June 28, 2026: A Floating Nursery Log

Before we look at the nursery log, here's the loon update.  All our hopes for fledging a chick this year may fall upon little Northern Pip and its parents' vigorous protection of it from all danger. 

Northern Pip, five days old.  Photo by Debby Crowley.

Which by all appearances, they are doing. 

Two parents and one chick means twice the attention.  Photo by Debby C.

The reason we have all our hopes on Pip is because the southern pair has abandoned its nest - and for no clear reason.  On Monday, Shayne D. noted that both adults were out on the lake away from the nest.  On Thursday, seeing the same situation, I took a look at the nest, and found a single egg. 

A lone, unattended egg in the southern nest.

On Friday afternoon, the Loon Preservation Committee (LPC) gave the order to mark the egg and check it on Saturday.  Dave T. did that and found it had not been tended, so he collected it for analysis by the LPC.  We may not know the status of the egg until winter when things slow down enough for the LPC biologists to do forensics, but we may learn then why it was abandoned.  There's a chance the southern pair will attempt a second nest, but if not, we'll have to hope the big, strong male, and unknown female that make up the northern pair can keep Pip safe all summer long.

Our banded male, up close and personal.

Wicwas isn't the only Lake having loon challenges.  A pair using one of the floating nests that the LPC has a camera on is on their fourth egg, after three failures, each for a different reason.  Details were in the Laconia Daily Sun yesterday (see page 25).

Now the "nurse log".  You may have heard about nurse logs in the forest - large trees that fall to the ground and decay slowly over many years, providing a fertile bed for plants to grow.  Much of a forest floor is covered with a dense layer of leaves which can prevent germination, so these fallen trees can become filled with new life.  Well, on a paddle this week I came across an aquatic analog, an old log floating in the lake that's serving the same purpose, but for bog-centric flora.

Nurse log

Let's look at what's growing here.

The primary base plant is Sphagnum Moss, which covers much of the log and may provide a good place for other plants to take hold.

Sphagnum Moss

The tall, grass-like plant growing most profusely on the right is a sedge.  There are many varieties of sedge and I won't attempt to determine which this is.

Sedge

In the center is another tall plant, this one woody, which can grow quite tall and dominates much of the higher ground in the bogs around Lake Wicwas:  Leatherleaf.

Leatherleaf

Growing on the right side of the log, with a reddish-green color (which helps identity this species) is Bog St. John's Wort.

Bog St. John's Wort

One of the most interesting of our bog plants is the carnivorous Round-leaved Sundew, which is on the log in several places, but most visibly right in front of the St. John's Wort beside the bare spot on the log.

Round-leaved Sundew

When you find these on your paddles near a bog, look closely and you'll see fine hairs with a sticky drop of dew on each which catches small insects which the plant then digests.

Hardest to find on the log is the Purple Pitcher Plant, another carnivorous plant.  These are small, tubular stems growing right along the water's edge.  They'll be easier to spot in fall when they've grown larger.

A mature Pitcher Plant, fully grown in October.

Finally, the crown jewel of the log is the Rose Pogonia.

Rose Pogonia

This pretty member of the orchid family also grows on wet soil around water, and it's extremely abundant this year.  There are two growing on the log and another ten or so behind the log at the very top of the first photo of the full nursery.

These are some of the most common species seen in an exemplary acidic bog habitat in New Hampshire.  I will remind you that I have no formal training in botany, but am learning from books and often the internet (PlantNet ID is excellent), and I may not have all these right.  If you notice an error, please let me know!

In a few weeks, I hope to have a similar post on plants in the aquatic habitat, this time with expert assistance.  Wicwas' resident biologist, Russ Brummer, is leading a Weed-Watcher class on July 11th, and all are welcome to participate.  Below are the details in case you're interested in becoming a weed-watcher, or are just curious about the aquatic plants we have in our NH lakes.  Last year's class was interesting, and a lot of fun - you can see what we did on the July 13, 2025 post, "Weed School".

I hope to see you there!

July 13, 2025: Weed School

No, not the kind of weed school we had in the 60's.  This one was about aquatic plants, led by our own Russ Brummer, Science Department head at the New Hampton School.  

Our fearless leader describes the Floating Bladderwort.

A group of Wicwas Weedwatchers met on boats at the Wicwas launch where we first learned how to differential between native aquatic plants and the often similar looking non-native plants that can ruin a lake.  Because non-native plants haven't been here for thousands of years they have no natural predators so they grow unrestrained and can completely overtake a waterbody.  

