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!

February 27, 2022: Snowshoe Hares in the Notch

Winter returned this week - after a brief glimpse of Spring on Monday when the temperatures rose to the mid 50s, climbing up to 58 on our thermometer.  So that was the day I took a hike up Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch, and while it was a beautiful day, sunny and calm, it still certainly looked like winter above 3500'.

Kinsman Ridge Trail on Cannon Mountain.

Even in that harsh environment there are a few hardy critters that eke out a living high above the notch.  I found lots of tracks of snowshoe hares all along, even in the trail.  

Snowshoe Hare tracks dotted the landscape above 3700'.

The snowshoe hare is a wonderfully adapted animal with large hind feet which let it hop along the snow giving it an advantage in escaping its pursuers which include fox, coyote, bobcat, and lynx.  (I did see predator tracks near the hare tracks but I couldn't identify them.)  These hares also have fur on the bottom of their feet to protect them from the cold.  In the winter they sustain themselves by eating bark and twigs of trees.  Another valuable trait, shared by other hares and rabbits, is having multiple litters per year, producing lots of offspring which balances their high attrition rate.  Snowshoe hares are nocturnal, giving them an additional level of protection, though owls, another significant predator of hares, have also adapted to hunting in low light.  And then there's the hare's heavy fur which changes color twice a year:  white fur in the winter, mottled brown in the summer, both to blend in with their surroundings.

For all these reasons, I've never seen a snowshoe hare itself but have seen their tracks in many places, often near the summits of mountains including Cannon, Welch, Roberts, Whiteface, and Morgan.  But they are present at lower elevations too, including around the lakes.  I've seen their tracks in the Hamlin Forest on the Red and White Trails as well as right near downtown Meredith in Community Forest.

Recent snowshoe hare tracks in Hamlin, February 5th.

I also saw two bird species high up on the summit of Cannon:  Common Redpolls, and a single Pine Grossbeak.  I heard the redpolls before I saw them, just below the summit at an elevation of 3850'.  I stopped to see what was chattering and soon saw a few redpolls in the stunted spruce trees.  Then another group flew in.  Then another dozen or so, starting to make quite a racket.  They all took off together and circled around over me, and then another group joined in, and then another, and another joined the swirling flock, until there were at least 50 of them flying in ragged circles just above the tree tops before the entire flock spun off out of sight.  I'm confident in my estimate of well over 50 based on my recent counting of goldfinches in the trees around our birdfeeders.  I've counted up to 30, and when they took off, their flock was considerably smaller than this gang of redpolls.

Just a portion of our goldfinch flock, about 20 right there.  Many more were perched in the branches of the oak trees.  (Plus one dark-eyed junco waiting its turn on the feeder.)

The single Pine Grossbeak I saw was even closer to the summit of the mountain, and acting so nonchalantly beside the trail that I first thought it was a Canada Jay looking for a handout.  (Canada Jays are so bold they will come to land on your hand if you offer it with some trail mix.)  But when I got a better look - and listen - I determined it was a pine grossbeak.  I only had my phone with me, so this is the best picture I got (and no pictures of the fast moving redpolls).

A pine grossbeak at 4000' on the summit of Cannon Mountain.

It didn't have the rose or yellow coloring I would expect (leading me to the initial jay thought) but their coloration is quite variable and its distinctive song told me it was a grossbeak.  I was also in the right habitat:  subalpine spruce-fir forest.

We also had a different finch at our feeder this week, a house finch, our first of the year, but again, no pictures for you - it was here and gone in a minute.  I have Linda's quick eye to thank for catching it.

On Superbowl Sunday I mentioned that owls were starting to mate, and the woodpeckers aren't far behind.  I heard the back and forth rat-a-rat of two downy woodpeckers staking out their mating territory in the woods last week.  One would bang away on a hard, dead, resonant snag to let all know he has claimed that piece of the woods, and as as soon as it stopped another bird far away answered back with its reply from his home turf.  As long as the two birds keep their distance and each hears only a faint hammering, all will be well.  But if one moves in too close to the other, there will be trouble.   

This downy woodpecker must be looking for food - I think he knows this is too small for a nest!

With eight inches of sparkling light snow on Friday, winter is back.  It's hard to remember that on Monday was 50 degrees with the streams flowing like spring.

Spring melt runs into the Mill Brook on February 18th.

