June 29, 2025: Catching up around the Lake

It's always comforting to return to the lake whether I've been away for a day or a month.  The enormity of a place like Alaska dwarfs the entire state of New Hampshire, but this small verdant patch of our planet has a charm that's truly special. How fortunate are we to able drive along a quiet stretch of road and see one of the iconic birds of the Northern Hemisphere incubating it's eggs?  

Many people put seeing a single loon on their life-list.  

This nest is in a good spot to be protected from boat traffic and is far enough off the road to not be bothered by cars.  You can see it at the first opening where you see the lake on Chemung Road when coming from Meredith Center.  Bring a pair of binoculars and scan the small islands in the cove - you won't bother it.

Hopefully this pair has survived the floods and a couple days of record heat this week and is carefully tending one or two viable eggs because it appears the northern-territory pair isn't going to have a nest this year.  I've seen a pair in the northern territory together with no recent signs of nest-building

Perhaps you saw this photo in the Laconia paper:

Assuming we do have a chick or two in a couple of weeks, there will be plenty more challenges for these birds to deal with!

There are other signs of nature to be found on a slow walk along country roads.  This small disturbed area caught my eye, and looking closer I found the tell-tale sign of a turtle nest.

An excavated Painted Turtle nest.

Painted turtles clamber out of the lake to find suitable nesting sites in soft gravel, sometimes having to travel long distances especially when the riparian area around a lake or stream has been developed.  They often find the first suitable spot along the shoulder of a road - which presents a couple of problems.  One is obvious from the number of squashed turtles in roads from car tires.  The other is the lack of protective cover as raccoons, fox, skunk, and crows also travel the roads looking for road kill.  When any of these come across a turtle nest they dig right because fresh turtle eggs, like chicken eggs, are an excellent source of much needed protein. 

Consumed turtle eggs.

Fortunately, the populations of both turtle species we have in Wicwas (painted turtles and snapping turtles) are strong.  

If you're on or near the water, especially in a small boat, look closely at the aquatic vegetation growing at the shoreline.  Many of our dragonflies and damsel flies are now emerging from their larval stage in the lake and drying out their wings for flight.  

You can find them doing this all summer long early in the morning to dry off nighttime dew.

I led a walk on the Laverack Nature Trail in Meredith Village with the Taylor Community this week.  Many fruiting trees are now in blossom along the boardwalk; we found native dogwood, winterberry, and many others.  

Silky Dogwood

Winterberry

Come fall and winter these provide valuable food for birds.  There are also blueberries with fruit already set; it looks like it might be a good blueberry season.  If you haven't been to the Laverack Trail (or even if you have!) this fully accessible trail is always worth a visit.

Finally, here's one more item from Alaska.  It's a slow motion video of a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly gathering nectar from lilac blossoms.  This is one-quarter actual speed; it was actually working those flowers very quickly.  It's a large file so it may take a minute to load.

After experiencing the untouched expanse of much of Alaska's Denali National Park and Tongass Natural Forest, flying over Boston and Seattle is a stark, almost overwhelming reminder of why we cherish even small pockets of undeveloped nature.  It is far too easy to take for granted all that Lake Wicwas gives us.

September 5, 2021: Teenage Loons

Mother nature is letting us know that September is here even if we don't look at a calendar.  The days are still longer than the nights but she's giving us plenty of clues that the equinox is approaching, the most evident signs being served up by the flora around the region.  

Goldenrod blooming.

When the golden rod lights up the fields and the edges of the roads we know the days are becoming cooler.  Often intermixed with goldenrod are several varieties of wild asters.

Calico Asters.

These calico asters have tiny white blossoms that look like miniature daiseys and though the centers of these are yellow they can also develop a delicate lavender color.  

These yellow and lavender asters were seen last year in early October.

Another hint is coming from the trees.

Red maple (See the spider web?)

The red maples are always the first to betray the hopes of summer by exposing their true colors hidden from us for the past several months.  I often see them turning first near bodies of water and thought wet roots caused their early color, but I recently heard a repuatable source report that red maples at high and dry location start to turn color at the same time as those near water.  I do remain convinced that weak subjects turn earlier, supported by the fact that damaged or broken branches will start turning red in July as the nutrient flow to the leaves is restricted, slowing the process of photosynthesis.  