The Lake Host program attempts to keep these invaders from moving from lake to lake, but we can't inspect every boat that comes in (more volunteers are always needed!) so the weed watcher team patrols the entire lake looking for dangerous weeds; if an outbreak does start we hope to catch it quickly.  

We first looked at the notorious Eurasian Milfoil which is the bane of many lakes in New Hampshire.

Eurasian Milfoil

We compared it to Coontail, a native plant often confused with milfoil.

Native Coontail

It's hard to tell the difference, but milfoil has feathery-like leaves, while the coontail mostly has leaves with a single strand, looking like a pine needle.  But if you're ever on a lake and see a plant that you think might be milfoil it's always better to report it - we're happy to determine it's not a problem, and it's great to have people watching for it.

After a short classroom session we hit the water for the real fun.  With no known invasives in Wicwas - and none were found - we spent our time studying our native aquatic plants, many of which are both fascinating and beautiful.  Last week I noted the Floating Bladderwort.  This carnivorous plant floats freely in the lake, untethered to the bottom.  The plant's bladders suck in water and tiny organisms such as insect larvae and water fleas, which the plant digests for sustenance.  (Maybe they'll eat Spiny Water Fleas in lakes where that invasive species has arrived.)  There are at least two other bladderwort species in Wicwas including the Common Bladderwort which can grow into huge floating mats and often concerns boaters due to its large size, but it is not a problem to the lake.  

Large mats of Bladderwort can capture a lot of insect larvae and make great habit for small fish.

As it grows and matures it can have huge submerged parts with hundreds of bladders that turn from pink to red to black as they consume their meals.

New pink growth on the left, more mature, black bladders on the right.

Another native plant is the Floating Heart - a small lily pad with heart shaped leaves and a flower so tiny you really have to get close to appreciate its beauty.

Floating Heart

We learned that the floating, grass-like plants also seen in the picture above is called Bur-reed.  It grows in many shallow, sheltered areas in New Hampshire lakes and also has an interesting flower which doesn't appear to be attached to the grassy leaves, but it is.

The Bur-reed flower can look like it's associated with the surrounding lily pads.

Here's another pretty one we examined:

The blossom of the Watershield, a common native aquatic plant.

We had a fun morning and we added to our lake knowledge - thank you Russ!  If you're interested in becoming a Weed Watcher, here or on any other lake, check in with your lake association.  They probably have a weed watching team, and if not, you can start one!

Back on dry land around the lake this week I came across a ground-nesting bird, the Veery.  I flushed it from its nest on what is obviously a very little used trail, otherwise it wouldn't have built its nest just a few feet off the trail.  I figured it was either a Veery or a Hermit Thrush.  It wasn't hard to find the nest having seen where the bird came from - otherwise no one would ever know there was a nest hidden here.

A well hidden bird nest.

But under that Bracken Fern was a tightly woven nest and four beautiful blue eggs. 

The bright blue color tells me it's a Veery nest.  Hermit thrush eggs have a lighter color and sometimes have brown spots.  I quickly took a picture and left so mother veery could get right back to her eggs.  I'll avoid that trail for a while.

Next I'll share a video sent to me by Conservation Commission volunteer Bob Hunt.  His son took this video of what is mostly likely a litter of River Otters running across a driveway near Lake Winona.  First at actual speed, then in slow motion.  

The littlest sibling appears to be struggling to keep up!  What a cool thing to have seen!

I would be remiss not to report on Spangle and Star, and happily, the reporter is that both are doing fine.

Mom or dad towers over the chicks, telling us to stay away.

The next two pictures were taken just yesterday by Dave Thorpe:

Star is still happy to hitch a ride on a parent's back.

They seem to be growing quickly and getting along well, so at just over a week they're off to a good start.  

There's still loon turmoil taking place in the northern nesting territory with regular encounters between three loons, a likely reason why there's no nest there this year.  You know what they say about three's a crowd....

Birds, mammals, flowers, pretty lily pads - there's a lot to see around the lakes at this time of year.  I hope you can get out to one the region's beautiful lakes to see some of nature's glory.

June 30, 2024: Summer Weed Watch Tour

The reminder came out this week that it's time for the early summer weed-watcher inspection of the lake to make sure no invasive weeds snuck in over the late fall or early spring.  The lake is divided into nine sectors that include the entire perimeter of the lake as well as the islands which a team of 12 volunteers join forces to inspect twice a year.  I did my survey on a calm morning with the sun low enough in the sky to minimize reflections, helping me to see down into the water.  The good news:  I saw nothing to be concerned about.  I did however, see plenty of pretty sights on my paddle.