And then yesterday:

February 26th.  Photo by Linda Powell.

Scenery sure changes rapidly in a New Hampshire winter.

December 6, 2020: A Quick Transition

The week started out in May and ended in December.  Spring-like rain filled up the lakes and rivers and 60 degree weather was just right for a late-season kayak and running in shorts and shirtsleeves.  But the lake was cold enough that fog formed when the warm humid air brushed up against the water.

One stubborn tree refuses to let go.

It was so calm on Tuesday that the fog just hung there for hours, painting tranquil scenes; I was the only thing out there making ripples on the surface of Lake Wicwas.

It was so quiet that I could hear water running on the far side of the shoreline from where I was paddling, so I followed the sound to the source.  There I found a pretty stream, swollen from the rain, emptying into Lake Wicwas what it had collected from the drainage on the western side of the lake.

A December Waterfall

It was a small stream but it had enough force to push a big pile of leaves downstream and deposit them in the lake.

Farther along I encountered a bald eagle sitting high in a tree watching over the lake for us.  

The Lake Wicwas Sentry.

I didn't see any loons on what was probably my last liquid outing of the year, but a few days earlier Amy Wilson did find the chicks and she took some incredible pictures.  

Harold or Betty?  (Photo by Amy Wilson)

Photo by Amy Wilson

They demonstrated their fishing prowess for Amy, and she is talented enough to capture the immensity of the fish they are catching - and somehow managing to swallow.

Photos by Amy Wilson

Now that's a mouthful!

Amy is a truly accomplished artist and photographer - you can find more of her art work at her website, Amy Wilson Photography.

That was early in the week.  Towards the middle we had a couple colder days, and even received a dusting of snow a bit north and at higher elevations.  I went for a short hike up in the Sandwich range, departing from Sandwich Notch Road, taking the Algonquin Trail up to Black Mountain.

Approaching the summit of Black Mountain.

There was just enough snow on the ground to see there had been snowshoe hares running along the trail, but the snow was so thin the tracks didn't come out in pictures.  Here's what they look like; this was taken in 2018 on Mount Welch, just a couple miles west of Black Mountain.

Snowshoe Hare tracks on Mount Welch just four miles away.

There's always something special about seeing these prints, and knowing these animals live in this harsh terrain above 3000'.  

It's not as much fun to see the lack of snow on the trails at Waterville Valley.

Bare ski trails at Waterville Valley.  (That's Mount Lafayette looming behind.)

They should be open by now, at least on man-made snow.

And that brings us to last night's Nor'easter, which was kind of bust here, but at least it felt a little like December.  We barely got an inch of wet slush, while some locations received close to a foot of snow.  It did make it seem wintery enough to put out the bird feeders - now I just hope those bears really have bedded down for the winter.

January 19, 2020: Winter's Back

Typical volatile New England weather: The January thaw ended with our coldest temperatures of the season, but we still haven't hit negative numbers per my thermometer.  Heavy, dense snow fell on Wednesday which stuck to the trees and returned us to winter scenery.

Hamlin Conservation Area

That was followed immediately by a cold blast from the northwest which ushered in the cold air as well as a bright, sunny, blue-sky day.

A perfect New England Scene.

Skiing on that bluebird day brought me across another set of otter tracks running far across the lake.

The unmistakable 2-2 track of the weasel family, to which the River Otter belongs.

This otter wasn't heading in my chosen direction, and I was on my way home so I didn't follow them along, but I will comment on the tracks I followed last week along the shoreline.

Some long otter slides on the lake.

When I saw this pair of tracks I surmised it was two otters traveling together rather than one on an out-and-back trip.  Based on the track pattern of slide and hop, as well as how close the two tracks followed each other, I decided that it was in fact a pair travelling together.  I ultimately lost the track when it went up on land, but picked up what appeared to be a single track farther along my trip.

Perhaps looking for a water entrance.

This track led to a couple of holes along the shoreline, and eventually terminated at a hole under the roots of a tree on the shore.

At least it looked to me as though there was only one set of tracks going into the hole.  I imagine the otter taking this secret passage down under the ice, knowing a nearby hole where it can emerge again before it's lung capacity is depleted.

It's always interesting to follow to these fun-loving creatures as they enjoy their winter escapades - and being reminded they're out doing this all summer too, but they rarely leave any evidence for me to see.

Who would have thought this would be the time to be thinking about bees, or rather, hornets.

