Phenological Phacts and Photos with Carl Martland / May 2021

Ice Out!

Late April and Early May

Phenology – “a branch of science concerned with the relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena (as the migration of birds or the flowering and fruiting of plants).

“Ice out!”  The pond is finally free of ice, which is a big deal in the North Country.  For me, it’s a sign that the long winter is coming to a close, that it’s time to put the old Adirondack chair back out by the pond, and a reminder to take in the bird feeders.  For migrating geese and mergansers, the newly open ponds offer a place to attract a mate, seek a nesting spot, or simply find enough food to power flights to Canada.  For wood frogs, it’s time to get the earliest possible start in the vernal pools and small ponds.  For turtles, it’s time to wake up, limp to the pond, and wash off the mud that encrusts their shells after their long, dormant winter hidden away in a hole not far from their favorite pond.

Each year, the timing is a little different. This year, after temperature averaged close to 60 degrees in late March, our pond was nearly ice-free by April 2nd (above photo). More often, ice doesn’t break up until much later in April.

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Photos and text by Carl D. Martland, a founding member of ACT and a long-time resident of Sugar Hill. Quotations from his journals indicate the date of and the situation depicted in each photograph.

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At first, there are only a few open spots along the shore:

April 22, 2018. The pond remains iced over, except for small strips of open water at the edge of the cattails.

A cold snap may fill up these open edges and freeze any puddles melted atop the ice, but warmer weather eventually wins out.  The ice keeps thinning, begins to rot, and then just disappears.  In 2019, our pond went from iced over to “Ice Out!” in just a couple of warm days starting on April 19th.  As soon as any open water was available, some of the usual suspects showed up:

April 19, 2019, 70 degrees, mostly cloudy, 10:45am.  The pond is only 10% ice-free, but 80% of the grey ice is quickly rotting away.  A pair of hooded mergansers have just flown in, and they are having no trouble breaking through and creating a wider opening. The first wood frogs have arrived, but they are very shy, making only a few of their quacking calls.  Several hopped into the pond as I approached, but the first one I saw was floating on a tiny iceberg that was only an inch-and-a-half across!  At 8pm, it was still 66 degrees, and I could hear peepers and wood frogs from Jane’s Pond, which, like ours, is still half iced over.  The mergansers decided to stay for the night, and snipe are calling, seemingly far overhead, but never – as usual – making themselves visible.

Time to Take a Bath

Painted turtles spend the long winter hidden away in a small hole somewhere not too far from a pond.  In spring, when the ground has thawed enough to let them emerge, they make their way to the pond.  In April 2019, a couple of days after the hooded mergansers and wood frogs showed up, I came upon a medium-sized painted turtle slowly – very slowly! – making its way to the water.  Its shell was still covered with mud, and it had spent all its energy in getting out into the open:

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April 21, 2019, 1130am, 66 degrees: A painted turtle sat on a mossy root about five feet from the SW corner of the pond. It was so sluggish that I not only took many pictures, I was able to pick it up and measure its shell, which was 4.5 inches long.

Spring Weekend

Each year, frogs and toads come to the pond to breed, led by the wood frogs who begin to assemble as soon as vernal pools and small ponds start to open up. These frogs spend the winter buried somewhere in the woods, where they also spend most of the rest of the year. However, like college students sick of studying, they love to gather for one big “Spring Weekend” at the beach. At the first sign of open water, a few males make their way toward the pond, quacking only now and then. For a day or two, we hear more frogs approaching, coming from different directions to converge upon a spot where small inlets are found among the cattails or under overhanging tree branches. And then the party begins, the quacking grows louder, and finally, the females show up.

A female frog releases hundreds of eggs, which are fertilized by a male that has grabbed onto her back in a position called “amplexus”.  Since two or more males may try to grab on at the same time, it is good that the females are much larger and stronger than the males.  When she wants to take a breath, she can rise to the surface, taking the males along with her.

Photo: April 14, 2020. First day of wood frogs “Spring Weekend” at our pond.

