New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Hard to believe we ended up in one of the most profound droughts in recent times. Particularly northern New Hampshire seems to be faring the worse. Gee, just a week ago I was arm twisted to take my oldest granddaughter, Katie Martel, up to Acadia for the day. She landed at Maine Camp Thursday afternoon joining me after my early week arrival. We were on the road by six and let my Tesla pretty much take us along it's chosen route with a few hiccups in pea soup fog demanding my attention, with my hand already on the wheel it made no difference in speed. Despite each of us having a life pass the gate was darkened with the shutdown as we rolled through, I think around 8.

 

 Did first loop road and twisted about to make our planned Frenchmen Bay boat ride at 10:30. Pleasant cruise with eagles abundant, but I was surprised how few eiders I saw even though we weaved around several rocky shore islands. I'd say a definite must for at least once to Acadia. (there are videos on my YouTube channel and Facebook)  It was on this trip that the Great Maine Fire of 1947 was detailed as it consumed not just the mainland but much of the island including scores of mansions. All the more to worry with this extreme drought in the north country.

 

Camp Lake was as low as I've ever seen it, although an on and off rain on Wednesday brought it up a little. I did have my shotgun and was all licensed up to duck hunt. Which I sort of did. No I didn't bail the boat out and do my usual thing. First of all, the evening after I arrived, I stood on the shore loaded gun in hand in just to check out the duck situation and "read" them. For a first, as it was still in the 70's I had shorts on. Weird. Nary a duck, nor goose, did I see in two evenings watch. Weird. I just lugged my bag of decoys back up to camp. I saw a few other ducks in smaller ponds and upwards of a thousand geese on a huge lawn at lakes edge one town over. I have no clue why there were no ducks on the lake. And from our shore I can the majority of the lake. Yes, very weird. 

 

Back here in Epsom by Sunday afternoon the Suncook River is about as dry I have seen it except for a week or so ago. Still not much to see, and you really need to stop to see water flowing. It requires focus to see water moving now. Imagine that? And sound, well you can just forget a trickle sound, less you are nearly prone. This is the sixth or seventh drought year in the last decade, based on my memory. And this one seems to be topping them all in northern New Hampshire. In a way I'm encouraged by the words I heard from Kyle Lombard NH State Forest Disease expert. On losing our beech trees, he said "Our forests have face adversaries before and have survived." So, I guess there will be survivors. It just won't be the same as it is now.  

 

Just a note on this late summer Monarch butterfly survey I have been doing for a couple decades. I did a video around September 20th. Saw a few this year when I saw none last year despite multiple visits. Look for it. But here is a link to a Nature Note from 2006 when things were far different: