The Unpredictable Northeast Kingdom

I spent the past week in the northeastern part of Vermont on a fishing trip. This region of the state is referred to as The Northeast Kingdom or simply "The Kingdom" by locals. In 2006, The National Geographic Society named it as the most desirable place to visit in the country. I have no idea how they arrived at such a conclusion, but I do agree that it is a beautiful area. The top photo is of the farm road that our rental house was on. It connects to the Vast snowmobile trail, which led me to a nearby swamp with beavers and an active heronry.

Four of us went on the trip this year; my father, my cousin, a family friend and myself. A fishing trip, like most other trips, requires careful planning including choosing an area to have good fishing opportunities, the proper boat for the area, fishing gear, food supplies, etc. The reason you do all this is that you hope to have a certain degree of control over the outcome of your trip. The reality is that virtually nothing in life is certain and this trip was a reminder of that.

We did not catch a lot of fish as we had hoped. Probably the top fish caught was a 21" Lake Trout, but other than that the fishing was very slow. Fishing can be unpredictable in these areas. The fishfinders shows there are loads of trout in the ponds but if the water temperature isn't just so then they won't bite. I find that the weather forecasts aren't reliable in the far northern regions either. All week I saw rain in the forecast but other than the day we arrived, we barely saw a drop. I hoped to finally find the elusive Black-backed Woodpecker at a place called "Moose Bog" during our stay but the only woodpecker I saw in that area was a Northern Flicker. The house we stayed at was more than adequate but some of us were disappointed to find that the pool table that was listed on the website turned out to be nothing more than a toy. From my standpoint, it was more house than we needed. I prefer a simple cabin in the woods where the emphasis is on nature and you don't have to be concerned about breaking anything. We still enjoyed the trip even though not everything worked out exactly as planned.

Coincidentally, I had been listening to an audio book on my MP3 titled-Comfortable With Uncertainty-108 Teachings . I don't identify myself with any particular religion, but this book had some interesting insight about accepting the unpredictability in life. I found that the narration, which was delivered in a whispered, breathy, tone with flute music playing in the background, also served well as a natural sleeping aid.
I either saw or heard a good number of birds within walking distance of the house. There were numerous Black-throated Blue (above) and Black-throated Green Warblers constantly singing in the area, but they were tricky to photograph. Most of the warbler photos seemed to be blurry or lacked the lighting to show their color, like this one. The male Black-throated Blue Warblers are very pretty when well lit by sunlight. They also have a very soothing Zurr, Zur, Zur Zwee song. I was impressed by the sheer number of those two species. Other interesting species that I encountered near the property included: Blackburnian Warbler, Swainson's Thrush, Belted kingfisher, Common Loons, Common Mergansers , Adult Male Northern Harrier (Gray Ghost), Red-breasted Nuthatch, Ruffed Grouse, Barred Owl, Osprey, and Broad-winged Hawks.

We saw a big hill in the distance that had been cleared by a logging company and decided to climb to the top to get a view. This is a view overlooking Lake Seymour with some mountains in the background. The house we were staying at would be in the left hand corner of the grassy field on the right side of the picture.

I fished for some Brook Trout in this small stream on my way back down the hill. I caught 8 brookies, which were very small but fun to catch anyway. I caught them with worms that we collected the night of our arrival. It rained that day and we were able to collect enough to last the entire week. Anything to save a buck.

As you can see from this photo, I didn't get back until it was nearly dark. Once the sky turned dark, there were thousands of brilliant stars visible in the night sky. Deer and turkey visited these fields every day.

Vermont Fish & Wildlife turned out to be a valuable source of information for places to fish and hike. One of the places they suggested was "Unknown Pond" near the town of Norton. My cousin and I found the name to be very intriguing. The only way to reach it was by hiking up to the top of a very steep hill, way out in the woods. We were getting pretty winded on the way up so I stopped to take some photos of plants. I think the top one is some kind of Trillium. Can you identify this yellow-flowered plant?

After a couple of cell phone calls to Charlie at the Vermont fish and game, we finally found Unknown Pond. We walked around the entire shoreline. That's my cousin Bob walking along the shoreline.

Are these frog eggs of some sort or something else altogether?

What type of birds would one expect to see at the top of a mountain in the middle of a remote part of Vermont situated at the top of a mountain in an Unknown Pond? - Gray Jays? Bicknell's Thrush? Boreal Chickadee? The answers to those questions are No, No, and No. To my surprise, I found a pair of Solitary Sandpipers feeding along the edge of the pond. Not what I expected at all.

