June 2, 2024: Momma Snapper

This week I came across a good size snapping turtle ambling down a gravel road looking for the perfect spot to place her eggs.  

A large, well armored Snapping Turtle.

It's a safe bet that a snapper up on dry land is a female, as males have little reason to leave the safety of the lake.  Did you notice those long, sharp claws for digging a nest in hard packed ground? 

Out of water and exposed to any predator brave enough to tangle with that strong jaw.

I've written previously about snappers and their deceptive technique to increase the odds for their offspring to survive.  A single female Snapping Turtle will dig multiple nest holes, but will only place her eggs in one of them.  A predator won't know where the eggs are, and after a failed attempt or two at finding food, may give up.  On aptly named Turtle Island in Lake Wicwas I've seen dozens of holes and sand piles where snappers have created false nests to stymie predators.  

Another unusual trait of Snapping Turtles is that the sex of the hatchling isn't determined when the egg is fertilized, but rather the resulting gender is determined by the temperature of the ground in which it develops.  If the temperature of the nest is below 68 degrees Fahrenheit, all the eggs will be female.  If the temperature is above 73 degrees they will all be male.  Between these temperatures there will be some of each gender.  Personally, I'm hoping for lots of little boy turtles this summer!

She's not the only reptile out nest building.  This Painted Turtle was doing her thing in the same general area a few days earlier.

A Painted Turtle lays her eggs.

Both of these turtles managed to make their way about a hundred yards through thick growth to find their nesting spot.

On the much smaller end of the herpetofauna scale (the collective term for amphibians and reptiles) is this little Red Eft that happened to be walking down the same dirt road.  

That's the tip of my shoe.

These mid-life-stage Eastern Newts aren't rare, but it's always a treat to find one creeping along a hiking trail in the woods, most often after a summer rain.  

Talking about trails, the Chokeberry are blooming now.  I found these right beside the trail at the very summit of Red Hill.

Black Chokeberry on Red Hill in Moultonborough.

Chokeberry is well adapted to growing in wet areas and many are growing along the shores of local lakes and wetlands. 

And on the shores around Lake Wicwas.

In the fall they'll have large black berries that are consumed by birds as well as mammals large and small.

Did you find some Lady's Slippers to enjoy this week?  This Tiger Swallowtail butterfly did.

A Tiger Swallowtail looks for nectar in a Pink Lady's Slipper.

However, the butterfly left unsatisfied as Lady's Slippers don't produce nectar!  These are two of several Lady's Slippers growing right beside the trail leading up to Crockett's Ledge in the Hamlin Town Forest.  

Keep your eye out now for pretty white Bunchberry flowers down low to the ground.

Bunchberry will have red fruit in the fall.

These are woodland plants, found mostly in slightly open areas of damp forests.

Following up on the bird nests of last week, I forgot to mention one, a phoebe nest that's built on a beam under our deck.  The poor bird flies off the nest every time we go by the deck.  That's one bird that's getting its exercise.  And there's yet another nest under construction, one who's location is unknown to me. 

An American Robin gathers nest building material.

It's late for a Robin's first nest, and since Robins will often have two or even three broods each summer and don't usually reuse a nest, this bird is probably working on nest number two.

Have you noticed the dragonflies have emerged?  I've seen several of various shapes and colors including swarms of Chalk-fronted Corporals which are common at this point in the season.

Chalk-fronted Corporal.

But the most beautiful dragonfly I saw this week was this one with fabulous clear wings that reflect the light with the most delectable colors.

I haven't been able to identify it, but I were to name it I'd call it the Rainbow Dragon.

Nature's beauty reveals itself once again.

There were signs this week the second pair of loons are preparing their nest - maybe there will be news to report next week.

August 20, 2023: Little Red Eft

I sure have seen a lot of these little guys lately with all the rain we've had - it brings them onto the trails in droves.  One day mountain biking there were so many that they were the biggest obstacle to avoid on the trails.

Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens), Red Eft phase

The red eft is the intermediate stage of the Eastern Newt.  These amphibians start their life in the water as green-colored aquatic larvae with gills, then move onto land after a few months when they become this red eft form.  During this time they can travel "great distances" [Ref:  Smithsonian National Zoo] moving to a different water body in the process.  They live in this form for two or three years before a metamorphosis back to an aquatic animal, and their return to water as adults.  They mate in early spring with a single female depositing between 200 and 400 eggs onto various aquatic plants.  According to the above reference however, some populations remain in the red eft stage permanently and only return to water long enough to breed.  The life span of these small amphibians is 12 to 15 years, their long life perhaps helped by their production of a toxin that discourages predation by other animals.

Mid August is a good time to look for caterpillars.

Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar (Lophocampa caryae)

This Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillar was on the ground looking for a safe place to spin its cocoon, and nowhere near a hickory tree.  But oak is also a favorite food for these caterpillars and there are plenty of those around.  It's best not to touch any of the various types of tussock moth caterpillars, especially the hickory species as it can cause a severe allergic reaction if its sharp hairs pierce your skin.  

It's also a good time to look for caterpillars on milkweed plants, and not just for monarch butterfly caterpillars.  I found this small army of Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars on the underside of a milkweed leaf on the shoulder of Chemung Road.

Another tussock moth caterpillar, the Milkweed Tussock Moth (Euchaetes egle)

The whole tussock moth caterpillar started when a friend (thanks Tutu!) found this guy on a run down in New Jersey!

There are just a few milkweed plants around the lake as they grow mostly in fields that aren't mowed during the summer.  Around the lake we have mostly Swamp Milkweed.

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) on the shore of one of the Rawson Wood Islands.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago the good pinecone crop this year.  They are really visible now in the tops of the trees, and the squirrels have begun to chew them off the trees to collect them before they release their seeds so they can store them away for winter.

I've also seen beech nuts underneath large beech trees, so the beech are starting to produce mast also.

Beechnuts on a trail in a hardwood forest.

The beechnuts are quite small this year, about half the size of what I expect to see.

There is a new development with the loons this week:  One of the chicks is starting show its independence.  Previously the two have always been close together, but now one of them is moving away from the family, starting to head out on its own.  

They sure have grown in two short months.

I can't tell them apart anymore.

There are still other loons visiting the lake, having daily interactions with the family.  One morning we watched two loons frantically wing-rowing back and forth and around the lake for long time, probably the chicks' father defending their territory.  When the chasing loon got close to the pursued, the later would thrust its head and one wing into the water making an abrupt stop and turn to throw off its pursuer - just like Starsky and Hutch's J-turn with the parking brake in their '76 Ford Gran Torino.  I wish I had some video of the chase for you.

I don't know how much stress eagles add to the loons' lives right now, but they are here, as this fabulous picture taken by Debby Crowley shows.

A bald eagle watches over all activity on Lake Wicwas.

I'll end today with a non-nature picture, but it's a really neat sight.  There are a lot of pretty boats on New Hampshire's lakes, but few as beautiful as this classic.

"N. H. Dreamin' " cruises the waters of Lake Wicwas.

Keep watching for those fuzzy caterpillars!

August 26, 2018 - West Coast Smoke

It's a long ways away, but smoke from the fires in the west has made it all the way to New Hampshire.  We had a nice hike with friends up Red Hill (thanks B&T!) and from the fire tower at the summit (rather fitting) the haze was thick enough to reduce the visibility by half from what it should have been based on the temperature and humidity.

Smoke from the west coast adding to the haze

Yesterday morning, a little closer to home, the view west from Wanakee Hill (just west of Lake Wicwas) was almost as bad.

Looking west towards Pinnacle Hill from Wanakee Hill

But the smoke does make interesting sunrises as the particles in the atmosphere absorb and reflect the shorter-wavelength blue light, lending a nice red color to the morning.  (Read more about atmospheric optics here.)