Animals are also telling us the season is progressing, including our two loon chicks which are certainly acting like teenagers at this point.  One of the chicks (Coco I think based on behavior - I can't tell them apart visually any more even when they are side-by-side) has been expressing her independence, spending time away from mom and her brother. (Remember, we don't really know the sex of either chick).  

One day this week she spent a long time on her own doing her morning preening.  She would slap her wings strongly against the water, sputtering along in the lake for several yards with water splashing all around her.  Then she'd preen her back feathers followed by rolling over with her belly up to work on her bright white belly feathers.  Part of what she was doing here is taking oil from her oil gland and spreading it over all her feathers to provide waterproofing for them.  Finally she would stretch up high in air and spread her wings, give them a shake to realign her feathers, then settle back into the lake.  For about 15 seconds.  Then it was lather, rinse, and repeat.  This went on for quite a while until she moved out of my sight.  This was all observed far away through binoculars so I have no pictures to share.  But another day when the family was together I did get a picture of one of the chicks spreading its wings, and wow, they have quite a wingspan now.

As big as they are, they are still happy to have mom prepare a meal for them.  

Mom cooks up breakfast.

This week I broke one of the rules of wildlife observation.  Usually when I come across an animal in its habitat I try my best to not disturb it.  This isn't possible with animals like deer which are so attentive to their surroundings that they almost always detect me long before I see them.  But when I come across a turtle sunning on a log, or a heron fishing in the marshes I try my best to sneak in a picture and then glide by quietly without interrupting its feeding or its warming of its body.  But I will make an occasional exception.

One knows what any bird will do when it perches for more than just a moment.

My sending this heron on its way gave me a chance to get a good look at its large body and strong legs which are usually hidden beneath those stupendous wings. 

There's a couple of nice drumsticks.

Heron don't really show many changes as summer advances since their young don't leave the nest until they look almost adult-like.  But there are plenty of other signs that summer is waning. 

Winterberry fruit is starting to ripen.

Winterberries will become a brilliant red and last throughout the winter as the animals slowly consume them, apparently preferring other food sources before turning to winterberry.

Finally, I want to share this great photo a friend took on Friday of  ten deer swimming in Lake Winnipesaukee from Mark Island to Bear Island.

Even the deer are on the move.  Photo by Rick Page.

Note there are a couple of young bucks in that herd.  Thanks for sharing Rick!  

It may be getting cooler, but that means some of the best outdoor activity weather of the year is just ahead!

December 17, 2017 - Ice In

Winter is here, and signs of winter fun are starting to appear.

I don't think the animals in the region think it's a lot of fun, but they are also out leaving their marks in the snow.  This week I saw mouse, squirrel and deer tracks in the light, dry snow, but thankfully no bear tracks;  I expect they are all bedded down now, with the overnight lows falling to near zero.  The red squirrel tracks are easy to identify as they burrow out from under snow and make highways running from tree to tree.

A squirrel trail leads between two productive trees

Another animal highway was visible in the lake before the latest snow fell:

The beavers kept a lane open in the ice

The beavers had made a path by travelling back and forth between two lodges, including their food supply stashed at one of the lodges.

A food stash at a lodge

Because mice have so little mass their tracks are visible only when the snow is extremely soft and fluffy.

Mouse tracks in the light snow

Soon they won't venture on top of the snow much at all - they will tunnel down below it whenever they can to stay out of sight of the owls.

The bright snow brings out details that I wouldn't see otherwise, such as these woodpecker trees I hadn't noticed before.

Woodpeckers working on hardwood trees rather than their usual pine

And the still-flowing streams stand out in stark contrast to the fresh snow.

The red berries of the winterberry have been noticed all fall, and a few wintergreen berries are showing through the snow where they are protected near the trunk of a tree, both providing a bit of Christmas Red to go with the green of the pines, spruce, and hemlock needles.

Winterberry

Wintergreen

It looks like the cold weather will hold at least another week so we should be having a white Christmas this year - I hope to see you out enjoying the beauty of winter over the holidays!