The above photo is of a Magnolia Warbler, which was taken in The Wenlock Wildlife Management area. It took us two attempts to find the trail to Moose Bog and I was lost in the woods for an hour on the first attempt. I was sort of disappointed that I never found the Black-backed Woodpecker, but then again, I'm afraid once I find it, the thrill of the search will be over. We did spook up a grouse which might have been a Spruce Grouse, but we didn't get a good enough look at it. Most of the birds we saw were along the main dirt road. I saw my very first Boreal Chickadee who was singing a raspy song in a tree branch above me. He only gave me a quick look before flying off into parts unknown. We had an excellent view of a singing Canada Warbler. There were plenty of Golden-crowned kinglets in the area and Winter Wrens were singing everywhere.

click to play

I was able to catch two very short clips of the Magnolia Warbler, which I spliced together, but at least I was able to capture it while it was singing.

No trip up north is complete without spotting a moose. "Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat". - See you next time Bullwinkle!

My Climb Up Mount Chocorua In New Hampshire

It was over 20 years that my sister, Michelle and her boyfriend Wayne, invited me to join them to hike up Mount Chocorua in New Hampshire. I'm always up for any kind of outdoor adventure, so naturally, I said "yes." I did have one concern though. What would it be like to climb an actual mountain? In Connecticut there are several areas of elevation that are referred to as mountains. In reality, almost all of them are less than 1,000 feet in elevation and are really just hills. Vermont and New Hampshire have real mountains. At 3,500 feet, Mount Chocorua is one of the smallest of The White Mountain Chain, although it did have a reputation of being a fairly steep climb. I decided it would be best to take a few practice hikes in Connecticut wearing a backpack so I would be better prepared for the trip.

So the three of us headed up to New Hampshire. Actually, there was a fourth hiker. Wayne's dog, Brutus, also came along. Brutus was a big Rottweiler that had been trained as a guard dog. We found out at rest stops that he had a habit of chasing tractor trailer trucks and didn't seem to understand that there is a limit as to how far you can run when you are tied to a tree with a leash.

After we arrived, I noticed something shortly after we started our ascent up Mount Chocorua. There was no view on the way up. We walked through hardwoods followed by evergreens. All we could see was trees on the way up. I had envisioned a view off into the distance throughout our hike. I recall that we met several other hikers on the way up. One of them pointed out that there were "kinglets" in the pine trees. I had never heard of a kinglet before and was surprised to see how tiny they were.

Somewhere along the way we saw a hawk. I don't remember what kind it was but it didn't matter. Back then, I referred to hawks as small hawks or large hawks. If it seemed that it was to big to be a hawk, I just figured it was some kind of eagle. If a hawk was near a farm area, then it was surely a Chicken Hawk. That was the extent of my identification skills at that time. I really wasn't familiar with many species beyond birds that are commonly seen in the back yard.

As we passed the half way point of the hike, I was getting pretty winded. I used to smoke cigarettes back then and I was feeling it. My back and legs were getting tired, too. My sister seemed to be having an easier time than I was. I thought for certain that I was in better shape than she was.

I was relieved when we finally reached the base of the summit. There was a hiker's cabin that we were to camp in overnight. I recalled that it was anchored to the side of the hill with gigantic chains and wondered why? I started to take some of my gear out of the backpack. I removed my sleeping bag, water and food. As I reached in a little further, I felt something hard towards the bottom wrapped up in a towel. "You have got to be kidding!" I thought to myself. There in the bottom of my backpack were three 10 lb. weights wrapped up in towels! I had put them there when I was doing my practice hikes and never taken them out. No wonder my climb was so tough!

It was late in the afternoon, so we decided to climb the summit in the morning. The cabin that was provided for hikers had a bunch of wooden bunks. Some sort of mice ran back and forth across the beams during the night. At about three o'clock in the morning, we were awakened by Brutus who barking and growling furiously as he repeatedly charged into the wooden door. What was out there that had him so riled up? A bear? Bigfoot? No, it was nothing more than a lost hiker looking for a place to sleep.

