Violent weather may be coming through this area today (8/3) after passing through the Midwest and spawning many funnel clouds in its path.
We’ve had a few showers this week which meant I didn’t have to water the garden or flowers.
My bee balm patch is growing much to the delight of the local hummers. Six to eight are frolicking in them most of the daylight hours.
The size and number of fires are growing out west and Californians are hoping El Nino will be coming soon before they burn up. Most of the other western states and Alaska also have many fires burning.
Due to lack of manpower, in Alaska they’ve had to pick and choose which fires to fight and which ones to let burn.
It is drier in this area than many people realize, if my pond outlet is any indication.
Last summer the water stopped running only two days, but this year it’s been almost three weeks already.
My four painted turtles have plenty of places to sit on rocks along the shore to sun themselves.
They come out to snag a few pellets for dinner when I feed the trout.
Even though the winter was cold, snowy and long, many does have come off with twin fawns…a couple even have triplets.
Karen saw a bear crossing the road with triplets just above the house when she came home the other night.
The wetter than normal month of June caused the loss of many turkey and grouse nests. Wet conditions are not good even if the chicks hatched as the parents have a problem keeping them warm and fed.
Also many duck and goose nests were flooded out. The ducks may have renested but to the joy of shore owners the geese have not.
These wet conditions also had an effect on nesting song birds as there seems to be a lack of babies out and about.
These birds are beginning to molt so they become more silent this time of the year. Many have already taken off for the southern climate.
Last year a pair of loons in the eastern Adirondacks tried to nest four times with two eggs in each nest.
A local mink had lunch every time the loons tried to nest. This year they had a successful nest the first time they tried.
The first time I checked in June I had a pair of loons on Limekiln Lake that had a nest with one egg in the nest and one egg in the water.
I collected the egg in the water and the next week when I checked the other egg was in the water.
About a week later I found a nest on another island with two eggs. The nest was high and dry so I thought it would make it through the high water. But a predator hit the nest and took one egg.
The adults wouldn’t go back on the nest and the egg got cold so I collected that one also.
The male of the pair is banded and has a GEO locator attached to his band.
When I checked a couple weeks later the male followed me over to where they had nested the first time.
I was going to GPS the nest site and when I looked in, there was the female sitting on their third nest.
The male swam under my canoe several times before I got out of the area. I could see his bands clearly under the water.
It seems like it took forever for this pair to get these eggs hatched.
They went through the big Fourth of July weekend with canoes and kayaks paddling by and bigger boats pulling skiers and tubers, but this nest was well hidden and they were both good sitters.
I went by on what I thought was hatch day (7/24) and sure enough there was a chick sitting next to dad in the nest.
That night there was a pounding rain storm and they brought off both chicks onto the lake.
The next day I saw them back in the bay, back-riding on dad as mom fished not far away.
These parents went through a lot of effort, so I hope these chicks survive and are able to fly away in the fall.
Starting August 10 we will be loon banding in the area for three nights.
You may see our light show during the night on area lakes: Limekiln, Sixth, Seventh, Rondaxe, Little Moose, Woodhull, Little Safford, First, South and North Lakes.
Fishing line on loons and other birds… but that’s another story. See ya.