Each female releases a cluster of a hundred or more eggs, and more than a hundred of these clusters might be found massed together within an area of just a few square yards. The party lasts only two or three days, and then the frogs head back to the woods.

The egg masses are slimy, and I have often seen newts slipping and sliding over and under them, presumably enjoying the sensation.  In this photo, taken on April 23, 2017, you can see the recently-laid eggs along with the strange shell of a caddis fly larva. Tadpoles had emerged from these eggs by May 4th but mostly swarmed within a few feet of the empty egg masses.

Brilliant Birds, Unusual Birds

“Ice Out” is also the signal to watch for migrating birds.  Some of the most interesting birds pass through late April and early May, including flickers, mergansers, and purple finches.  And once in a while, if you keep your eyes open, you may see a rare visitor, such as one of the yellowlegs.

This purple finch sat in the spruce tree in our back yard, chewing on a seed it had just taken from our feeder (Photo. April 25, 2015). These finches will show up at a feeder along with the similarly colored house finches.  If you are lucky enough to hear one of them singing, you will never forget it:

April 7-8, 2001.  I went snowshoeing in the Lower 40, A few birds were around, including a purple finch whose song was so splendid and so varied that I mistook it for a flock of songbirds.

May 4, 2018, cloudy, 74 degrees, 230. I first noticed this flicker’s red neck mark bobbing in the grass about 15 yards ahead as I walked along our dam. I stayed at least 20 feet away, and it didn’t care my watching as it poked first in the grass, then near the alder clump, and finally down on the shore where it pecked on rotted stumps of an older alder clump

We often see Canada Geese and Common Mergansers at Coffin Pond in the spring. However, the mergansers are generally quite skittish, flying to the opposite side of the pond rather than posing for a photo. Photo: April 24, 2016.

May 11, 2019. A lesser yellowlegs popped up as I approached the far end of the pond; it called, then flew across the end of the pond, landing on the shore by the dock. It stayed there, calling, while two Canada geese swam by.

Phenological Phacts and Photos with Carl Martland / Apr 2021

Harbingers of Spring

Late March & Early April

Phenology – “a branch of science concerned with the relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena (as the migration of birds or the flowering and fruiting of plants).

In the North Country, the vernal equinox comes well before what would readily be recognized as spring. Snow still covers the ground, ice hides the ponds, and tan beech leaves still refuse to fall, despite carrying a little load of snow. Although spring remains a long way off, we happily look for signs, however small, that the long winter is coming to a close. Squirrels, hares, and other small animals are more active now, as evidenced by the networks of tracks that can be seen after an inch or so of fluffy snow falls upon a hardened underlayer. Of course, if the small mammals are more active, that is bound to attract weasels, hawks and other predators.

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Photos and text by Carl D. Martland, a founding member of ACT and a long-time resident of Sugar Hill. Quotations from his journals indicate the date of and the situation depicted in each photograph.

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March 13, 2021, 32 degrees, mostly sunny. Bushwhacking back from Foss Woods, I came across some otter tracks, which led me to my own trails and out into the Upper Meadow. The hind print was 4.5 inches long.

Something Special – a Sharp-Shinned Hawk (3/11/2021)

Every morning I look out the window to see if any birds have perched in the dead branches at the top of an old sugar maple across the street from our house. At this time of the year, a small flock of blue jays or starlings is likely to be scattered over these branches, preening their feathers and perhaps deciding whose feeder to visit next. But last week, a lone light-fronted bird peered across the fields, a bit too large and certainly too solitary to be a blue jay. That’s the time to fetch the camera and, to use what used to be an unambiguous phrase, “zoom in.” Certainly not a blue jay, but a hawk. Guidebook, please. OK, striped tail feathers and general shape indicate either a Cooper’s or a sharp-shinned hawk. Small head and rough streaks on its breast are decisive: it’s a sharp-shinned hawk.

Sparrows, yes, but which ones?

Birds are quicker to recognize spring than we are.  As we’re still huddling beside our wood stoves and thinking of skiing and tracking, different birds are showing up by the feeder and along the roadways.  Sparrows, rarely if ever seen during the darkest months, start to show up in late March or early April, unmindful of the snow on the ground so long as some seeds can be found by the feeder or in the widening patches of open lawn. 