Sunrise over Wicwas

Still on the topic of the sky, after last weeks discovery of a hemlock struck by lightning, this week I found another tree that was even more devastated. 

Seeing chunks of wood six inches thick blown out from both sides of a large tree is impressive.

Much lower down in the understory of the forest the fruiting trees are doing their part to sustain the animals through the winter.  The hobblebush, which a few weeks ago had bright red berries, are now ripening into a shiny dark black color.

Hobblebush viburnum

I've seen a few green acorns start to hit the ground, and the black cherries, which have been ripening for a few weeks now, are clearly being enjoyed by the local fox population. 

Fox scat loaded with cherry pits

These are signs we're well into late summer now, a transition I'm sure residents and firefighters in the west can't get soon enough.  Perhaps some cooler weather and rain will dampen their fires, and allow our skies to clear up in time for crisp blue skies to return for the fall hiking season.

Just keep an eye out for these little guys when you're walking the woods

September 17, 2017 - Annual Fungus Review

It's time for the annual fungus parade.  I'm not a mushroom expert, so I can only identify a few, but I enjoy the great variety in size, color, and form of these intriguing organisms as I tour the woods.  I'll show some new ones along with my favorites, starting with the tiniest samples and working my way up.

British Soldiers among various fungi and mosses

These are called British Soldiers due to their color and form resembling British troops in the Revolutionary War.  This brigade was mustering on top of an old white pine stump;  they are really small.

That's my thumb

I cheated here a bit, because these are actually a lichen, which is composite organism made up of fungi and algae working together in a symbiotic relationship.  As I discussed in last year's fungus post, fungi work symbiotically with many other organisms which enables our entire forest ecosystem to exist.

A bit larger are these little white fungi that speckled the forest floor in the middle of August, something new I haven't noticed before.

Next up are the small orange mushrooms that grow all summer long, often right near or on a trail. These are Orange Mycena.

Orange Mycena, (Mycena leaiana)

Now here's something that's a bit different:  Yellow Slime Mold.

Yellow Slime Mold (Fuligo septica) showing yellow and white tissue

I assumed this was a fungus, but looking it up I found that it has been re-characterized from a fungus to a "Eukaryotic".  [Ref:  Wikipedia Slime mold] It appears to be the species Fuligo septica, also known as "scrambled egg slime" or "dog vomit slime" (I don't make this stuff up).  And it gets better - this organism can move:  It can "form a ... mass of undifferentiated cells that that may move in an ameboid-like fashion during the search for nutrients."  [Ref:  Wikipedia Fuligo septica]  Sounds the plot of a horror movie - seen any of these walking around the lake recently?  You can read more about its bizarre properties at the references provided.

Moving up in size is this new (for me) mushroom, the first purple fungus I've come across.

Purple Cort (Cortinarius iodeoides)

I found this one while doing boundary monitoring on the Rawson Wood Conservation Area near Blake Brook on the west side of Lake Wicwas.  A quick search suggests it is a Purple Cort Mushroom, which grow in New Hampshire hardwood forests, especially oak, so it all fits [Ref: MushroomExpert.com].  Since it is only purple when it first emerges, turning gray as it ages, it's possible I've seen one before but never noticed it as something unique. It appears people eat these, but not this person.

So as not to bore the reader, I'll just show a few of the more interesting specimens I found, and then finish with the granddaddy of the summer. First, a medium size orange one emerging from under the leaf litter.

Next a Fly Amanita growing from a dead branch.

The common Fly Amanita

Here, emerging from the dirt and debris in the middle of a trail, is a family of pristine white mushrooms.

A nice collection of speckled maroon toadstools took up residence in this mossy spot.


There are many animals that consume these nutrient-filled organisms including insects, mammals and amphibians.

