May 19, 2024: Eastern Kingbird

A pair of Eastern Kingbirds appears to have taken over the local hunting grounds from the Phoebes.

Eastern Kingbird

The Phoebes are still around as proven by their loud raspy calls every morning, but the larger and more aggressive Kingbirds have achieved air superiority over the prime airspace near the edge of the lake.  Kingbirds are known to harass much larger birds like crows, and even hawks, that dare invade their territory, so the little Phoebes had no choice but to move over.  Being flycatchers, Kingbirds perch on trees near the water, darting out to catch insects, sometimes rather large ones like bees and dragonflies.  They like to assume a position at the very top of a small tree where they have a 360 degree view of their world.

So it was unusual to see one fly down to terra firma and land on a rock.  

It then flew over and landed near the edge of the woods.

But when it turned around, the reason was clear.

"This looks like a good floor joist for our nest."

It was pleased with its selection and quickly flew off to wherever they are making their nest.

A Kingbird nest is formed with sturdy sticks to be strong enough to withstand the wind at the edge of a lake. The female kingbird does most of the nest building but the male will assist with bringing in sticks, so this is possibly the male.   The nest is finished with a lining of soft material to protect the chicks and keep them warm.  It's hard to believe it was eight years ago (June 26, 2018) that I was invited by good friends to observe a kingbird nest in a pine tree that had fallen into the lake near their home.  

A nest well isolated from predators, but that must be sturdy enough to withstand the weather.

That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch a family of Eastern Kingbirds in action that I'll never forget! 

I'm keeping watch to see if I find where this pair's nest is, but so far, they're keeping it a secret.

 🐦

I was dismayed to receive an alert from the NH DES this week that there are already two cyanobacteria blooms on New Hampshire lakes, including one far north in Littleton with a bacteria level more than twice the safe limit.  The same day the warning was posted in Littleton, I drove by Lake Kanasatka and noticed all the activity at the boat launch on Rt 25 - they have started chemical treatment of the lake.

This $500,000 project involves putting aluminum sulfate into the lake to address their phosphorus and cyanobacteria problems. 

I assume these tanks contain aluminum sulfate which is transferred to the small tanks on the boat.

The equipment used to inject the chemicals into the lake.

The Aluminum sulfate will bind to phosphorus in the lake to form aluminum hydroxide which then sinks to the bottom of the lake.  This forms a barrier that reduces the amount of phosphorus released into the water, providing less nutrients to feed the cyanobacteria.  You can read a detailed description of aluminum sulfate treatment in lakes here.  Refer to last August for a reminder of the cyanobacteria bloom that shut down Lake Kanasatka for a good portion of last summer.  

The state has now recognized the magnitude of this problem and appropriated $1M through HB2 for cyanobacteria mitigation in our water bodies.  Here at Wicwas we are working proactively on steps to address the causes of high phosphorus levels in the lake before they get bad enough to close our lake or to put chemicals into it.  There will be more to say on this topic in the coming weeks as well as at the annual lake association meeting in August.

Let's move on to cheerier subjects:  spring wildflowers - the season is here!  The Painted Trilliums have joined the Purple Trilliums in adding joy to the forest floor.

Painted Trillium

Other flowers to keep a watch for on your journeys are the Starflower, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Fringed Polygala, and violets (the violet ones).

Starflower

Fringed Polygala

Soon the Lady Slippers will join the party, so grab your bug spray and go smell the flowers!

May 13, 2012

Lake Wicwas is really starting to come alive now.  All the trees save the oaks have leafed out and are turning darker green, and more and more of the other plants are joining them, including a flower I haven't noticed before - a tiny member of the lily family, the Sessile Bellwort.

Sessile Bellwort (Uvularia sessilifolia)

Here a fern that was just a sprout last week is about to unfurl.

And a few other pretty flowers:

Star Flower

Bluets

The blueberries have set their blossoms, and the vestiges of this summer's fruit can be seen as minute green specks where the blossoms have been relinquished.

Blueberry

Another fruit, the black cherry is in bloom;  each blossom will form a single cherry, and tiny insects are helping with the pollination.

Black Cherry

 

An advantage of the cool, wet weather this past week (in addtion to filling the lake back up) is that the flowers have a much longer season.  Also, the black flies aren't too bad yet, but there are plenty of tics around.

I found this Orange Jelly Fungus on the ground, but it must have fallen off the tree where it grew.  Jelly fungus are reportedly edible, but I didn't sample it!

Orange Jelly Fungus  (Dacrymyces palmatus)

I saw a deer enjoying the fresh, tender foliage of the spring plants, consuming lots of nutrients in the last month of her gestation period .  Whitetail deer have a gestation period of 200 days, with mating taking place in late November.  Both male and female mating clocks are triggered by the amount of light in the day, so they have a quite precise mating date that is not influenced by weather.  Thus fawns are usually born in early June, though it can be delayed if there is insufficient food for the doe so the fetuses (there are most often two) need more time to gain sufficient weight.  And if a doe doesn't conceive at her first mating, she will have a second heat in about 30 days, delaying birth until July. 

July 2010

The geese don't wait so long - their young have already hatched out and the goslings are being introduced to the lake by their parents.  Talk about having your ducks in a row!