I woke up at the crack of dawn, anxious to see what the view would be like from top of Mount Chocorua. There was a winding trail that allowed for a gradual walk to the top. I met two local hikers who had spent the last week up in the mountains. They assured me that the trail was not the way to go. They told me there was a much quicker way and suggested that I follow their lead. They started to climb right up the rocky face of the summit. It looked pretty easy so I followed right behind them. I must have been half way up before getting my first view. Looking off into the distance, I realized how high up we really were. I could see other mountains and clouds below. The two hikers, or should I say climbers, were already at the top chuckling to themselves as tehy watched me struggle. I now realized that I was no longer just hiking.I was actually rock climbing. The thought of clibing back down was too scary so my only option was climbing up. Adrenaline was rushing through my veins. At one point, I had to make a small leap to grab a hold of a metal spike which had been pounded into the rock. It was an experience I will never forget. The two hikers were long gone by the time I finished my climb. When I finally reached the top, it all seemed worth it. I could see mountains in every direction. I now realized why that cabin was chained to the hill. The winds must have been blowing 50 miles an hour.

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Back then I had never even heard of the term "birding", which is why I would like to make a return visit some day. This time, I would bring along my binoculars and leave the weights behind!

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The photo was provided for free courtesy of: Free New Hampshire Pics.com

Remembering Lake Nahmakanta

It was about 4 years ago that I was a part of a small group of fishermen who spent a week at Nahmakanta Lake Wilderness Camp in Maine. It was about a 10 hour drive to reach the camp, with the last hour being a drive down an old logging road. This is not everyone's idea of a vacation spot. It is in a remote area located in the middle of Maine's wilderness. It also lacks most modern conveniences. These are the types of areas that I prefer. I love hearing the sound of loons calling across the lake.

What follows are a few of my memories from this trip. Unfortunately, I never bothered taking photos ( I rarely did on these trips).

The Mysterious Animal At The Top Of A Tree

I believe it was the first day after we arrived, that I went for a walk on an abandoned logging road with my cousin Scott. The area was full of dead trees, many of which were filled with woodpecker holes. As we rounded a corner, we came to a sudden stop. There was a strange animal near the very top of one of the dead trees. We were totally confused. Was it a bear cub?-no, not a bear. The strange part was that it looked like a primate the way it used it's hands to grip the tree. It seemed to be eating bark. The animal then started climbing back down. Not knowing what we were dealing with, we decided to leave.

When we returned to the camp, we described the animal to Don (the owner), and asked him what it might be. At first he suggested a Fisher, but after further description he decided it was probably a Porcupine. I had no idea that Porcupines climbed trees. I thought that they looked like little balled up woodchucks with a spiked hairdo. We're still not certain as to what we saw, but we'll go with Porcupine. Here is a link to Porcupine. It sure didn't look like the one in this link.It's body was stretched out, it didn't have quills sticking up, and it had hands that really gripped the tree.

The Ravens In The Prehistoric Forest

On a second hike to a different area, we walked through an old growth forest. The whole area reminded us of a scene from Jurassic Park. The base of the giant trees had many exposed roots.These roots were covered with a thick moss, and there were tons of fern all around. We came to the edge of a cliff, that overlooked a huge gorge.It was then, that we started to hear the strange sounding communication taking place between two large black crows. Although I wasn't a birder at that time, we figured out that they must have been Common Ravens. We watched them interact and communicate for at least 20 minutes.We were fascinated by their array of strange sounds. We also decided by their actions, that they must be very intelligent.

Two Years later, I would once again find myself in awe of Ravens. On a very windy day, I saw two Ravens seemingly being blown all over the place by the gusty winds. It wasn't until I watched them more closely, that I realised that they knew what they were doing. They put on an aerial acrobatics display that blew my mind. They were rolling, tumbling, twirling-you name it.They seemed like they must be having fun in some sort of way. Ravens are awesome!

The Boat-flipping Dust Devil

There was a group of us standing along the shoreline of beautiful Lake Nahmakanta on a bright and beautiful sunny day. As we looked to our right, we saw some trees rustling at the top of a steep hill. A burst of twirling wind could be seen traveling down the edge of the hill. It seemed to form a small cyclone.It was clear, but started to pick up debris as it traveled along the shoreline in our direction. We stood and watched with great curiosity. It wasn't until the funnel came within ten feet of us, that we decided to step back a bit. This turned out to be a good decision because of what happened next. Two boats were suddenly lifted 10 feet in to the air and flipped face down in to the lake. We watched as the funnel continued to travel along the lake and finally disappear. -(I used the term dust devil, but I believe there is a specific name for these type of mini-wind storms that occur in Maine. If you know what they are, please let me know)

We dragged the boats out of the water, and on to the shore. One was a canoe, and the other a fourteen foot Lund with a motor. The owners had taken a day trip to buy supplies for the camp. We wondered what the owners would think when we tried to explain what happened to their boats. An older gentleman who had been listening from his cabin said "Don't worry boys, I saw the entire thing." We were glad that he had seen it too.

