Snowshoeing Page Pond

This was supposed to be a post about winter tracking in the Page Pond Town Forest, but old man winter had other plans - and I'm not complaining!  We woke up to another gorgeous winter wonderland with about six inches of fresh powder, which made for a beautiful excursion through pristine snow.

Entering a winter paradise.

A group of ten intrepid snowshoers braved the trip through unbroken snow, up the field, down to Page Pond, and all the way to the mill dam.

 I forgot to take a picture of the dam, but here's one from a prior year.

The historical mill dam which powered an up-and-down sawmill on Meredith Neck.

New snow meant all the animal tracks were covered up; all we could identify were deer, which punched deeply into the snow, and a few gray squirrel tracks.  Even woodpecker chips and red squirrel debris had been hidden.  But by the time we were heading back to the trailhead there were bits of birch tree catkins lying on the fresh snow where the goldfinches had already been feeding on the tiny seeds within the catkins.

A goldfinch extracting seeds from a catkin on a birch tree beside the field.

The best wildlife moment was a large flock of mixed birds feeding on fruit trees right near the trailhead.

Three cedar waxwings frame a single robin, all plucking apples from the tree.

The larger robins had caught my eye first.

But then I saw there were more cedar waxwings than robins.

A colorful cedar waxwing brightens up a winter day.

Cedar waxwings are fruit eaters, so are likely to be found around old farmsteads and fields, such as those at Page Pond, where there are apple trees, Autumn Olive trees, and of course, plenty of Oriental Bittersweet.  Unfortunately, when cedar waxwings eat bittersweet fruit, the seeds are aren't digested, but pass right through them, which means they spread this invasive species far and wide throughout their range of travel.  

American Robins in summer eat almost exclusively invertebrates such as earthworms, grubs, and insects.  But in winter they turn into frugivories, meaning fruit eaters.  Like several other birds that used to migrate out of New Hampshire in the winter, robins have been resident here year-round since the late 1990s, partly due to warmer winters, and partly due to the prevalence of ornamental fruit trees planted by homeowners.  This was yet another discovery that resulted from the Audubon backyard bird count.  

While we're on the bird watch, I'll share a photo of a red-tailed hawk I saw last weekend (thank you RB for help with identification.)

It flew out of the trees and over the staging area of the Laconia Sled Dog races just as the dogs started getting excited and loud as they were lining up for the start.  The hawk either didn't like the noise, or knew that the racket would send any potential lunch prospects running for cover.

So there wasn't much tracking to be done at this winter's Meredith Conservation Commission guided snowshoe tour, but nobody complained given the beautiful winter scenes through which we trekked.

The top of the field at Barnard Ridge Road with the Belknap Mountains in the background.

Thank you all for joining  the trip!

February 18, 2024: Arbutus Hill Snowshoe Tour

The Meredith Conservation Commission had a successful snowshoe tour up to Arbutus Hill Pond yesterday when an avid group of winter enthusiasts made the three mile hike to the pond and back to explore the activity that takes place there in winter.

Photo by Marcella MacKenzie.

The fresh snow we had on Friday along with another light dusting Saturday morning not only made it quite pretty, but also created a nice surface to see animal tracks.  Along the way we saw tracks of fox, bobcat, ruffed grouse, deer, weasel, and mouse.

Bobcat print.

Grouse tracks were found in several areas of hemlock forest.

Mouse tracks.  There were also many red and gray squirrel tracks to be found.

The two-by-two track of a weasel, perhaps a mink or an ermine.

We walked on the ice beside the long beaver dam that impounds the pond, and stood within a few yards of the beavers themselves, warm inside their well-constructed lodge.  

We even found an old otter slide on the ice.  It was an enjoyable trip with good company on a perfect winter day.

I mentioned last week that the Great Meredith Rotary fishing derby was held last weekend on all the lakes in New Hampshire, but I didn't get down to the headquarters at Meredith Bay until Sunday afternoon, so here are some of the fish that ended up on the board.

The leaderboard right at final weigh-in last Sunday.

Some good size pickerel.

I like the way they award the grand prize:  The largest fish caught in each species is entered into a drawing for the grand prize, meaning regardless of what species you're fishing for, you have a chance to win. The grand prize winner this year was an 2.5 pound 17" black crappy.  

The Black Crappie board with the grand prize winner.

It was caught by Tom LaBrecque in Cawley Pond in Sanbornton, just a 26 acre pond, but obviously growing some big fish.  The winning angler has been fishing in the derby for some 35 years.

The uncertain ice conditions on the large lakes did in fact send a lot of people to Lake Wicwas, with cars lined up at the boat ramp as well as along Chemung Road near Harris Cove. 

Many anglers out on Wicwas last weekend.

It was a beautifully warm and sunny weekend for all the anglers to enjoy.

Wicwas fishermen enjoying 50 degree weather on Derby weekend.

The ice is plenty safe on Wicwas now - I measured 10-1/2" this week - and the ice has started to groan and moan as stress cracks form in artistic patterns across the lake. 

But the warm weather has foiled the Alton Bay ice runway, which for the second straight year will not open for planes to use due to lack of ice.  It's the first time ever that it hasn't opened two years in a row.

Finally, last week's warm weather did produce a sight for those thinking about spring:

Snowdrops on February 11th.

It's the earliest date I've ever seen the snowdrops emerge.