If they stay still long enough for a photo, you have a better chance of seeing the details required for proper identification. Note the song sparrow’s broad, dark lateral throat stripe, the pattern of its head stripes, and the streaks converging to a dark spot on its chest. The tree sparrow has a large, bi-colored beak, a dark central spot on its lightly streaked chest, and white wing bars. The white-throated sparrow is readily identified by its brilliant yellow patches in front of its eye and the white patch on its throat that is so clearly differentiated from its grey breast and cheeks.

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April 16, 2018  A song sparrow on our back lawn. 

March 28, 2018 A tree sparrow by our feeder

April 28, 2016 A white-throated sparrow on our front lawn

The True Harbinger of Spring

In Boston, we viewed the first robin as the “harbinger of spring.”  Not up here. Nor do we over-react to the first redwing blackbird.  No, what we are waiting for is the first woodcock, for there is no one as excited by the true spirit of spring as the male woodcock.  He lands in an open spot in a reasonably flat, partially snow-covered, flattened field or meadow that is bordered by a protective line of trees and not too far from a small pond or brook.  He then utters that irresistible appeal to the female of that species: “peeent” – a sound that might be a wolf whistle through a kazoo.  He does this repeatedly, at intervals of several seconds, maybe just five times or maybe as many as fifty times, before suddenly taking off into the night, circling higher and higher, wider and wider, with the wind whistling through his wings emitting an eerie wail that will attract and entice any female (well, any female woodcock) within a half-mile.  Happy and excited, he flutters back to his mating grounds, looks hopefully for a mate, shrugs, and does it all over again.  And again.  For hours.  For days.  For weeks. 

March 28-31, 2012.  This year a flock of nearly two dozen robins showed up on the same day as the first woodcock, so I thought I may have been overly harsh on the notion that it’s woodcocks, not robins that announce that spring is near.   But then I followed the woodcock as it made its plaintive call and its soft coos, and I watched as it flew out up and around in huge circles, and I hid behind some small shrubs in the hopes that it would flutter down close to me and start all over again.  Have I ever done this with a flock of robins?  Has anyone?  No, and that’s why it’s the woodcock that has, in the North Country, earned the title “harbinger of spring.” 

March 25, 2021 55 degrees at 730pm.  The snow has started to melt, opening up some bare, muddy patches in the Upper Meadow and around the pond.  So, for the third night in a row, I decided to go out to listen for woodcock.  As soon as I stepped out, I heard the unmistakable “peeent”- the woodcock are here!  I slowly went out toward the pond and then stood still in a spot with good views toward the fields. Within a minute or less, one dropped down to a flat, muddy spot not ten feet away.  Quickly realizing that I wasn’t a tree, it flew down to the next little opening about twenty yards further along the trail next to the pond.  He went through his calls, flew off, circled, and landed a half dozen times in a half dozen different spots over the next half hour.

In the spring, when woodcock are only seen at dusk, I have never been able to get a good photograph of the birds. I’ve had better luck with short movies, even though the result is pretty much “film noire,” with the woodcock providing the only sounds.

March 27, 2020 —  A woodcock was calling at dusk from various spots below the dam.  I recorded his “peents” and took pictures of the site, but I couldn’t distinguish its pattern of browns and whites from the similar pattern of browns and whites of this bumpy, snow-speckled, flattened field.

The only time I have been able to get a photo of woodcock is in the fall when they sometimes stop by to forage for worms and insects in our backyard. Woodcock have an extraordinarily long bill, which is not only highly photogenic but also very useful for poking around a lawn or into mud in search of an insect or a worm.

October 9, 2020 — 34 degrees, 930-1000am. A pair of woodcock were feeding in the back lawn, staying in the shade on frost-bejeweled grass.

This Bud’s for You – for too many more weeks!

Now that the sun is higher and the days are longer, we are in danger of reacting to false signs of spring.  We find red buds at the tips of stems on our apple trees, or we see a reddish tinge to the tips of birch branches highlighted against an amazing blue sky.  But you must remember what our neighbor Harry Reid told us back in 1998 when we were excited to see these same signs of what we thought would be an early spring:  “Don’t get too excited – they will still just be buds well into May!”

March 13, 2021 — Birch Beauty

March 19, 2018 — Buds Brighten

Phenological Phacts and Photos with Carl Martland / Mar 2021

In the Bleak Mid-Winter

Late February - Early March

Phenology – “a branch of science concerned with the relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena (as the migration of birds or the flowering and fruiting of plants).

By early March, though heavy snowfalls are still likely, there are at least a few signs of spring. Birds are sprucing up for the coming courtship seasons, and the owls that we have heard so often hooting in the darkness might actually deign to make an appearance.  We start looking for a few adventurous birds arriving from points south, perhaps a couple redwings or even a stray robin, but we are more likely to see the same blue jays, chickadees, redpolls, juncos, finches and nuthatches that have been here for months.  More animals are out and about, however, and you might even see an insect:

March 3, 2020, 54 degrees, sunny! Great day!  I saw the first snow flea of the season, by the screen house.  More weasel tracks, both mink and fisher, along with mole, snowshoe hare, deer and red squirrel tracks.  Seems like more activity with the warmer weather.

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Photos and text by Carl D. Martland, a founding member of ACT and a long-time resident of Sugar Hill. Quotations from his journals indicate the date of and the situation depicted in each photograph.

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Changing Color:

Gold finches gather in small flocks by feeders throughout the winter, a time when their colors are so muted that they might as well be a bunch of unremarkable sparrows. By late-February, however, they display enough color to remind us why we’re so happy to see them in the summer.

February 15, 2016, minus 14 at 9am. The best group of finches we have yet seen gathered today at the feeder. A dozen goldfinches, a dozen purple finches, plus a couple of chickadees and a white-breasted nuthatch.One photo showed 26 birds on and around the feeder.

Otters on Ice:

Following tracks along through the forests and over frozen wetlands can make for a pleasant afternoon trying to figure out what the animal was doing and where it was going.  We sometimes come across a foot-wide furrow in the snow made by deer walking back and forth for many days between their favorite places to eat or sleep. Other times we find a place where two sets of tracks converge – and only one set continues, possibly a fox that is not quite so hungry as it had been a while earlier. A couple of times we’ve been lucky to come across an otter’s tracks along an iced-over brook, but it was not until last March that we actually came upon a pair of otters out on a frozen wetland.

February 20, 1999, 30 degrees and sunny…we followed otter tracks all along Salmon Hole Brook, which was frozen enough to walk on in most places. Along the way, we came upon two holes cut in 4 inches of ice, apparently by beavers, since we saw beaver prints in the snow at the edge of one of them. There was an otter slide near the other one.

March 16, 2020, 30 degrees, beautiful, 5pm. We walked over the fields of Whipple Farm down to the ice-covered swamp. A dark spot on the far side of the ice wasn’t the log it appeared to be. No, it moved – it was an otter!  Another one watched from the shore. I managed a couple of photos before they both disappeared into the brush.

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Note:  Whipple Farm, the 20-acre field next to Polly’s Pancake Parlor, is owned by ACT.  If you walk up and over the hillside, you come down to a line of firs at the edge of the wetlands. In the winter, and only in the winter, you will surely be able to walk a long way along the shore, but I can’t guarantee that you will see an otter.

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Something Special – Seeing a Barred Owl

Barred owls are the opposite of the well-behaved child – seldom seen, but often heard. It has been called the “eight-hooter”, because of its familiar call: “Who hoots for you! Who hoots for you!”  Many of us have tried hooting back and forth with these beautiful creatures on a warm spring evening, but the best time to see them is in late winter.  My journals only record six sightings in more than twenty years, and three of these were in the second week of March. That’s why I’m planning to take a couple of trips into the woods over the next few weeks.

March 11, 2005.  A barred owl flew across Pearl Lake Road below where the power lines pass overhead.