I saw this hornet nest by accident while following the otter tracks.

There were a lot of hornet nests to be seen this past summer;  it must have been a great year for them, and most of their nests, like that one, are holding up well so far this winter.  But on a ski over to Lake Winnisquam yesterday, I found one that wasn't so lucky.

The innards of a hornet nest.

I can only wonder if this was brought down by the strong northwest winds of Friday, or whether an animal had a hand in its demise....

On a more humorous bee note, I found this sign on the hiking trail on the Mt. Welch-Dickey loop:

I know it's been warm, but really?

That was before Wednesday's snow; there was very little snow on the ground below 2000' elevation, but higher up there was a nice base, though it was rather icy on the trail.

Approaching the summit of Dickey Mountain in Campton.

The dusting of snow that fell on the ice the night before revealed the presence of snowshoe hares among the spruce at 2700 feet above sea level.

More good news:  writing now on Saturday night, it's snowing again.  Maybe we'll get one more good dump to confirm winter has returned.

February 3, 2019: Polar Vortex Visits New Hampshire

It is certainly winter now in North America with the infamous Polar Vortex rotating down from the arctic to give us the coldest weather of the season.  NASA posted a neat video of the vortex as captured by weather satellites - it's worth watching the two-second clip.

Click here for video

New Hampshire didn't get the intense cold that our friends in Iowa and Michigan saw, but we had a few cold nights.  The coldest night here was Thursday into Friday morning, and there was a strange occurrence that night.  When I went to bed it was a balmy 2 degrees, and in the morning, around 6:30 it was just about zero.  But when I checked the minimum temperature recorded over night, the thermometer had recorded -11.2 degrees.  I didn't believe it.  The low usually occurs just before sunrise unless there's a weather change moving through, and that wasn't the case;  I doubted it could have warmed up ten degrees before the sun even came up.  So I went to check the data recorded at Laconia airport.  Sure enough, the overnight low there was 1 degree at 3:00 am, rising to 2 degrees at 7:00 am.  Still, my thermometer had never lied before, so I dug at little deeper.

Weather Underground (Wunderground.com) has many certified weather stations all over the country, so I thought I'd check out some closer to Lake Wicwas.  I found a station on Corliss Hill, one on Lake Winona, and one in New Hampton, just west of Lake Pemigewasset.  All three showed the same thing:  a significant drop in temperature after midnight, and then a massive increase of ten to twenty degrees in one hour!  The most extreme event was at Lake Winona which went from -18 degrees just before 7:00 am to +5 degrees at 8:00 am - an increase of 23 degrees in one hour!

I've never seen anything like that.  Perhaps geography was a factor.  Up on Corliss Hill, less than half a mile away but 200' higher in elevation, the increase occurred earlier in the morning, between 1:00 and 2:00 am.  But elevation alone doesn't explain why Laconia airport didn't see the event at all, as the airport is at the same elevation as Lake Wicwas.  Perhaps wind shading played a role.  Lake Winona, like Lake Wicwas, is located east of a steep ledge that rises several hundred feet above the lake.  At any rate, it's the most dramatic temperature change I've seen absent a strong front moving through.  Here's what the usual overnight change looks like, from Corliss Hill, Friday night into Saturday morning.

But it's been great to have a nice cold stretch after the last storm to keep the snow light and dry.  Linda decided (on the coldest day of the year) to take a trip up to the White Mountain Ledge.  Admittedly, it was a beautiful blue-sky day.

So we took the snowshoes and trekked through the fresh snow up to see the views.  We had to break the trail the whole way, some of which hadn't been broken out for at least two storms, other parts had only the most recent snow to break through.

We were shielded from the west wind by the hill, and the hard work (plus lots of layers) kept us warm.

She's not cold!

On the trip we saw a few tracks in the snow:  deer, ermine, even those from a snowshoe hare which I'm always excited to see since it doesn't happen very often.  (I couldn't get a decent photo as the tracks were in the shade of hemlock trees.)

You can barely make out the hare track in deep snow -
each track is an amazing six-foot leap from the prior track.

I did note a lack of fox and coyote tracks along the way, though we do have a fox that trots past our house every night, so they are around.  On the first day after the last storm we noted that there wasn't a single squirrel that made its way to the bird feeders, but on the second day they arrived.  There's no doubt about what is the center of attraction in our yard on a cold winter day.