My favorite!
Once again it is strawberry season. I spent an hour or two of Saturday morning picking fresh, ripe strawberries at Edgewater Farm in Plainfield – while a bald eagle flew to and from its nest high in a pine tree between the field and the Connecticut River. According to friends who shared these strawberries for dessert on Sunday, they were some of the tastiest strawberries ever!
Winter becomes spring, and the animals are busy.
It was like a switch had flipped. February here in New Hampshire was snowy and consistently cold – the temperature never rose above freezing, which led to a fantastic season for outdoor winter activities. But on the first of March the weather immediately started to warm. The lower elevations of Lyme, where I deploy my wildlife cameras, lost all their snow — only to see the snow return twice in brief snowstorms. My wanders through the forests of Lyme led me to discover exciting new locations to capture video of wildlife activity… and to meet some of these critters face to face! Read on.
Who knows why, but the osprey have moved on.
It has been 10 days since I last saw the osprey building a nest, just upriver from here. Unfortunately, they seem to have given up and sought a better location. I saw one osprey, in flight, over the weekend – but not near the nest. One day, when I went to investigate, I found this fellow sitting in a nearby tree. I imagine eagles and osprey compete for territory – they both dine primarily on fish, especially when living alongside a river – and so the osprey may have been pushed out.
Notice the small, dark bird above and to his left. They both sat in contented companionship for tens of minutes, while I watched.
Continue reading “Eagle replaces Osprey?”A new couple is building a home in our neighborhood.
When I row my shell upriver, I pass a manufactured nesting platform – a tall telephone pole with a crude wooden frame nailed on top. It stands on a tiny spit of land, adjacent to the river, and separated from River Road by a small wetland favored by ducks and redwing blackbirds. The pole was placed there by NH Fish & Game to encourage osprey to nest here… but I’ve only seen it occupied once in 25+ years. Last week, as I rowed by, I saw a few dead sticks sitting atop the platform. Hey! That’s new. I paused. Sure enough, a few moments later, an osprey flapped by, carrying a stick, and added it to the growing pile. I rowed quickly home, grabbed my camera gear, and drove up the road where I could get a better view. Over the course of three mornings, I’ve enjoyed watching the two osprey as they build their nest. They don’t need to look far for materials – I’ve seen them flap over to a neighboring snag, grab a dead branch with their talons, snap it off, and bring it back. It is slow, methodical work! Check out the photo gallery, including a video.
From what Wikipedia says about osprey, it sounds like they may be here for another 10-15 weeks until the nest is built, eggs are laid, and chicks are fledged. Many more photos to come!
I also discovered the Osprey Watch website – I’ll check that out next week.
all good things…
I enjoy sculling (rowing) on the river, in the early mornings, from May through October. Prior to May, the water is too cold for to be out on the water alone; after October, the air is often too cold. (My personal threshold is forty degrees; rowing in 30-degree weather is far too chilly!) Darkness is also a factor this time of year… it’s too dark to see before 7am.
Some years, though, I manage to sneak in one or two more outings in the first days of November, when the weather holds and my calendar allows. This morning I enjoyed one final spin up the river, passing the few remaining ducks, geese, and other migrating birdlife. (On a recent outing, I saw four bald eagles!)
Time to wash and stow the shell until spring… and with snow flurries in the air three days ago, it’s time to dig out the snow-season equipment!
Let’s get winter going… please?
Back here in New Hampshire, it has a been a gray and drizzly week. So it was with great pleasure that today dawned sunny and cold – well below freezing, as it should be for January. (We’re still facing crazy conditions, though, with nights below freezing and days above freezing, a major confusion for the maple trees who think spring has already come!)
The Connecticut River is wide open – it can’t freeze over in these conditions. The water lapping at the shore’s edge, though, can produce some entrancing patterns where water meets rock in freezing temperatures.
This photo spans only one or two feet across, and the water has receded somewhat… leaving ultra-thin sheet of ice high and dry. Beautiful!
I first spotted the beaver by his wake – gliding smoothly out from shore, just downstream of the dock. I placed my rowing shell gently into the water, keeping one eye on my busy downstream neighbor. He arched his back, slapped his tail loudly, and dove… only to emerge a few seconds later, a few meters away. I sat still, and watched. He looked at me. I looked at him. He paddled along, zig-zagging upstream ever closer to me, clearly curious to see who (or what) I was, and what I might be up to. My fingers itched for my smartphone – only 10 meters away, on shore where I’d left it – but to stand up and fetch it, I knew, would spoil the moment. The beaver swam ever closer, his eyes on me every moment.
Eventually – for the moment seemed to last, though it was surely only one or two minutes – he pulled alongside the dock, keeping a safe distance of five meters, watching me from the side as he paddled strongly upstream.
Then a sudden SLAP and he dove again. The moment was gone; I readied my shell to row, and he resumed his course across the river.
It’s moments like these when I wish I had a camera, or even a smartphone. No such luck today! The photo above is from a sequence I shot in 2017.
Today’s beaver may have been the same fellow whose photo I shared in April:
Camera practice.
I took a short paddle today on the river beside our home, and came across some ducks … and some fast-flying insect-catching birds. I welcome tips about the name of these birds! Update: it appears to be an Eastern Kingbird.
A joy to be back out on the river!
Finally. May has arrived, the docks are in, and the morning weather is warm enough for me to get out my shell and make a quick sculling trip before work.
Ever since the time I capsized in early April, some years ago – it was my first outing of the year, I was a bit rusty – and I experienced first-hand the danger of spring water sports when one is tossed into near-freezing water that can bring on hypothermia in minutes… I’ve set a personal rule not to row until May. Furthermore, throughout the season, I don’t row if the air temp is below 40º. Call me wimpy, but I skip sculling when it is raining or windy. I’m out there solo, so it’s best to be safe.
Today was a beautiful morning, with air temp (at the riverside) about 41º … and for the first time, just for yucks, I measured the water temp: 53º. Glad to say I stayed above the water today.
Time to get out on the river!
With the warm weather this weekend, it’s finally time to get back onto the river. I pulled out the kayak and headed downriver to the mouth of Hewes Brook. On a tiny island, inches above the level of the river, I found a Canada Goose guarding her nest.
Shortly downriver, another goose hesitated until I was near, then launched out of the water and into the air.
On that island, a bit bigger, is a beaver lodge dating back several years.
Is it still occupied? I’ll check again another day.
See the full-resolution gallery for more/better pictures.
David Kotz 