March 9, 2007, 30 degrees, clear, still 2-3 feet of snow. I snowshoed out to Foss Woods, following the path I had broken last week. As I entered the poplar cut area, I saw a barred owl, which slowly flew off one tree, went to another about 10 yards away. I watched a bit, then walked and hooted – it ignored my call and flew another 20 yards and sat in the top of another tree.

March 9, 2011.  Yesterday, I ran into my neighbor Jeannie Munro, who was excited about a barred owl that had perched for hours by her bird feeder, presumably waiting for an unsuspecting chickadee or red squirrel to show up for some seeds. Today she called to tell me that the owl was back, so I hurried over to take some photos.

Early Check-In

Redwing blackbirds are usually the first summer bird to return in the spring, often with a flock of other blackbirds.  The earliest I have seen one in Sugar Hill was on March 5th in 2018 (photo).  Last year, a scout arrived on the 7th, and the full platoon was here three days later.

March 7, 2020, 20 degrees, 8am.  A lone redwing, the first of the year, joined a group of at least 16 blue jays feeding on the seeds I’d dropped by the spruce.

March 10, 2020.Yesterday, we heard some redwings calling by the still-frozen pond.Today, about two dozen were by the spruce, enjoying the birdseed spread out for them.

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Phenological Phacts and Photos with Carl Martland / Feb 2021

In the Bleak Mid-Winter

February

Phenology – “a branch of science concerned with the relationship between climate and periodic biological phenomena (as the migration of birds or the flowering and fruiting of plants).

February, fortunately, is the shortest month, for it is also the coldest.  But now the days are longer, the snow is deeper, and the sun is a little more likely to break through the winter clouds.  The birds at the feeder by now are old friends, but with no disrespect to the blue jays and the chickadees, we hope for something a little different, like a flock of turkeys passing through the yard or an unexpected visitor from the south.  So, keep an eye on the bird feeder, but know there are more hours of daylight to spend in the woods listening to woodpeckers, following weasel tracks through the meadows and thickets, and looking for odd bits of life and color in places that we overlook during the abundance of summer and fall.

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Photos and text by Carl D. Martland, a founding member of ACT and a long-time resident of Sugar Hill. Quotations from his journals indicate the date of and the situation depicted in each photograph.

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Turkey Trot:

By mid-winter, last year’s young turkeys have pretty much grown to the size of the adults, but they still group together as they search through the meadows and forests seeking a bit for supper.  According to my records, they seem particularly active on Valentine’s Day.

February 14, 2008 — A flock of turkeys wandered through the back yard, through the gap in the hedge, and out into the Upper Meadow. (Photo)

February 14, 2015 — Nancy saw a flock of eight to ten turkeys gathered around an apple tree just past the power lines. A couple were up in the tree going after the small brown apples, perhaps knocking them on the ground so the others could get them.

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Winter Vacation?

Birds are supposed to fly south for the winter, so what was this cardinal doing in Sugar Hill in February?

February 5-7, 2019 —  A male cardinal has visited the feeder three days in a row.  I don’t recall ever seeing one here before, even in summer, although I once saw one in Franconia as we were eating lunch at a picnic table behind the Dairy Bar. 

Something Special – A Frozen Fisher Track

Once in a while, I come upon fisher tracks after walking through woods filled with tracks left by deer, snowshoe hares, squirrels, and other small mammals and turkeys.  A good fisher print will show five clawed toes, like other weasels, but its large size and nearly circular shape are diagnostic.

February 19, 2017 — I followed fisher tracks through the low, marshy area of Foss Woods.  One nearly perfect print was frozen where the fisher had splashed into a slushy spot.   I stuck my comb next to the frozen print to show that it was over four inches wide

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Bits of Brilliance

Despite months of cold weather, snow, and ice, a few bits of color can still be found in the woods.  When walking through a wintry wood, even the tiniest bits of color are worth a photo.  Of course, berries that are beautiful beyond belief in February might never have caught your eye before the world turned white.

February 8, 2020 — The skies turned bright blue following yesterday’s ice storm. I wandered around the Back 4, taking photos of the snow-crusted trees, shrubs, limbs, leaves, and some remarkably brilliant ice-covered red berries.

