May 11, 2025: Happy Mother's Day!

Flowers for mom.

It's very kind of Mother Nature to provide a bright sunny day to help celebrate Mother's Day after a rather dreary week.  That's a Service Berry tree blooming on Sheep Island.  

Serviceberry (aka Shadbush) on Sheep Island.

I'd hoped we would have enough sun to get some of these trees blooming for Mother's Day.  The Black Cherry didn't make it, but the Hobblebush Viburnum did.

Hobblebush Viburnmum

This shrub has two distinct types of flowers.  The outer blossoms are sterile, and likely developed just to attract pollinators to the small fertile flowers in the center which produce the seeds.  It seems every plant evolved with some special trait that gives it enough of an edge to survive in a competitive world. 

There was enough sun to get a few more wildflowers to brighten up the world for mom, including these violets.

Common Blue Violets in a sunny moment.

Sunny moments were the exception for the week as it rained more days than not, giving us almost five inches of rain in the past week.  The lake rose to more to 12 inches above normal, even with the dam lowered.  We'll keep the dam open to get the lake down as quickly as possible so the loons will be able to access their nesting sites which are currently submerged.  This was the scene more often than not around the lakes this week:

A calm, misty evening.

I did fit in a couple of paddles between the showers, taking advantage of high water to explore areas of the lake that are typically inaccessible.  

Exploring a marsh near the Wicwas dam.

There were blackbirds singing loudly from tall stems in the marshes.

A Red-winged Blackbird sings its distinctive song.

I should also mention the new arrivals this week:  Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and Blackburnian Warbler.  That's a lot of warblers!

I found leatherleaf that had bloomed in spite of the rain and high water.

Leatherleaf

These plants are wetland-specific species, not bothered by the high water levels.

I'll close with one more almost-flower:

A Pink Lady's Slipper preparing to bloom.

One more sunny day ought to do it - something to look forward to next week!

Happy Mother's Day!

A mid-day update:  I was way off on the lake level.  It's more like two feet above full level, lapping over the top of the dam!

May 17, 2020: Fresh Fish for Dinner

There is so much going on around the lakes these days, with wildflowers blooming, birds arriving, animals nesting, that I was already struggling with what to eliminate to keep this week's journal entry from being too long, and then something exceptional came along that trumped all.  One evening, right at dinner time, Linda saw a large raptor fly by with a good size fish dangling from its talons.  Then, lucky for us, it decided to savor its dinner just about a hundred yards away and though it was partially blocked by trees branches it was clear enough for us to see that it was an osprey, and for us to watch what unfolded.  I should warn you, this might get a little graphic.

Somehow the bird managed to land on a branch with one foot without dropping the flailing fish - which was very much alive - from the other foot .

It held on to the tree with one leg and onto the fish with the other.

It looked like it caught a horned pout (aka catfish, officially the brown bullhead), but I'd be happy to have any fishermen out there weigh in on the identification.

Looks like a Bullhead to me.

If it is a catfish, that's interesting, as catfish prowl around on the bottom of the lake - not where I'd expect an osprey to be fishing.

When the fish gave a violent thrash it would throw the osprey off balance and it would have to use its wings to keep its perch on the branch.  This went on for a while, and at one point the bird seemed to yell at the fish, "Give up, your fate is sealed!"

"It's over!"

Eventually the fish lost enough strength that the osprey was ready to partake in its catch.  (This is where it gets bloody.)  The osprey started at the head, perhaps even avoiding the skin, and reached inside the fish's mouth to extract choicest cuts of meat.

The first tasty bite.

It would rip out a chunk of flesh and then lift its head up to swallow it down.

A piece of fish being chewed.

Every now and then it would look over at me to make sure I wasn't an eagle that was going to swoop in and steal its hard-earned dinner.

We watched for while, but eventually the osprey flew off with most of the fish still intact.  This was most likely a male, as females do most of the incubating while the males provide food for the nest.  Mom - and any chicks if they have hatched yet - will be happy to have fresh fish delivered right to their home for dinner.