This area is great for birding, wildlife, and fishing. The camp is run by Don and Angel

Hibbs. They are very nice people, and also very knowledgeable about the area. Their are canoes located at a dozen different ponds located 1/2 mile to 4 miles from the Maine Camp. All of them are completely undeveloped.

You have the option of cooking yourself, or preparing your own meals. We did a little of both. The food that Angel prepared was excellent. My favorite was the blackened salmon. Click here, if you would like to learn more about Nahmakanta Lake Camps.

Fooled By A Kinglet -The Final Chapter

When I Boreal Chickadee -(not too hard to locate).Unfortunately, I didn't find either one of those species. These Gray Jays showed up to console me. The top one is an adult and the bottom one is the darker juvenile. They are fairly tame around people and will look for a handout. I didn't have any food, so they didn't hang around for long.
I walked down a desolate logging trail for about 2 miles. This is the second year in a row that I came across a cluster of Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies.This must be a common occurence in this area during the month of June. I still think it's an awesome sight to see.

Among the birds that I saw was the familiar American Redstart. I see lots of those during the spring and summer down in Connecticut. I never get tired of seeing them though. One bird that I'm not used to seeing in Connecticut is the Bay-breasted Warbler. I came across two males. I forsook the photo opportunity in order to enjoy a nice view though the binoculars. They did not show themselves for long. Two of my best views were of a Canada Warbler(lifer), and the flaming orange Blackburnian Warbler. The Canada Warbler gave me a nice view of the black necklace.

I was in a territory called Scott's Bog. It seemed there was no one around for miles out in this secluded area. Suddenly, an SUV appeared from no where. A woman and her husband pulled up along side of me to find out what birds I had seen this morning. Wouldn't you know it turned out that I knew them from a birding field trip I had been on in Connecticut.

We spent a short time watching birds together. There was a nice view of Osprey flying overhead. Some how it was more of a treat to watch them out in the woods than it is to see them down by the shore where there are dozens of platforms set up for them.

There was one bird that had us totally confused. It was singing away at full volume from the top of a Pine Tree. For a while, we could hear the bird but not see it.What could be singing such a bold song?-a Robin-no it wasn't a Robin's song. Then we had a glimpse of the head and part of the body. It was surely too big to be a Warbler, and didn't seem to have a Warbler's song. The head seemed to be darker like a Blue-headed Vireo but it had a different song. No other Vireo seemed to match the description. Finally, we had a glimpse of red on top of the head.

It was none other than the Ruby-crowned Kinglet , which is a nesting bird in Pittsburg New Hampshire. I had never heard a Kinglet sing in Connecticut. In Connecticut they flit from tree to tree making barely audible ringing sounds. They do not perch at the top of a tree with their body fully outstretched singing delightful songs. Laugh if you want, but we were fooled. I'd be embarrassed to tell you some of the identification guesses that we made but that's one of things that makes birding fun.

I didn't get to do as much birding as I would have liked to. I'm already looking forward to visiting this area next year, in hopes of finding the Boreal Chickadee and Black-backed Woodpecker.

New Hampshire's Connecticut Lakes-Part II

There are so many fishing possibilities in Pittsburg, that you just can't cover all the possibilities in a week. There is also a nice variety of restaurants for such a small town-(there was a total of nine graduates this year). It's hard to tell who works at the restaurants and who owns them. The owners often sit out and fraternize with the customers.

Most of the locals tend to be very friendly. Some call people from out of state - "flatlanders". They are unhappy with some people from out of state who have been purchasing land and building fancy houses for occasional use.

I had my fill of fishing and eating for the week. I'd been looking forward to venturing out on one of the logging trails to see what birds and wildlife I might encounter. Moose like the one in the top photo are a common sight along route 3. People ride out to a certain portion of the road called "Moose Alley" to look for moose each night. Usually a dozen or more moose can be seen. Route 3 is really the only main pave road. It takes you right in to Canada. Pretty much all other roads are dirt roads or logging roads off of route 3.

This Red Fox seemed to be preoccupied with it's young ones.One can be seen poking its head over the rock.

There are plenty of Common Loons in the area. I passed this one on the First Connecticut Lake on my way to East Inlet-(known to be good for birding).

