December 21, 2025: Eagles Over the Bay

But first, more turkeys.  It was a week of big birds in Meredith.  Over the years I've seen turkeys in fields, backyards, in the forest, and along roadsides, but I'd never seen them out in the middle of a lake before now.

A turkey trek across Lake Wicwas.

This group of three female (I think) turkeys appeared to be taking a short cut across the frozen lake.  

Their sensory abilities are incredible.  As far away as I was, and being as quiet and still as possible, the slightest motion triggered their senses and they immediately went from a slow walk into a moderate trot to speed their way across the open expanse. 
Of course, they could take flight to avoid a terrestrial predator such as a bobcat or coyote, but what about an aerial attack?  I expect a mature bald eagle would be able to take down a fleeing turkey.  And that's a distinct possibility now that Bald Eagles have returned to the Lake Region.  Excellent photographer and good friend Eytan Wulfsohn noticed three bald eagles on the thin ice forming off Bay Point Inn at the end of Meredith Bay.

Photos by Eytan Wulfsohn

There were three of them, two mature and one juvenile, and he was able to run home to get his camera to take some great pictures, including the juvenile in flight.

The dark, mottled plumage of juvenile bald eagle.

This is likely a resident pair and their offspring, as there is enough open water throughout the winter for fishing.  (They use the rivers after the lakes freeze.)  Eagles also augment their primarily-fish diet with mammals and birds - maybe even a turkey or two?  

Perusing the ice edge for lunch.

By late summer or early fall, a newly hatched eagle is completely independent and the parents no longer provide food for it.  Often a juvenile will move away, but sometimes they stay in the same nesting area for a period of time.  A juvenile eagle will spend several years wandering, investigating territories based primarily on food availability.  By four or five years old they are mature, have their adult plumage and are ready to breed.  Only then do they select a nesting site and look for a mate.  Or perhaps, take over an existing mate by driving off a weaker member of an established pair.  It's actually similar to that of the Common Loon.

The return of turkeys and eagles to North America are success stories in restoring extirpated species to their native territories.  Both populations were first thinned out by overhunting (some states had bounties for killing eagles), further hurt by habitat loss, and then completely done in by the pesticide DDT.  But with new regulations and, in the case of the turkey, reintroduction of birds from the Alleghany Mountain area in New York, both species are now flourishing - and adding greatly to the excitement and quality of life in New Hampshire.

An impressive bird to see return to New Hampshire.

Back closer to Lake Wicwas, the lake and shores were crisscrossed with tracks beyond turkeys - lot of members of the mustelid (weasel) family:  mink, otter, and ermine (the winter name for the short-tailed weasel in its white coat).  The tracks of latter were the hardest for me to determine, but following the tracks for a while led me to conclude it was an ermine by its behavior.  It spent a lot time hopping from tree to tree like a squirrel does. 

But the tracks were too large for a squirrel.   

Too large for a squirrel, too small for a fisher.

The ermine was hunting for mice and other small rodents under the snow, using its hearing to detect its prey chewing on something down in the subnivean zone.  When it pounces down on it, if it misses, it will relentlessly pursue its prey until it secures it.

They also locate prey with their excellent sense of smell.  Ermine are extremely reclusive - I have only seen an ermine once, and it was in early winter, after it had donned its white coat but before snow was on the ground so it was highly visible.

In snow, with that camouflage, I could step on one and not even see it!

One more bit of news:  The winter solstice occurs today at 10:03 am.  The days are already getting longer!

December 7, 2025: Winter Arrives

Winter arrived this week, in a serious, but not too harsh manner.  We had two nights with temperatures in the single digits which ushered in eight inches of beautiful light snow.  It made for easy shoveling and some fabulous early season skiing.

There weren't many animals tracks in the fresh snow, perhaps because of the cold.  I saw only fox tracks and a few short squirrel tracks where they went digging in the snow for food.  I always enjoy seeing the fox use my ski track for easy transportation.

They'll follow the packed down track for long distances, stepping out here and there to investigate a scent or detour to a known good hunting spot, but soon return to the trail.

The snow caused our cove to freeze up, with 4 inches of ice by Friday, though the main part of the lake was still wide open.

Did you see full moon this week?

Still open water on Friday

By Saturday, with calm overnight, most of the lake was iced in, which is a little concerning considering the juvenile loon was still on the lake on Friday.  People are watching carefully to see if she's gone or still swimming in a little sliver of open water.  

I took one last hike up behind the lake before the snow fell and I was able to find one set of needle ice growing beside the trail.

Needle Ice growing out of damp soil.

That will be it for needle ice this year.  I wrote more information about this interesting ice formation a couple of years ago:  Needle Ice

Through the bare branches in the woods, I noticed for the first time a couple of caves in the ledges along the Red Trail.

Curiosity made me investigate whether anyone was living there; I found no signs of porcupine (the caves are too large for them) or bears (the caves may not be well enough insulated with the large, exposed openings).

I also could see the cliff face at Crockett's Ledge.

It's incredible how trees can find the smallest foothold to take up residence in a granite face.

