May 1, 2022: The Rookery

We've returned from our excursion in South Carolina, but not before experiencing a few more wonders of nature.  Our fabulous host and tour guide had tracked down a rookery along a marsh in Mount Pleasant and when we visited we found a host of southern bird species sharing an obviously popular spot for nesting which included Anhingas, Wood Storks, Snowy Egrets, and Great Egrets.  And in their breeding mode they were putting on quite a display - not for us, but for their mates.

A Snowy Egret struts its stuff.

The males of both the snowy and great egrets had their breeding plumage in place and were proud to display it.  

A great egret attracting attention.

It's easy to see why these birds where hunted to near extinction for their feathers during the early 1900s.  No longer at risk of being shot, they now have more time to discuss parenting methods.

"I think we should let them cry at night."

I couldn't tell which nests had chicks in them but it appeared that the great egrets were flying back and forth bringing food in to feed chicks in at least some of the nests.

Regurgitating food for the chicks.

Meanwhile, one of the snowy egrets continued to make home improvements.

Bringing in some additional building materials.

The wood storks were well hidden deep within the trees so it's not clear what they were up to, but it appeared that the anhingas had already nested and were incubating their eggs.  

The anhingas looked like loons panting on their nests in the hot sun.

We earlier had watched a snowy egret fishing in Shem Creek at low tide and I found it fascinating how it would shake its foot in the mud to scare out a crab or a shrimp and then with lightning speed stab it with its bill.  You can see it in action in this video I took at the creek:

A couple of other interesting, non-New Hampshire creatures we came across during our travels in the low country included a reptile and a crustacean.

Brown anole  (Anolis sagrei)

Some kind of land-and-sea crab.

I don't what kind of crab that was, running around by the brackish water with the alligators, but the lizard is a brown anole, a non-native species that was likely introduced to Florida in the 1970s and has exploded in population throughout the south, largely displacing the native Carolina (aka green) anole. 

Upon returning home we found winter still hanging on strongly in New Hampshire, with barely any progress towards spring while we were away.  The red maple blossoms, the first to come out, had barely budged.  

Red maple blossoms still just emerging.

But at least the Trailing Arbutus (mayflower) are blooming in the forest.

Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens)

And, two more summer residents and a passing migrant arrived this week:

A palm warbler makes a rest stop on its way to Canada.

This pair of yellow-rumped warblers is behaving like they are going to nest right here.

On the lookout for the next insect.

Yellow-rumped warblers are an early arriver and we watched them dashing around the bare branches as well as on the ground, picking off insects, probably of the crawling variety.  The palm warbler is just passing through New Hampshire on its way to breed in Canada or downeast Maine.  I also heard a blue-headed vireo singing from somewhere high in the tree tops.

I'll end with one decidedly non-nature moment, but an interesting connection between north and south.  I saw a large ship which looked like a ferry heading out to sea from Charleston Harbor in a direction that didn't seem like a ferry route.  I took a picture and after expanding it I saw it was "The Cat" which I thought ran from Bar Harbor, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  A little digging revealed that after a few seasons off, it was returning to New England from its summer berth in Charleston.

"The Cat" returning north for its service between Maine and Nova Scotia.

This ship started life as the U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command fast ferry Alakai (USNS Puerto Rico).  There's a neat video of it being retrofitted at the Detyens Shipyard in North Charleston including how it was put into drydock and then refloated.  

It's one of the larger migrating objects I've seen this spring.

May 3, 2020: More Warblers Arrive

Way back on March 15th I saw - actually heard - the first summer warbler back to New Hampshire, a yellow-rumped warbler, up north in Lincoln.  Now, almost two months later, many other birds that have a longer migration route are starting to arrive.  With the assistance of the Merlin Bird App, I was able to identify two new ones for me:  the Pine Warbler and the Palm Warbler.

A palm warbler on its way north

The palm warbler won't be here for long - the maps indicate that its breeding range is beyond even the northern tip of New Hampshire.  I was fortunate enough just to catch one as it stopped to enjoy some time in the Lakes Region. 

The pine warbler on the other hand will spend the summer here.  Because it lives its life high up in the branches of white pine trees I wasn't able to see one other than some faint silhouettes dancing around against the bright sky.  But there were many and they were singing constantly, so with the sound recordings on the Merlin app I was able to identify them.  (The Cornell Ornithology Lab Merlin App can be downloaded on your smart phone so you can take it with you in the field.  It has an identification feature where you answer three simple questions, and then it gives you a list of possible birds based on your location.)

Other summer birds are returning as well;  I saw an osprey and two great blue herons on a paddle around Lake Wicwas. 

The osprey have returned

I took advantage of the high spring water and lack of lily pads to paddle up to the beaver dam that holds back Blake Brook where it enters Lake Wicwas.

The beaver dam holding back Blake Brook

There was visible current flowing through the dam and a delightful trickling sound that the beavers will soon put and end to.  You can see more of the dam and hear the water in this short video I took while I was there.  You'll see one spot in particular where water was breaking through the dam.  The beavers won't let that go on for long!

On this same trip I finally got positive confirmation that last year's male loon has returned. 

The male loon was banded last July - it has a white band with a black dot.

I didn't get to see the female's bands, but Tom Crane has confirmed the banded female is here as well, so our resident pair has definitely returned.  Both loons gave me a nice long show as they were doing their mid-morning preening and on one good belly roll I got a chance to observe the results of their work.

Look at how the water balls up on their feathers.  During preening they take oil from a gland near their tail and spread it onto their feathers to repel water and keep them dry and warm - it's like waxing your car!  They clearly weren't bothered by me using a telephoto lens from a long distance away.

A few more members have joined the spring wildflower guild, including the trailing arbutus (sometimes called mayflower). 

Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens)

I always request not picking wildflowers, but once in your life, when you find a large healthy patch of arbutus, you should take one of these tiny flowers and roll it between your finger to experience the beautiful sweet perfume it uses to lure in the pollinators - it's a delight to all the senses.



This time of year, to close out each spring day, the beavers come out just at sunset to inspect their domain and collect building materials to repair those holes in their dams.

The lake yields to a beaver as it makes its evening rounds.

Their work day is just beginning.