Introducing Rosalind Page, ACT’s Acting Executive Director

ACT is pleased to announce that our friend and longtime partner, Rosalind Page, is stepping into the role of Interim Executive Director. 

Rosalind and her dog Stella getting cozy above the gorgeous view of Pearl Lake.

For those who have not had the pleasure of meeting Rosalind yet, she is a 9-year veteran of the ACT board. She served as the Board Chair for 6 of those years before her term ended in 2018. Rosalind has continued her connection to ACT as a current volunteer with our lands committee. She and her husband Tom also have special ties to ACT as conservation landowners since 2005, finishing a project started by the previous owner.

Rosalind brings a deep understanding of both the conservation work as well as the needs of our communities. She has 40 years of surveying experience and has owned her own surveying company since 1993. Rosalind's connection to our region is deep and based in listening so that even the smallest of voices are heard. Beyond her time spent with ACT she is also a volunteer Lisbon Conservation Commission member, chairs the Lisbon Planning Board, and is the Lisbon representative on the North Country Transportation Council. Her work to advocate for the good of the whole in these roles ties back wonderfully to the conservation and community vitality work you support as members of ACT. 

We have a lot to be excited about in adding Rosalind to ACT’s team. In stepping into the role, we will remain dedicated to our mission of leading and inspiring action to conserve land in the North Country. Work that you know is more important than ever in these times. 

Thank you to our hard working staff, volunteers, members, and supporters for your dedication to conservation and community. We would not be this strong and resilient without your unwavering commitment to this work and know we can look to the future together with an incredible sense of hope.

Learn “What's Up” this August with Gary G - Helping You Experience the Night Sky

Member, volunteer, and astronomy enthusiast, Gary Ghioto is keeping us curious this August about the night’s sky! Follow ACT on Facebook to see when Gary’s got new fun facts and observation tips about how to get the most of your star gazing. Find previous posts by searching for #ACTAdAstra on Facebook.

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Click on the image to use as a visual guide.

So Gary, what's up in August? 

August is a perfect month to explore three constellations and three bright stars marking the famous Summer Triangle.

Just go outside after dark and look straight up.

The beautiful blue-white star gleaming overhead is Vega, the crown jewel of the constellation Lyra, the lyre. Author Richard Hinckley Allen of Star-Names Their Lore and Meanings says the parallelogram-shaped constellation represents the "fabled musical instrument invented by Hermes and given to his half-brother Apollo, who in turn transferred it to his son Orpheus, the musician of the Argonauts."

Using the August star map (see “Star Gazing Observation Tip” below) and Vega as your guide, look about 10 degrees (the width of your outstretched closed fist) downward to the Southeast to find Altair, another brilliant blue-white star of the summer night sky. Altair marks the eye of the constellation Aquila, the eagle.

Next, use the map or simply trace a line from Altair upwards and to the east to find the next star completing the Summer Triangle: Deneb, the lead star of the constellation Cygnus, the swan. Deneb marks the tail of this sprawling constellation which truly looks like a gigantic swan flying with outstretched wings across the star clouds of the Milky Way.

The Summer Triangle becomes readily apparent when you group Vega, Deneb and Altair together.

Use whatsoutonight.com to find and download a PDF with tons of useful information about the August night sky. Once you have your map, go outside and let your eyes adjust to the night for at least 20 minutes then start your exploration. Use a flashlight with a red filter to shine on your map to protect your night vision.

Another great resource for the budding astronomer is Stellarium a newly emerging accessible and fun tool for anyone with basic computer skills to discover the wonders of the heavens. Use the free website and software at stellarium-web.org. There are also Stellarium tutorials on YouTube.

Please share your comments, questions, and photos in the comments section below.

Ad astra (to the stars)!

Learn “What's Up” with Gary G - Helping You Experience the Night Sky

Welcome member, volunteer, and astronomy enthusiast, Gary Ghioto, to ACT’s blog! Adding to Gary’s Facebook posts will also be blog posts with more information to help you decipher our stars, planets, and constellations. Find previous posts by searching for #ACTAdAstra on Facebook.

