February 12, 2023: More Fun with Ice

Last week it was hockey, this week it's the Great Meredith Fishing Derby run by the Meredith Rotary Club.  But first, some other fun with ice this week:

Profile Falls

We took the short hike up to Profile Falls in Bristol, expecting that the fluctuations between warm weather to get the Smith River flowing, and cold weather to form ice might have created some interesting sights, and we weren't disappointed.

The river was flowing strongly and there were lots of ice formations above, along, and below the falls.

Closer to home, on a walk out to some local ledges to see what the porcupines are doing this winter (more on that in a future post), some icicles that formed on a rock outcropping caught my eye.

As I approached to get a closer look I saw these incredibly resilient ferns growing among the icicles.

Rock Polypody (Polypodium virginianum)

Not only are they still green here in the middle of winter, but they have found a way to eke out a living on the exposed face of a granite ledge.

I believe this is rock polypody which is found in several natural communities in New Hampshire.  It somehow thrives on rocky exposed surfaces, and growing throughout the year, is a winter food source for animals including deer, turkey, and grouse.  [Ref:  Sandra Mitchell, Evergreen Ferns can be Enjoyed Year Round, Northern Woodlands]  I expect the ferns take advantage of moisture and nutrients collected and stored by the moss and lichen that share the ledge.

As for the ice on the lakes, there was a lot of activity on Wicwas and Waukewan for the fishing derby because the larger lakes aren't safe.  We took a walk out to see the action on Lake Waukewan - it was breezy, but nothing like last weekend, and a lot warmer!  

Ice fishing action on Waukewan

And a quieter scene on Wicwas.

The NH Audobon Backyard Bird Count took place this weekend.  My inventory included:  chick-a-dee, goldfinch, downy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, bluebird, mourning dove, titmouse, house finch, and red and gray squirrels.  I didn't see any blue jays, hairy woodpeckers, or even crows.

Eastern Bluebird

House Finch

Red-bellied woodpecker

The bluebird and house finch were seen near Lake Waukewan; all the others at Wicwas.  I also received a report of a pair of bald eagles on Waukewan (thank you BG!) , but they don't go on my bird count list.

I also saw one other bird during our visit to Profile Falls Park where there's a nice walk (or snowshoe or ski - they groom a short trail there) to the Pemigewasset River.  There we found the only wildlife on that excursion, three American black ducks out on the ice.

American Black Duck

It's not only humans that enjoy the ice in New Hampshire.

The Pemigewasset River in February.

January 15, 2023: Otters on the Bay

People have been reporting sightings of river otters in Meredith Bay the past few days and when I stopped at the town docks yesterday to check on the status of the ice in the bay, there they were - three of them!

Three river otters right at the end of Meredith Bay.

They're called River Otters, but they can be found on rivers, lakes, and ponds that have good water quality throughout the lakes region.  

Taken from the Meredith town docks with Pleasant Street in the background,

I only had my phone with me so these are the best pictures I was able to take.  I watched them for quite a while as they played in the water and on the ice - such incredibly playful and fun-loving animals.  I took some video of them on the ice:

They look like three brothers happily carousing together in frigid water - I think I'll name them Mackinnley, Hayden, and Callum.  I wish I could frolic endlessly like that in 32 degree water!  

We've had several small snowfalls recently which provided enough snow to do a bit of animal tracking and on one trip I observed several sets of tracks including a nice set of bobcat prints in the snow.

The small spacing of ~6" tells me this cat was walking slowly.

The round shape, lack of toenail imprints, and the boomerang-shape ridge between heel and toes are distinguishing features of bobcat print.

Right along this same trail I came across this pile of scat which has the size, shape, segmentation, and content of a bobcat:

Note the fur in this scat.

At least these tracks were far from our birdfeeders.

On the avian side, I saw my first tufted titmouse on the feeders on January 10th, and on the 14th the red-bellied woodpecker made another appearance.

This suet feeder is just barely long enough for a woodpecker of its size to feed.  Woodpeckers use their tail as a third point of support as they climb on trees and use their beak to go after food.  Here you can see the red-bellied has bent its tail 90 degrees to press it against the bottom of the feeder as a brace.  

The tail feathers are pressed against the bottom of the feeder; the wings feathers extend down below.

If it were much longer it wouldn't be able to feed there.  Bird feed manufacturers make large suet feeders like this one available from Wild Birds Unlimited to accomodate even the largest woodpeckers we have, the pileated, which is not able to partake in typical feeding stations:

A feeder with a long extension on which a pileated woodpecker can press its tail for a third point of support.

Mounting a feeder on a tree trunk will also work.

I'll end with two more sets of tracks on Lake Wicwas, which is frozen.  I took this picture just because it was pretty but after the fact I wished I paid more attention to the tracks.  My best guess is another bobcat based on the round prints and the offset tracks.  A coyote or fox would leave prints in a straight line.  Had I noted the dimensions I would be able to make a better identification.

Sadly, the ice on Meredith Bay is a long ways from being ready for February's events on the bay, but the otters sure are enjoying the current status.

The state of ice on Meredith Bay as of yesterday.

Correction:  In last weeks journal entry I misidentified a woodpecker.  A knowledgeable viewer noted that the length of the beak and the lack of black spots on the outer tail feathers indicate it was a hairy woodpecker, not a downy.  Thank you for that helpful identification information!

January 30, 2022: Woodpecker Week

The last week of January brought out the woodpeckers, though this red-bellied woodpecker has been frequenting our feeder all winter.

Red-bellied woodpecker, our most recent addition to the Lakes Region woodpecker family.

