June 1, 2025: Spiny Water Flea

Hello June!  We're now enjoying the longest daylight hours of the year, and this week we had some beautiful days to soak in all that sunshine.

On one paddle around the lake I noticed how the water lilies had adapted to the high water levels.  

Yellow Pond Lilies with long stems.

They had to grow long stems to keep their leaves above water and gather the sunlight that gives them life, and now with the water dropping they're dangling on long tethers that funnel the food they create down to their roots.  A few days later they had blossomed.

With the water level just about back to normal we can expect the loons to be seeking nesting sites; the territorial battles seem to have settled down, though not stopped.  On Friday I had a pretty good hint that they are in search of nesting sites when a loon popped up right next to my kayak, between me and the shore.

A close encounter with a loon in protective mode.

It then dove and swam right underneath me, surfacing on the other side, luring me away from shore.  

I'll bet its mate was at the shoreline evaluating a potential nest site; I didn't go looking, but rather continued quickly on my way.  It may be a little later than the ideal nesting period but there's still plenty of time to nest and raise chicks.  The biggest concern would be a heat wave in June or early July when they are sitting on their eggs.  

I love the different shades of green in the forest as the leaves on the deciduous trees fully develop the chlorophyll that the gives them their deep green color.  

It makes it easy to differentiate between evergreen and deciduous trees.

The view from above at Crockett's Ledge.

Soon their leaves will match the hue of evergreens that keep their through the winter.

I received a report from people fishing in Winnipesaukee and Squam that the Spiny Water Flea, a small, invasive crustacean, has grown to high population levels in both lakes.  

Spiny Water Flea shown on a pencil eraser.  Photo from NH Fish and Game.

This animal poses no health concerns to humans, but it is a problem for native animals as it alters the food web, and its sharp body parts can damage the internal organs of fish.  By feeding on native zooplankton, it can reduce the amount of plankton that consumes algae, leading to larger algal blooms.  The flea also causes problems with fishing lines.

Clogging up a fishing line.  Photo by Jeff Gunderson.

The spiny water flea is native to Asia and Europe and was brought to America by cargo ships, first found in the Great Lakes in the 1980s and making their way to Vermont by 2013.  It was found in both Winnipesaukee and Winnisquam in 2023.  Although NH laws requiring draining and drying boats between different water bodies will help slow its spread, it will undoubtedly find its way to all the lakes over time.  

One advantage Lake Wicwas has is its smaller size and high nutritive value.  According to NH DES the flea "seems to prefer the open water areas of large, low-nutrient lakes".  [Ref:  NH DES Environmental Fact Sheet NN-68]  Of course, the high nutrient content of Wicwas supports other problems such as increased vegetation growth of both native and invasive aquatic plants.  It also provides a good foundation for cyanobacteria blooms.

In other water quality news, we've already had a minor outbreak of cyanobacteria in Wicwas; I found it in many locations around the lake this week. 

Cyanobacteria along the west shore of Lake Wicwas.

NH DES tested a water sample and found a concentration of 25,900 cells/liter which is below the threshold level of 70,000, but it's still wise to be vigilant when you swim and to not let pets drink the water.  Keep an eye out for bright green flecks suspended in the water column, sometimes described as looking like a snow globe. 

Cyanobacteria suspended in the water.  Pollen doesn't typically do that.

As a cyanobacteria bloom expands it may rise to surface as a green scum, and then sink to the bottom of the lake.

New wildflowers sprouted this week.  Watch for the common four-petaled white Bunchberry and Pointed Blue-eyed Grass.  

Pointed Blue-eyed Grass.

I'll end with the end - the end of a beautiful day on Lake Wicwas.

June 5, 2022: The Loons have Nested

Amy Wilson had the sharp eye and key knowledge to discover the loons have selected a nesting site and are incubating an egg - hopefully two.  She noted the key sign was a single loon floating in the lake just off a prime nesting island.  And these loons are good - the nest is extremely well hidden, impossible to see behind thick vegetation which also provides shade from the intense June sun.  Because it's in a popular boating lane but can't be seen, paddlers and fishermen are likely to flush the loon off the nest by passing close to it without ever knowing it's there, so markers have been placed to alert boaters to keep a safe distance from the site.

On Thursday Loon Preservation Committee intern Taylor Tewksbury came to the lake to document the nest.

LPC intern Taylor Tewksbury inspects a nesting site from a prior year.

We were able to observe the bands on both loons, confirming their identity:  the male banded on Lake Wicwas in 2019 and the female banded on Lake Pemigewasset in 2018.  We also were given a great show by the male doing his afternoon grooming.  It was so dramatic that we saw it from a far distance and thought there was an altercation taking place.  

From a distance this looked like trouble.

But no, it was just him grooming and spreading oil, and doing some acrobatics in the process.  

Just some very enthusiastic preening.

He was putting on quite a show for us.

I've never seen a loon do the backstroke before.

We also observed a shift change. so both parents are doing their part on the nest.  This is the same pair that successfully raised Coco and Jimmy last summer so we're hoping for another successful breeding season!

The Canada geese, as usual, are far ahead of the loons and at least one family is already out on the water with their goslings and I expect there will be more soon.

Two is an unusably small brood for Canada geese.

We're right in the heart of breeding season for many of our local fauna, and the forest, especially in the morning, is just brimming with the sounds of nature, displaying a plethora of songs stating their presence, whether it's to attract a mate or deter a competitor.  One morning there was a nice chorus of bullfrogs singing so I thought I'd capture a bit of the performance.  I was so focused on the frogs that I didn't realize there were so many birds accompanying the amphibians.  In this recording there are at least five different birds vocalizing, including  a veery, common yellowthroat, eastern wood peewee, great crested flycatcher, and at the very end a loud, piercing, broad-winged hawk:

I think I hear a mourning dove in there too.

The animals aren't alone in making every effort to propagate their species - many plants, terrestrial and aquatic, are in full bloom to attract pollinators to help them along.

Yellow Pond-lilies (Nuphar lutea)

There are often flies inside these flowers pollinating them, but not this one.

Lupine

This is the week to head up to Sugar Hill to see the lupines!   (With maybe a stop at Polly's....)