laying her eggs a few years ago.

This baby painted turtle was found this week by Lindsey Duggan:

Photo by Lindsey Duggan

If turtles are just laying eggs now, how can we see baby turtles already?  Well, painted turtles that are laid in late summer can overwinter underground after hatching, and emerge in the spring when the ground warms up.  

What's even more unusual is that she also found a baby snapping turtle.

Snapping turtles don't usually have the same wintering trait as their painted cousins - even if eggs are laid in late summer, snapper eggs usually hatch the same year.  But according to MassWildlife, they sometimes do overwinter in the nest, and that is likely how that baby turtle emerged in early June.  Another possibility is that it did leave the nest late last fall and immediately dug into the bottom of the lake for the winter.

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One morning this week I saw a lot of commotion in the leaves of a maple tree just after sunrise, so I took a moment to see what was in there - it was a Gray Squirrel. 

A gray squirrel amidst the maple leaves.

It was very focused on some activity, running up and down the branches, stopping here and there to chew on something.  I waited for it to come to the end of branch so I could get a good look to see what it was up to - it was munching on maple seeds!

It would pull all little helicopter samaras from a clump, gobble up the seeds, and let the wings flutter down to the ground.  Then it would move on to the next clump. (Sorry about the focus, the moving branch made focus difficult.)

Just one tree seems like it must have an inexhaustible supply of these seeds!

The double winged "helicopter" seeds of a maple tree are called samaras - a latin name for a seed.

This week's off-lake exploration was to Mt. Liberty in Franconia Notch, from which the recent snow was still visible on Mount Washington.

Down at the snowless base of Franconia Notch, both sides of the Appalachian Trail were carpeted with large patches of Bluebead Lily.  

These are often inconspicuous plants, scattered here and there, hidden under other small plants, and with their blossoms hanging downward.  But in large patches along the trail edge, they were hard to miss.

Close up, they have their own hidden beauty. 

Later in the summer each blossom will produce a large, hard blue fruit - that is, assuming a friendly pollinator does its part!  

The fruit is inedible by people though many animals can and do eat them.

I'll  close with the loon update.  The LPC summer biologist came to survey the lake this week. 

Nicole, our summer loon biologist.

We observed the northern loon nest - it's a well hidden nest. 

Can you see the loon in there?

As of today, we still don't know if the southern pair has nested.  We'll keep you abreast of the latest developments!

March 16, 2025: It's Not Spring Yet

We enjoyed some beautiful late-winter weather this week, with sunny days and temperatures into the mid-sixties.  I took a walk on one of those days to see if I could find some early signs of spring - I was not very successful.  The best I could find were the sounds of birds singing their spring songs:  chickadees, titmice, and woodpeckers rapping on dead trees.  It wasn't too surprising, considering there's still a foot on snowpack on the ground and 18 inches of ice in the lake.  It's not looking like an early ice-out this year.  Here was a Tufted Titmouse hidden somewhere in the treetops, singing his "peter-peter-peter" song to secure his territory.

Later in the week I saw my first chipmunk running around on the snow, and soon there were lots of them out and about.  Now that the squirrels have done their thing, it appears it's the chipmunks' turn to be claiming mates and territory, as they chased each other around the forest.

No videos - these guys are a lot faster than the squirrels!

We're winding down the bird feeding season, letting the feeders be emptied out before the bears awaken, hungry and in search of food. 

 Only another week or two of observing them up close and personal.

On a hike up Mt. Liberty in Franconia Notch I was able to compare the trees that try to eke out a living in New Hampshire's harsh environment at the relatively low elevation of 4,000 - 5,000 feet.  Here's what the trees look like at the 4,500 foot summit of Liberty.  

Even below the summit in a protected area they find it hard to survive.

Growing a little taller in a protected swale at 4,300'.

Compare those to the towering Lodgepole Pines we saw last week at 9,000 feet in Rabbits Ears Pass.

Yes, there's still lots of snow and ice in the mountains, as well as here in Meredith.

A small stream crossing the Liberty Springs Trail.

The vernal equinox arrives in just four day, but there are still 18 inches of winter's ice safeguarding Lake Wicwas.

Short of a drastic heatwave, there won't be an early ice-out this year.