I saw my first red-bellied woodpecker in late 2020 and learned that it has only recently moved this far north from its traditional territory south of Massachusetts (See the December 20, 2020 journal entry for more about this woodpecker) and I'm hearing lots of reports of them being seen all around central New Hampshire now.  This bird is larger than our long-resident hairy woodpecker and second in size only to the pileated woodpecker - which also made an appearance this week.

A female pileated woodpecker, identifed by the black versus red mustache.

Pileated woodpeckers rarely visit feeders, even suet, unless it's in a large woodpecker-friendly holder; these imposing, active birds feed mostly on insects and are uniquely adapted to extracting them from deep within trees.  They have very strong necks and beaks which they use to excavate holes, but the really fascinating aspect is their tongue.  The pileated woodpecker's tongue is attached to the end of a long flexible bone that extends from the tip of its beak, continues along the bottom of its head, then wraps up and around the back and top of its head and terminates at its forehead in front of its eyes.  Picture a flexible bone shaped like a question mark (?) rotated 90 degrees clockwise.   Attached to this bone is a muscle that can push this movable bone far out of its beak to probe into cracks and ant tunnels deep inside a tree.  The tongue itself is barbed and sticky so its prey gets stuck to the tongue and pulled back into the birds mouth.  [Ref:  Sibley, 2020, What it's like to be a Bird, Knopf, pg 91.]  

I watched this bird start at the base of a dead branch on an oak tree, exploring every hole, rotten spot, and crack as it made its way to the end of the branch.

A truly remarkable bird.

I noted last week the dearth of soft snow for tracking, but on a trip up Mt. Roberts in the Ossipee Mountains I found plenty of animal tracks at higher elevations where there had been less rain and a bit of fresh snow to reveal the animals' travels.  First I saw a very conspicuous statement by a fox claiming its territory.

Fox use well exposed rocks and logs to leave their calling card for other foxes to see and smell.

Lots of mouse tracks at this marking stone.

I'd think the mice running between that rock and that tree might decide it's not a great neighborhood, but it explains why the fox wants to keep that corner for itself.

Next were lots of deer tracks and many more occurrences of deer hunting for acorns under the snow. 

A large area turned up by deer gleaning acorns.

Then I came across this strange mark in the snow which I can't figure out.

The tracks beside it look like coyote prints.

And it starts at a disturbed area in the snow.

One guess is a coyote dug something out of the snow and dragged it away.  But what?  A branch?  A long bone?  Another less interesting but more likely possibility considering this is right beside the trail is that a domestic dog picked up a stick hoping its owner would throw it!

Higher up on the ledges on the western flank of Mt. Roberts I had a good look at Lake Winnipesaukee, and yes it's all frozen over, even the broads.

Looking over Winnipesaukee toward the Belknap Range.

And looking north from the summit of Mt. Roberts, there was Mt. Washington, standing proud, displaying the countenance that gives the White Mountains their name.

A clear view of Mt. Washington and the Southern Presidentials.

For those who experienced the brunt of yesterday's Nor'easter I hope everything's ok.  We had just a glancing blow here at the Lakes with a few inches of snow, though it was hard to measure due to gusty winds blowing it around.

December 20, 2020: Red-bellied Woodpecker

Yes, we'll get to the snow, but first, a new bird appeared in the yard, a first for me in Meredith.

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

The instant I saw this bird on the feeder I knew it was something special.  I've only seen one previously, about 50 miles south of here.  One bird book published in 1981 lists their range on the east coast from Florida to as far north as Connecticut.  Another book, published in 1998, lists them as far north as Massachusetts, but says they are "spreading north".  Even the current Cornell Lab or Ornithology website has a map showing the range only as far north as the very southern edge of Massachusetts.

Red-bellied Woodpecker Range (year-round).  Source:  Cornell Lab of Ornithology

But as the climate changes, lots of things are moving north.  

It's a beautiful bird, about as large as the hairy woodpecker with a stunning redhead - just note that it hardly has any red on its belly; it's barely noticeable.

You can discern just a touch of red on the belly in this picture.

But plenty of red on its cap.

The black and white bars on its back are also eye-catching.

The red-bellied has a diet that consists primarily of insects, though it does consume lots of nuts, fruit, and seeds as well.  You know it's a southern bird when the foods listed include oranges, mangoes, and lizards!  It makes me wonder if it came up north along with the storm.  It has been visiting us every day so it must be satisfied with its hunting grounds even now that winter has arrived with a vengeance - our forecasted three to six inch snow storm worked it's way up to three feet here at Lake Wicwas.

The snow didn't even start until after midnight, and by dawn there were 11 inches on the ground.  During the morning it was coming down at a rate of over four inches per hour, with a peak of six inches in a single hour.  And there was no wind, at least on our side of the lake, so these are real snow depths, not drifts.  When it wrapped up less than 12 hours later we measured 33 inches of snow; the Laconia Daily Sun reported 39 inches in Meredith.  At least it was incredibly light and fluffy, and with no wind it wasn't too bad to shovel, but we sure went from nothing on the ground to mid-winter conditions in one day.  

A mid-winter sunrise the day after the storm.

The snow also brought along official ice-in for Lake Wicwas, declared on December 17th.  There was still open water when the snow started falling but all that cold snow in the water and low teens overnight froze the lake over by the morning of the 17th.  This date is in line with the average ice-in over the past 20 years on December 13th, but it's worth noting that over that time period ice-in has moved by more than a week.

In the 1970's there was never any doubt about being on the ice over Christmas vacation - we were always sledding and skating by then.  But especially this year with a heavy snow cover the ice may not be safe by Christmas.  If that trend line extrapolated linearly back 50 years it would put ice-in around mid to late November.  Does anyone have any records prior to 2000?

Though it may look like it, the ice is not safe today - here's where things stood just 5 days ago:

Open water on December 15th.

But there's no doubt that winter has arrived at the lake.