I also witnessed a nice turkey parade as they followed their leader calmly away from my presence.

Now I'll probably only be seeing their tracks in the snow, because winter is here, and it's probably here to stay.

The scene at Cannon Mountain this week.

November 9, 2025: In the Hornet's Nest

After a few more cold nights this week I decided it was safe to go back to study the large Bald-faced Hornet nest I found this fall. (see Oct 5 Journal) 

I took it off the tree and sliced it down the center line through the entry door and peeled it open.  I found the internal structure fascinating.

Inside were three tiers of beautifully constructed hexagonal paper combs.  

These aren't honey combs, but rather incubator chambers for larvae.  The hexagonal structure is found throughout nature because it's the most efficient form to maximize volume with the least construction material.  

Though most of the cells were empty, a few had larvae in them that hadn't matured before the cold weather arrived.

A couple of larvae in the comb.

The site iNaturalist has a good description of the life cycle of these members of the yellow jacket family, but I'll give a short summary here.  

The nest is started by a single inseminated queen that overwintered on the ground - the only member of a nest that survives to the next year.  She starts a small nest and raises young until there are enough to take over nest construction and feeding of larvae, at which point the queen dedicates all her time to laying eggs of workers.  The workers expand the nest by chewing up soft wood and bark, combining it with their saliva to create the paper for the cells and the outer protective covering.  When the first tier is full they start on a second and third tier.  The workers also bring food to the larvae in the nest.

In late summer the queen starts to lay fertile male and females eggs.  These will fly from the nest and mate, presumably with insects from a different nest.  The males, as well as the queen and all the workers will die; only a new, fertilized queen will bury into the leaf litter and emerge in the spring to start a new nest.  

If you want a nice little side gig, you can search out and sell these nests.  Dozens have sold on ebay this fall with prices ranging from a couple of dollars up to $300.  Just make sure there are no live animals inside!

This was a windy week in New Hampshire, but there were enough calm times to get out for a paddle.  

It was good to see lots of food sources around the lake for animals to feed on this winter.

Winterberry

Chokeberry

Both of these are important food sources because they last well into the winter months, especially for birds that are fruit-eaters like bluebirds and cedar waxwings.

I also found our young loon, apparently alone on the lake but doing well.  

Spangle is looking quite sharp now.

She may be here several more weeks.  

It's not uncommon to get a nice day or two late into November, but I now appreciate every paddle on the lake like it might be my last for the year.

Our local flock of turkeys continues to be active and visible - and looking quite healthy.

They may be awkward birds, they are pretty.

Turkey's are omnivores, eating just about anything they come across.  Though they are probably mostly eating seeds, we're happy to have them in the garden because they will consume ticks, grubs, and any other insects they find as they scratch around in the leaf litter.

Turkeys make us think of Thanksgiving, and yes, it's November.  But even in Novembernature gives us reasons every day to be grateful.

October 19, 2025: Witch Hazel

Late fall is when Witch Hazel puts on its highly unusual show, and it's an appropriate time with Halloween just around the corner.  Witch hazel is the only shrub or tree I can think of that blooms in October, and it has really interesting flowers.

The twisted, filament-like flowers of Witch Hazel.

The seeds are maturing now as well.

The woody capsule which typically contains two seeds.

But these are the pods from last autumns flowers.  They will soon burst open in halves and shoot their seeds far and wide - up to 20 feet away.  I cut one open (it wasn't easy) and this was its contents:

The two large black seeds in the seed pod of the witch hazel.

Staying with the Wicwas witch theme, how about this cute little orb-weaver spider, the kind that weave beautiful geometric webs using those dexterous legs and all the different types of silk it creates:

An Orb-weaver spider, probably a Cross Orb-weaver

It's most likely a female, and on its final days as they don't survive the winter.  I gave it a little nudge with my finger and it curled right up to protect itself with all those legs.

Another classic October sight is flocks of turkeys that have gathered up together, traveling the land in search of food to fatten up for winter.  You frequently see them along roadsides, especially near fields, and though they usually run off the road and disappear into the woods, sometimes they are reluctant to do so.  I've seen them recently along local roads, at Oakland Cemetery, and yesterday morning, at the end of our road.

While I was enjoying the bright foliage of maple trees during a paddle this week, I came upon yet another hornets' nest, this one hanging over the lake from Sheep Island. 

This nest was about the size of a large melon - quite a bit smaller than the one I found two weeks ago. 

 

Next up on my paddle was a Great Blue Heron stalking fish or frogs beside a marsh. 

I expect our herons will be heading south soon, or perhaps to the coast or large rivers where there's open water all winter.  I didn't see our young loon on my paddles this week, but it's still a little early for a juvenile to leave the lake.

The fall foliage is past peak now but there are still plenty of bright red and orange maples and a few yellow aspen dotting the landscape.  

Finally, we took one last ride on the Cannon Tramway before they shut it down for replacement.  It will take two years to get the new one installed.  Built in 1980 to replace the original tram built in 1938 (the first in all of North America), this old friend served us well for 45 years.  If you want to take one last ride, do it before October 26th - that will be the end.    😞