Note:  Ice-in on Lake Wicwas occurred on December 12, an average date, and much earlier than last year.  The ice in one cove is currently 6-1/2" thick, 4" of black ice under 2-1/2" of white ice.  I wouldn't trust the ice yet though, as there was open water only a few days ago.  Keep an eye on the ice fishermen - they tend to cut holes as they go, so have a good idea of where and when it's safe.

November 5, 2017 - Nor'easter

It was quiet around the lake this week, in more ways than one.  November arrived right on schedule by exchanging the warm weather of the past few weeks with a strong nor'easter that left much of the area without power - a 68 mph wind gust was recorded in Meredith.  It was eerily quiet for much of Monday until you went by a house with a generator running.  About 60% of Meredith lost power, many for 24 hours; Moultonborough and Gilford were especially hard hit with upwards of 90% in the dark, some for over five days.  And yes, it looked like November.

Tall Meadow Rue (?)

I wish I had paid more attention to this plant in the summer so I would know for sure what it is, but I think it's Tall Meadow Rue.  It looks like a good choice for fall and winter decorating.

Fog, mist and rain was the theme of the week, though there is always beauty to be seen at every juncture in life.

And there is still some color in the world, shining even brighter against the drab of early November.

A few brave maple leaves hang on

Winterberry along a Marsh by Sheep Island

It was also a quiet week for nature.  I saw only a few mallards and Canada geese on the lake, though I did have a pileated woodpecker fly in front of me one foggy day.  It wasn't as startling as last week's owl, but just as beautiful to see.

Pileated woodpecker in flight

Visiting Mallards, still evading the hunters

And I haven't seen a deer in weeks; maybe they know archery and muzzleloader hunting is underway, with rifle season starting on Tuesday (remember to wear your orange in the woods).

I see many old, shriveled up mushrooms on the forest floor now, which I often mistake for animal scat at first, so I was surprised to see one last fresh mushroom making a last stab at life.

I can appreciate the subtle beauty of the season now, in early November; we'll see how I feel about it in the middle December if we haven't gotten any snow to brighten things up by then.

A foggy farm along Meredith Center Road

October 2, 2016

The young deer I saw last week with its juvenile spots fading away isn't the only animal around the lake that is showing signs of change.  The loons are starting to molt, shedding their summer feathers and in the process losing their distinctive, sharp black and white summer attire.  Their heads seem to be the first to go, giving them a wise, gray-beard look.

Loons are starting to molt

By the time they head out to the Atlantic Ocean for the winter they will be drab gray all over - no need to impress the opposite sex if it's not mating season! 

I saw our resident pair out in the very middle of the lake grooming themselves;  it was a calm day and the lake was speckled with small feathers drifting gracefully along.  

The fine inner down that keeps them warm in cold waters was evident, and some of them left no doubt that they came from a loon.

 At one point I got a look at a foot in the air which showed two bands on it, one white and one silver. 

I thought it was not our resident pair, knowing the female has a green and a red-and-white band.  But John Cooley from the Loon Preservation Committee informed me that our loon has both legs banded, and this is in fact our female.  I had never seen her right leg before, but now we know:  green over red and white stripe on her left leg, and white over silver on her right.

There were a few other animals out on the lake enjoying the calm, warm summer day, including Canada Geese and this Painted Turtle relaxing on a rock in a sunny spot.

Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)

Did you notice its shy friend poking its nose up from behind the rock?

The flora is much more flamboyant in displaying their autumnal changes than the animals - no need for them to be discreet.  Winterberry has matured into its bright red color which really stands out and will last well into winter - unless the birds eat them all first.

Winterberry (Ilex Verticillata)

The fruit on the Mapleleaf Viburnum is not so bright, but just as distinctive.

Mapleleaf Viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium)

This fruit, like the winterberry, is not considered edible, but is a food source for many birds as well as mammals. 

The foliage around the Lakes Region is still in the early stages of their change as seen from this view from the White Mountain Ledge in the Hamlin Conservation Area.

Even to the north there is little color in the trees

But many of the loners are already rebelling against summer, proclaiming their autumnal independence from the laws of photosynthesis.

A lone maple makes a rebellious statement in the Chemung Forest with Ladd Mountain watching from afar

  Change is everywhere around Lake Wicwas.