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Click on the image to use as a visual guide.

So, what's up this week? A little help in finding two of the most beautiful summer constellations*: Sagittarius and Scorpius. Right now, in the early evening, blazing Jupiter and yellowish Saturn (planets) point the way.

Starting with the planets - head outside about an hour after sunset, face due south and you’ll find Jupiter glowing like a white beacon hovering over the horizon. Saturn, which is now at its closest point to Earth, is visible about 7 degrees (or about the width of an extended fist) to the southeast of Jupiter.

Saturn's famous rings are visible in small telescopes with at least 30 power and four of Jupiter's moons (discovered by Galileo 410 years ago) can be spotted with binoculars.

Now onto the constellations - using Jupiter as a guide, look about 10 degrees to the southwest and find Sagittarius, the archer of ancient mythology. This large constellation contains a pattern of stars nicknamed "The Teapot." This asterism** clearly resembles an old-fashioned tea pot, spout and all.

Just to the southwest of Sagittarius, look for the sprawling contours of Scorpius, the scorpion. With a little imagination you can trace the form of this predatory arachnid all the way from head to stinger!

According to star lore Scorpius was sent to kill Orion by the goddess Gaia. Scorpius chases Orion through the year with the Hunter (Orion) rising in the east in winter just after the scorpion (Scorpius) departs in summer. The brilliant red star in the heart of Scorpius is Antares called "rival of Mars" by the ancient Greeks.

Please share your comments, questions, and photos in the comments section below.

Ad astra (to the stars)!

Glossary:

*con·stel·la·tion /ˌkänstəˈlāSH(ə)n/ pronounce
noun
1. a group of stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form or identified with a mythological figure. Modern astronomers divide the sky into eighty-eight constellations with defined boundaries.

**as·ter·ism /ˈastəˌrizəm/ pronounce
noun
1. In observational astronomy, an asterism is a popularly known pattern or group of stars that can be seen in the night sky.

ACT's Executive Director Search Begins

Click the image to view the full job description announcement.

The Ammonoosuc Conservation Trust invites applications for the position of Executive Director, seeking candidates who bring a passion for the land and natural resources, an understanding of conservation as a tool for both environmental sustainability and community vitality, and the skills and experience to lead this successful, growing organization. The Executive Director will provide vision and strategic internal and external leadership, with significant emphasis on cultivating relationships with landowners, partners, donors, and funders. Working internally in a culture of shared leadership and collaborative teamwork, the Executive Director will be managing multiple projects, financial resources, fundraising, and grant-writing.  

Applicants should have a degree and experience in conservation or a related field, and five years of demonstrated success in organizational leadership and management. 

Click here to view the full job announcement.

Please email a cover letter and resume to [email protected].  Review of resumes will begin in mid-June, 2020.

The New Normal = Posting Recorded Zoom Presentations

Missed the Northern Harrier Presentation? Watch the Recording!

Yesterday evening (May 13, 2020) 68 patient folks came together for ACT’s very first attempt at hosting an online event co-sponsored by the Ammonoosuc Chapter of NH Audubon. We are happy to report that things went pretty well with only a few technical glitches. All things we can learn from and improve for the next one!

Although getting the event itself off the ground was pretty exciting, we’re delighted to be able to bring the recording to you, another first for the organization. We hope to continue bringing these types of events to you and as we add recorded presentations to the roster we’ll be sure to create an archive where you’ll be able to find previous recordings, until then, we’ll be posting them here, on our blog which is also searchable.

Enormous thanks to both Chris Martin for the outstanding presentation and Dave Govatski for his openness to collaborating and his stellar co-hosting skills. 

We hope you enjoy the presentation. If you have a question that isn’t covered or you’d like to share some feedback, we’d love to hear from you. Please send Gal an email with your thoughts.

Thank you for watching and we look forward to doing more of this kind of programming, so please keep an eye out for future events.