OK, even with lots of other action taking place right now, it all pales in comparison to that, but here's a quick run down of what else is happening around the lakes right now.

Downy Serviceberry and Leather Leaf are blooming.

Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata) grows right at the waters edge.

Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier), also called Shadbush, are blooming all around the Lakes Region,
some growing as tall as 30'.

Their blossoms will produce edible fruit.

So are many azaleas.

The beech have followed the maples in pushing out new leaves.

Early beech leaves.

Last week's pond lilies have already pushed buds up above the surface of the lake.

Yellow Pond Lily.

Ferns are sprouting, and Jack has woken up.

Linda got some of these at Moulton Farm this week - they're delicious with butter and garlic!

Jack (in-the-Pulpit) is just getting started.

I also saw my first butterfly, first dragon fly, and heard my first leopard frog and spring peeper this week.  I'm seeing deer tracks regularly on my morning walks, including this set along the edge of the road.

Deer tracks near Chemung State Forest.

The warblers are arriving in mass now, which means one thing is certain: black flies.

Is seeing and hearing these pretty birds worth suffering with black flies?

 .

Those swarming, biting insects may drive us crazy, but they're a critical food source for all our beautiful song birds.  And the fish rely on them too, especially their larvae.  Which means, in turn, our fat and happy osprey does as well.

Off in search of his next meal.

May 22, 2016

The first eggs of the season hatched at Lake Wicwas this week, those of the Canada Goose, which is appropriate since they are the first birds to arrive in the spring.  Earlier in the week there was a family of eight to ten Canada Geese crossing Route 104 just east of Cross Hatch Road, and yesterday a family of seven appeared on the lake. 

Look how much smaller one chick is than the others

And even though there are more than enough Geese in these parts it was still sad to see that one egg didn't make it.

Goose egg for breakfast

Finding this early one morning in the middle of a trail near the water makes me think a weasel was the lucky diner of fresh egg for breakfast. 

Land owners around the lake have taken steps to help curtail the excessive goose population by letting shoreline vegetation grow up.  Shoreline growth discourages geese from coming on the land - they love grassy areas as every park and golf course knows.  Beaches are also an invitation to geese, particularly now with little goslings in tow which have trouble negotiating a dense shoreline.  A natural shoreline helps prevent geese as well as soil erosion and nitrogen and phosphorus runoff.  Geese have few predators, and even fewer near human development.  But as they are redirected back to nesting in their natural habitat they will be more exposed to predators and the population will be better managed.

Most of our seasonal birds have now returned for their summer at the lake.  Still no news on any loon nesting, but I have seen several of our warblers hopping around in the trees, plucking worms and bugs off the new leaves, building energy to lay their eggs.

Yellow Warbler

Common Yellowthroat sing loudly in the morning sun

Birds aren't the only things returning for the summer - people are too!  Docks, rafts and boats are starting to appear around the lake.

It's starting to look like summer

I'm looking forward to seeing good friends again after many months away!

If you will be at the lake over the holiday weekend, be sure to take a short break from the spring time work to enjoy a walk in the woods;  there is plenty of beauty this time of year.

A relative of rhododendron, Rhodora bloom near the water

You'll find Trillium in the woods - there are several along the Yellow Trail in the Hamlin Conservation Area

Wild strawberry grows in most any sunny spot

There are beautiful animals as well;  this week I was treated to my first deer sighting in some time.

Any doubts about why they call this a "white tail"?

As usual, it spotted me before I noticed it.  It started snorting and stomping as it stared me down. 

After a minute or two of this it decided to bound behind a few small trees.

These guys sure can jump

But it stopped there and continued to watch me, while another deer, invisible in the thicket, joined in the snorting. 

I went on my way, leaving them to enjoy the peaceful morning, savoring their breakfast at Bistro Wicwas - a table with a view.

Morning on the lake