A peaceful morning weed-watching on Lake Wicwas.

The White Water Lilies are always a favorite.

White Water Lily (Nymphaea odorata)

I recognize many of the aquatic plants but there are always several I have to look up, such as this one: 

Pickerel Weed (Pontederia cordata)

I recognized these large arrow-shaped leaves as a common plant around the lake, but without the purple flowers that are about to erupt from that elongated bud, I didn't identify them right away as Pickerel Weed.

This next submerged plant always warrants a close look:

It's one of six species of native milfoil in New Hamphsire, easily confused with the invasive Variable Milfoil.

My sector of the lake just happens to include the nesting site of the northern loon pair which I was able to quietly paddle past at a distance such it didn't even notice me.

Now that we're on to animals, here are a couple of nocturnal visitors that stopped by this week.  First, Mr. Stinky triggered the light on the motion detector.

Striped Skunk

It's a good reminder to make plenty of noise when heading out after dark.  A few hours later, along came Rocky.  

Common Raccoon

There are more animals out there lurking around in the dark of night than just the ones we hear through open windows on hot summer nights.

I'll close with one more animal, one that hopped right up to greet me as I walked up to the back door.

This lively pickerel frog jumped up out of the grass right onto the doorstep - I must have startled it.  But then it just as quickly leaped back down into grass, but paused long enough for me to take its picture.  Sometime nature cooperates!

September 2, 2018 - Hummingbird Moth

September is here; days are shorter, the sun is lower, but at least the water is warm.  Another week of hot humid weather has kept lake temperatures above what I'd expect for Labor Day weekend.

After a hot, dry July which put us in a drought condition, the past month was the wettest August on record.  (The total precipitation in Concord was 10.67", far exceeding the prior record of 9" recorded all the way back in 1892.)  The rain restored the lake level which is back to spring levels at 6" over full pool.  It also rejuvenated all the plants (including the weeds), and working in the garden this week Linda found yet another strange, new insect taking advantage of the flowers in her garden.

A Hummingbird Clearwing moth (Hemaris thysbe) drinks from a tall phlox

This confused little insect can't decide if it's a hummingbird, a butterfly, or a moth.  When we saw it I thought it was a hummingbird, but soon learned it's an insect, scientifically classified as a moth, but it sure flies around and takes nectar from flowers like a hummingbird.  And it uses its proboscis much like a butterfly to draw nectar from a flower.  It was very hyperactive, not spending more than second at any one flower before dashing off to another in a seemingly random manner, but from dozens of attempts I got a couple of pictures of it.

It flies with its proboscis tightly rolled up.

Just starting to unfurl as it approaches a bloom

Then it quickly extends it as it approaches a flower.

Inserting the proboscis deep into the flower, it takes a very short drink before moving on.

A quick drink

I found a good description of this moth and its lifecycle at the USDA website on the Hummingbird Moth.  Its long tongue allows it to collect nectar from flowers most other pollinators can't reach, and phlox are one of its favorite flowers, along with lilac and blueberry.  But the larvae (caterpillars) which look like small tomato hornworms, feed on different plants including dogbane and cherry, both of which we have in this region of New Hampshire.  When the caterpillars are fully grown they just drop to the ground and spin a cocoon where they spend the winter amidst the leaf litter.  So it's a good idea not to rake up all those fall leaves in your pollinator gardens!  [Ref: ibid USDA]

I took my late summer weed-watcher tour of Lake Wicwas this week and am happy to report I saw no unusual weeds.  You may have seen a recent note from NH Lakes that their Lake Host program has recorded 24 "saves" so far this summer, a save defined as the identification and removal of an invasive species from a boat about to be launched or just retrieved from a lake.  Local lakes included on the save list are Waukewan (water chestnut) and Winnipesaukee (milfoil).  You can find the full list of saves here.  My tour was not without interest though, as I did enjoy plenty of good, pretty weeds as well as a few animals.

Yellow pond-lily (Nuphar lutea)

Turtlehead (Chelone glabra), named because the flower looks like the head of turtle

I think this is a black duck

Feather probably from a duck, but maybe a goose

Painted Turtle

Even the turtles are taking advantage of the late summer warmth.  And the humid air last week, combined with smoke from the fires in the west, again provided us with some spectacular skies.

There may not be too many more of these summer sunsets left in the year.