Supreme Court Buries NoPass

A sign on proposed path through Sugar Hill

This appears to be the final blow to the ill begotten project, a 192-mile high voltage transmission line through the heart of the North Country on its way to consumers in Massachusetts and Connecticut.  

ACT was an early intervenor against the project when it was announced nearly nine years ago. We joined the Appalachian Mountain Club and Conservation Law Foundation in defending the state’s permit denial at the Supreme Court.

Eversource has 10 days after the decision to file for reconsideration. We’ve been amazed that the project continued over all this time, given the intense opposition, the dubious finances, the old-school technology, the change in energy markets, and the other new energy projects in New England that have little opposition. So it may be that Eversource stands up for yet another round, but we’re pretty confident that we’ve seen the last of this project.

You can read the full Supreme Court decision here and the Union Leader’s coverage here. 

Photos:

1. A sign on proposed path through Sugar Hill.

2. NoPass Rally, September 2012 in Easton (3).

3. Room of orange at another public hearing, September 2013 at the Mt View in Whitefield.

4. On Earth Day 2017, opponents made a ring around the State Capitol in Concord. Shown are ACT members and NoPass activists Carl Martland, Doug Evelyn, and Executive Director Rebecca Brown. (2)

5. Rebecca Brown speaking at a hearing in Whitefield, March 2011. Photo credit: Paul Hayes, Caledonian Record.

Good for Fish, Bats, and People: Land Conserved in Sugar Hill

We are proud to announce the conservation of two properties that will help protect clean water and wildlife habitat forever.

Carl and Nancy Martland have conserved two parcels of land bordered by Pearl Lake Road and Hadley Road in Sugar Hill.

On the south side of Pearl Lake Road, the 16.6-acre Creamery Pond parcel protects the Salmon Hole Brook, a cold water stream that supports wild brook trout, and flows into the Ammonoosuc River in Lisbon. The land is mostly floodplain with sedge meadow, alder swamp, and the brook, and has some surrounding upland forest.

On the north side of the road, Salmon Hole Brook continues, and the approximately 41-acre Whipple Pasture parcel contains floodplain, wetlands, and an upland forest that is home to black bear, all kinds of songbirds, grouse, woodcock, and deer, among other creatures.

Together, the two parcels protect nearly a ¾ mile of stream frontage. Built into the conservation agreement between the Martlands and ACT is special protection for the land along the Salmon Hole Brook.

“We helped create ACT, have been involved ever since, and we are thrilled to see it develop into the premier land trust in our region,” said Carl Martland. “We’re pleased that we can contribute these easements on Whipple Pasture and Creamery Pond in Sugar Hill.  We’re especially pleased to be able to protect one of the special features of our land – Salmon Hole Brook, which provides breeding habitat for native brook trout. This habitat is disappearing, and riparian protection vital to the continued health of this population.”

“The location of this new easement near to other ACT properties improves and enhances the overall conservation effects that ACT is able to achieve,” said Nancy Martland.  “We encourage other landowners to work with ACT as we have, to protect the rural character and native species of our wonderful area. Thanks to ACT and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation for its support in making this possible.”

“A priority in our work is protecting water quality,” said ACT Executive Director Rebecca Brown. “Wild brook trout only live and breed where the water is clean and cold, and so are a good indicator of stream health. With New Hampshire Fish & Game and Trout Unlimited we’ve identified streams in our area that are important for protection. Salmon Hole Brook is a high priority. What’s good for trout is good for people. We all need clean water.”

In addition to protecting water and riparian habitat along streams, the Martland land is an important place for bats. The property is less than 10 miles from three known bat hibernacula (hibernation spots).  All three hibernacula are known to support species, including the federally threatened northern long-eared bat, that forage in riparian areas that have nearby roosting habitat (live and dead trees with cavities, crevices, and/or flaking bark).  The Martland properties both contain this type of habitat.

ACT is involved with a special project aimed at understanding bats’ use of the landscape and how landowners might manage forests and open areas to support bats’ needs.

For more information on land protection for the benefit of people, communities, and wildlife, please contact ACT at (603) 823-7777, or visit www.aconservationtrust.org.