A red eft looking for small insects feeding on this medium-sized fungi

And finally, the biggest and brightest find of my roamings about the Lakes Region this summer:

Sulphur Shelf (Laetiporus sulphureus)

I'm pretty sure this is the sulphur shelf, or "chicken mushroom," considered by many to be good eating, but again, not something I'm going try.  I'm happy just to feast on these strange organisms with my eyes as the summer passes into fall.

July 23, 2017 - Lightning Strikes

Meredith and much of the Lakes Region was treated to a dramatic electrical storm on Monday night.  There were thunderous lightning strikes, sometimes two or three in quick succession, and almost two inches of rain fell in an hour or two.  Harry Clymer sent me a chart showing the areas where lightning struck, which indicates three hit around Lake Wicwas, though Meredith Village really won the jackpot.

Somehow Debby Crowley was able to capture this incredible picture of a bolt that appears to have struck the surface of the lake south of Bryant Island.

Lightning over Wicwas - photo by Deborah Crowley

Thank you Ken and Debby for sharing that!  Fortunately there was no reported damage and I'm not aware of any significant power outages.  I looked for signs of strikes around the lake but didn't find anything.

The lack of rain lately has let the earth dry out a bit, but given such torrents of rain, most still ran off into the streams and lakes, and Lake Wicwas immediately rose four or five inches.  A quick check of the loon nest showed that their kingdom had become smaller, but it was still intact.

Its world looks a little smaller today

Like a dog, on a hot day a loon will cool itself by breathing with its mouth open.  The cool water below will help cool the egg while the parent protects it from the mid-day sun.  The parent may take a quick dip if needed before being spelled by its mate, but it won't be off the nest for long lest the egg cook in the hot sun.

Neil Crimins had observed on Sunday that the loons were augmenting their little island, dredging up mud and debris to build up the land.  It's fun to think they knew a storm was coming and were preparing for it, but more likely the island had been eroded by waves over the busy, beautiful weekend and they were just doing some restoration.

I continue to watch this year's premium crop of Black Cherries, and this week they are starting to ripen - perhaps two weeks behind the blueberries.

I hope to be able to determine who consumes them in the coming week or two.  Certainly birds will get many of them, but I expect the neighborhood bear will also get his or her fill.  I know it's still around, as it made a return visit to the yard to take out our second bird house.

The scene of the crime

It takes a big bear to bend that heavy steel stake

At this point, we have decided to post the houses "No Trespassing - Crime Scene" and board up the doors.  Not that their nests elsewhere are necessarily safe from predators, but we don't want to attract bears to human areas, and at least we won't feel complicit in crimes they commit elsewhere!

And just to make sure there's no doubt, one morning this week I came almost face to face with Mr. Black Bear.  I heard crunching the woods ahead of me on an early morning walk, and assumed it was a deer since I was in an area where I frequently come across deer at that time of day.  So I raised the camera hoping to get a picture in the dim light.  But instead of a deer poking its curious head out, it was a tremendous black bear.

Bears have poor eyesight, but stupendous sense of smell and excellent hearing.  One click of the camera and even at that distance it heard the shutter and looked right at me.

For all of two seconds - then it turned tail and bolted off into the woods.  It stopped not too far away, maybe 50 yards, but a couple of loud shouts and it was off and running far up and over a hill.  It must not have been a mother with cubs or it would have collected its cubs before it ran so I felt safe, but nonetheless decided to continue my walk in the opposite direction.

I've had this experience before - upon a bear hearing or smelling me it runs away a few yards, then stops and looks back as if to make sure it really needs to alter its planned route for the day, then decides, yup, it's time to go and disappears off into the forest.

As the ruckus caused by the bear dissipated, the tranquility of early morning returned, the rising sun bathing the world in soft, silken light, revealing, as it always does, a bounty of beautiful scenes.

The mushrooms love this weather  (Fly Amanita)

A yellow-bellied sapsucker soaks up the morning sun

Eastern newt, red-eft phase

Pickerel Frog

And finally, an old birch tree creates a home for new life to flourish.

Be sure to enjoy this great summer weather - we're already into the last week of July.

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