Did I have a sudden urge for Ice Cream at 6am in the morning? Maybe-but that's not why I stopped here.
There were Cliff Swallows nesting under the eaves of the building, so I stopped to get a photo. It seems as though I'm getting off track a bit, so I will finish with Part 3 tommorrow.-

New Hampshire's Connecticut Lakes-Part I

If you're looking for excitement, Pittsburg- New hampshire is probably not the place to go. There's not much in the way of culture or entertainment. So what's so special about this area? Almost all of the woods and water are protected here. People come for fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, moose watching, and let's not forget my personal favorite-birding.

I was officially here as part of a group fishing trip. Not surpringly, I still managed to squeeze in some birding during my stay. Even if I din't look for birds, they would find me anyway.

We were greeted by Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers upon arrival. The male has a brilliantly colored red throat. It makes a sound that reminds me of one of those little squeeze toys. They stayed near our cabin during our entire stay. This was a treat, because I don't often see them in Connecticut.

Our Cabin sat upon the bank of The Connecticut River. It is just a stream in Pittsburg, but turns in to a major river before it empties in to long Island sound in Connecticut. Common Mergansers, like this one, would repeatedly fly upstream, then drift by our cabin.

Red Squirrels, and chipmunks also kept us company. One chipmunk ran across the top of my foot when I was sitting on the porch. One thing that I can not understate, is the chorus of bird song we heard. Black-throated Green Warblers could be heard singing from every direction from our cabin from dawn till dusk. Northern Parulas, Pileated Woodpeckers, Belted Kingfishers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Swainson's Thrush, American Redstarts, and Winter Wrens were other birds that we could hear on a daily basis. The Eastern Phoebes were nesting under the eave of the porch.

It was a real treat just to sit on the porch and look across the river to see nothing but pine trees. There was also a dead tree that was over 100 feet tall on the opposite banks. Several birds including Cedar Waxwings, Pileated Woodpeckers, and Common Ravens could be seen perching on it. I am still trying to catch up with things at home, so I will continue with more details in Part two.

Close Call With A Tornado In The Great North Woods

I have gone on a fishing trip nearly every year, for the past 30 years. My father and I, along with a few of the guys, rent a cabin in northern Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont. Some of these areas are very remote. Large portions of northern Maine have territories instead of towns. Over the years, I've had some interesting experiences on some of these trips. I never bothered taking photos, and I didn't keep a journal. The following story is based on a memory from one particular fishing trip in Jackman Maine , about 25? years ago.

It was mid May. I was with my father and another guy named Fred, sitting in a small aluminum boat on Heald Pond. We had hauled this boat, along with a motor about half a mile through thick woods to get to this pond. We were always willing to put forth extra effort to find a fishing spot that had the promise Trophy Brook Trout, or square-tails as the natives called them. We enjoyed some tremendous fishing that day. This was one of the few times that a place actually lived up to its reputation.

I remember at one point, I observed a fish jump 2-3 feet out of the water. What was it doing? I wondered. It turns out that it was a Landlocked Salmon. It had picked up my worm from the bottom of the pond, and I didn't even know it.-enough of the fishing. Oh yes, I should mention that I enjoyed seeing the Common Loons swimming around us. I was amazed at how long they could stay under water .

We were drifting in the middle of the pond, which was maybe a mile wide. The weather was perfect. It was a sunny day with bright blue skies and very little wind. After spending a couple of peaceful hours fishing, I noticed a wall of very black clouds way off in the distance. They seemed to be many miles away, so I ignored them. A couple of minutes later, I noticed that they had cut their distance in half already. I said "Dad, maybe we should move a little closer to shore. Those clouds seem to be gaining on us." My father wasn't impressed with the clouds, but started to casually move us in a little closer to the shore.

We didn't make it 50 feet , before this storm was on top of us. The rain poured down so hard, that I couldn't even see the shoreline. The sky was so very dark, and the black clouds seemed to be just over our heads. We were going full speed ahead, hoping to find any portion of the shore. We actually crashed in to the bank. The three of us, ran in desperation, trying to find some shelter. We ended up in a dirt hole from a large uprooted tree. I was able to make out a white blurb in the center of all the black clouds, and there was a strange whistling noise. I think it was Fred that mentioned the possibility of some sort of Tornado. Seconds after the white blurb passed by, we heard trees crashing in the woods. The sound reminded me of the original King Kong Movie. You could hear the sound of an awesome force smashing trees to the ground but Kong was not visible. Hearing, but not seeing added to the drama.

The storm passed as quickly as it came. When we returned to town, we saw more destruction.The front of a store had been ripped off and a logging truck, loaded up with trees, overturned.it was determined that it had been a Tornado.We never saw the funnel cloud, but the experience certainly left a lasting memory.