September 9, 2012

I didn't get out much this week, as it is a busy time with fall chores kicking in, but I did see the loon chick on one trip around the lake.  No pictures, but it is starting to lose its baby fuzz and develop more mature markings, particularly on its head and beak.  It was also quite distant from its parents, the first time I've seen them apart. 

I took a run up to Crocket's Ledge on Saturday.  Though I didn't see any wildlife, I did find a plethora of mushrooms springing up everywhere.  Large clumps of them, and some of pretty good size.  Maybe next week I'll take some pictures.  For now, there was one new variety I found that was interesting enough that I had to look it up.  It is called a Crown-tipped Coral.

Crown-tipped Coral  (Artomyces pyxidatus)

This fungus is reportedly edible (though I'll pass) and the name is appropriately descriptive;  up close you can see where they got the crow-tipped part.

On the way back from Crocket's Ledge I saw a baby-blue car driving down Chemung Road, and I knew right away what it was up to.  So I stopped at the boat landing and sure enough, it turned onto the ramp.  It stopped for minute to prepare its metamorphosis,

 and then, it drove right into Lake Wicwas!

It took a moment to get it's mode of propulsion rearranged,

and it was off!

I've seen this amphibious vehicle before, but never got this close a look at it.  It has twin props, a high exhaust pipe, and another probe on the right side that I don't recognize - perhaps it's the bilge pump. 

This is an "Amphicar", built in Germany from 1961 through 1965.  It's a pretty cool machine, but I don't think I'd like to encounter much of a rough sea in it.  Plus, it has a British power-plant - an engine made by Triumph.  British cars were notorious for their electrical systems - I can't imagine how reliable it is when surrounded by water!

Quite a sight cruising the waters of Lake Wicwas!

Closer to the house, doing the end-of-summer errands, I found a couple of nice spider webs collecting their fall harvest.  The spider who made this web was an overachiever, as it had captured two dragon-flies.

It must make a pretty darn strong web to keep these large insects captive, and it certainly will eat well for the next few days.  I didn't see the homeowner though.

A second web didn't have any big customers, but it did have a beautiful web.

And this one was definitely at home, right in the middle of its web waiting for its meal.

There are plenty of other signs that autumn is coming, beyond the fabulous blue sky and water that graced the lake today.  Acorns are falling now, and it's looking like a good year for them, which will be appreciated by many animals, including the deer and turkey. 

I think these two objects are also the product of oak trees. 

I haven't found a reliable source of information yet, but the best I can discern is that they are called "galls", and are caused by insects laying eggs on an oak bud.  The oak grows a barrier around it, and the larvae develops inside.  That would explain why they always have a hole in them.

Of course, the most visible sign of the coming season is also becoming evident.

August 28, 2012

Although the Osprey captured the headlines last weekend and is still at the lake, there is a lot of other activity taking place around Lake Wicwas as the days get shorter, the weather cooler, and the animals become a bit more active.   The cooler nights and warm water are creating misty mornings already.

After seeing very little fox activity this summer - almost no scat on the trails - I captured this Gray Fox one night last week as he prowled for dinner around the mini-cooper.

Gray Fox

I  identified a new butterfly this week - an American Painted Lady.  What I found fascinating about this butterfly is how completely different the two sides of its wings are.   The dorsal side of the wings are orange with black and white spots,

American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)

while the ventral side has some pink coloring and two large eye spots.

If I didn't follow it and see the two poses, I wouldn't have know it was the same insect.


Then there was a pretty little lady bug playing hide and seek with me on Linda's flowers.

On a morning kayak I found three ducks in a marsh  - either mallards or black ducks, I believe.

On the same trip I also found two herons scouting for fish close together;  usually I see only one at a time in a given area.  The bird sitting in the middle of a white pine has quite a set of feathers on its neck!

Back to the larger animals, I came upon a small herd of deer on Saturday.  There were at least four adults - they heard me and one started snorting as I froze still.  They all moved off in different directions and soon I was surrounded by them, as I watched them moving through the trees.  But the fawn that was with them was not so careful.  It also played pee-a-boo with me

before it slowly walked off to join the elders.

Always curious - perhaps even more so when they are young. Although it is good size, it still has its spots.

Finally, an update on our loon chick - it continues to grow quickly, but is still well behind last year's chick due to the second nesting and subsequent late hatching

Here is this year's chick, compared to last year's chick as it looked on about the same date last year.  Quite a difference.

August 25, 2012

August 21, 2011

But as long as this beautiful weather keeps up, it will have enough time to be ready for flight by ice-in.
 

August 26, 2012 - Osprey!

A quintessential New Hampshire summer weekend:  warm, sunny, calm and humid, but not oppressive.  So it was no surprise when we heard the crash of an osprey into a placid Lake Wicwas in the late afternoon.  We had been watching hundreds of fingerling fish rising quietly at the surface for quite some time, and evidently, the fish-hawk was doing the same.  It certainly is a startling sound - an osprey crashing into the lake - and it gets one's attention quickly enough that it is easy enough to find it flying up out of the water after its dive.

The next day was a repeat of the perfect weather, so we went out on the kayaks to see if it was still in the neighborhood.  It didn't take long to get the answer.  Just  few minutes down the cove we heard an osprey calling out.  In fact we heard two of them calling to each other, one on each side of the cove, and saw one of them sitting in their favorite position - a branch about 30 feet high overhanging the lake. 

Osprey

It soon circled out over the lake and assumed a new perch on a dead tree right at the point of an island.  We heard it calling to the other osprey on the opposite side of the cove.

But we couldn't locate the second.  I have no idea if they are a mating pair;  I have not seen nor heard of an osprey nest in the area, but they will fish up to twelve miles away from their nest.

The bird seemed unconcerned with us down on the lake in kayaks, and we spend a long time watching it - and vice versa.

When it first landed it was hanging its wings down, like the cormorants do - perhaps drying its feathers?

It spend a long time preening itself, working deep in its feathers.

It seemed to be able to turn its head around completely backwards, just like and owl.

Also like an owl, an osprey can turn two of its talons around backwards, which is helpful in grasping fish and carrying them away.  Here, its left foot has two talons back, while the right foot has one rear facing.

Here's a view from the front, when it had reversed its grasp.

Ospreys and Owls are the only raptors that can do this.  How'd you like to have these weapons piercing into you?  You can see why they rarely drop their lunch.

Their feet even have barbs on them to help hold their prey;  they are pretty well adapted to their situation.

At one point after its preening, it fluffed up its feathers, looking like something from a Disney cartoon. 

I don't know the purpose of this, and didn't find anything about this behavior in my research.  It's possible it decided it didn't like us watching, and was trying to look bigger to scare us off, but there was no other behavior that indicated this.

Eventually it prepared for take-off, and flew down the lake a bit for better a fishing site - or one not shared by humans.  We let it alone. 

From my observations, osprey perch on a lee shore where the flat water gives them optimum conditions for seeing fish below the surface.  They can dive into the water as much as three feet, but not much more, so they only hunt in deeper water when fish are schooling on the surface - such as this time of year in Lake Wicwas.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a good source of information on birds, and provided much of this information;  their web page on osprey is http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/osprey/lifehistory.

They are a pretty imrpressive creature.