New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Standing on top of a school of stripers, and vanishing vernal pools in Epsom.

Tuesday 08/15/2006

But lets start with the highs. Monday I was checking on some habitat work being done on Fish and Game land along Great Bay. After I had left the site and was on my way around the Bay I stopped to check a small parcel of habitat and ended up walking out on to a small dock over Little Bay. A school of striped bass was hiding under the dock and darting out to grab numbers of hapless silverside minnows being pushed toward the dock by a very strong incoming tide. Although most were in the foot long size, some were quite at bit larger. In fact they practically were splashing me. It seemed like dozens of bass were right under my feet darting out sometimes from between my legs. So I stood a short while on top of a school of striped bass. I tried and tried to get a picture with my new Minolta Dimage X60 camera, but managed just one with a fish in it. My old Dimage X20, the best camera I have ever owned, died a couple weeks ago. This new "upgraded version" doesn't hold a candle to my old one. So I had lots of blurry pictures.

Monday evening as I was taking my hour-long evening hike in Bear Brook I came upon a whole cloud of dragon flies right over my head near the top of the hill I climb most evenings. So I went from a cloud of stripers under my feet in a feeding frenzy to a cloud of dragon flies over my head in a feeding frenzy, in less than five hours.

My low for the day was driving by a new development in Epsom on Swamp Road. Eight houses have been, or are being, constructed this summer on this road near the junction of Mountain View Road. This is the far end of my annual spotted salamander census route. It WAS the very best salamander crossing spot. One night two or three years ago there were 16 salamanders crossing right between the two small roadside vernal pools. Lined up like Civil War solders marching in formation. Although the two small vernal pools were not the place the salamanders stopped, they were full of quacking wood frogs and later toads claimed them. This was the loudest group of wood frogs on my tour for salamanders. Now these two small vernal pools are completely filled with sediment. They have simply been wiped out by the erosion from the soon to be nice lawns. The folks will never know the damage these houses have caused to the environment because when the hear nothing next spring that will be normal. And so it goes, more wildlife takes a hit. I suppose even if these pools had not been filled with sediment, they would have been drained or filled in by the residents fearing West Nile or Triple EEE because of the mosquitos there. Oh, the ones the frogs were eating for free. No doubt any life would be killed off by the chemicals soon to be used to treat the lawns any ways. Plus these new houses will mean lots of new traffic. I'm talking "salamander killing" rainy night traffic. We'll see. I'll be running my route next April houses or not.

The Suncook River has finally started looking more summer like. I sat on Rick's deck with him Tuesday evening through sun down right at river's edge. The current was barely carting things by. From my view here the maple that broke off a month ago upriver, and nearly crosses the river, is now turning brown. Yesterday I began to see a number of red maples really turning orange along the edges of several wetlands. This is a week, or more, early. Whether it was the cool nights of the last week; It was 45 degrees here Sunday morning at 4:45 am when I left to go to meet up with Jean for our trip to fish out of Boston Harbor. Perhaps all the water this year has stressed these trees more than usual. Any ways, take a look along the edges of swamps and wetlands for some very fall-looking trees NOW.

Oh yes, there was the trip Sunday with Joe Brown out to his "cod hole" for some fun fishing. We left the dock in Boston Harbor a little after 6 and ran into some chopping seas beyond the harbor. We were kind of beat up on the three hour ride out past the 50 mile marker according to his GPS unit. This is nearly the distance from his dock in Boston Harbor to my house in Epsom, as the crow flies. But by noon the seas had calmed enough to make the fishing real enjoyable. We all caught some fish, although Jean was cranking them in the best. At one point he said "Reel this one in for me." I landed a nice haddock for him. Lots of cusks, with numbers of cod and a few haddock for the day-long trip. It was close to 6:00 PM before we were back in. It was the next day before my head stopped thinking we were still out at sea. Everything kept moving around me. Not sea sickness, I was lucky there, just a bobbing sensation. It was a grand trip in any case.

My evening hikes are showing me anxious and moving wildlife. I have seen several flocks of black birds moving southward. Ducks and geese are flocking and moving lots at days end, although certainly not migrating yet. Monarch butterflies are though. Most movement just seems to be southward by my observations.