The villages in the eastern part of the Upper Valley got my main attention in July. Sure, I had a big 20 minutes in West Lebanon with the Least Bittern family the last day of July. But my attention was mostly on towns like New London and Sunapee and some of the smaller villages like Wilmot and Washington.
Nature abounds in these areas, but I also got photos of children and adults enjoying what has been a beautiful summer weather-wise, punctuated by a brief passing tropical storm.
Not knowing the “best” way to present the photos, and not wanting to do it chronologically since that might make sense only to me, and because I visited a number of the places multiple days, I chose to do it alphabetically by town. So first we have …
Bradford
In a small pond along a back road in Bradford, I found a half dozen ducks. One is shown above. Did you identify it? It is a female Hooded Merganser.
Cedar Brook Farm is a rarely-visited conserved area along East Washington Road. Not more than a few yards from my car I spotted a pair of Cooper’s Hawks across a wet area. You can see them in the two trees in the photo on the right below.
Here is a closer view of the pair.
A short distance along the trail I photographed a bird that is sometimes confusing to identify — a female Common Yellowthroat.
Earlier, in a small side portion of Lake Todd, I got a Common Eastern Bumble Bee on a Buttonbush.
Etna
Only two photos from our yard. A young fawn and a Tiger Swallowtail on Milkweed.
New London
I visited two spots in New London. I went twice to Clark Lookout. This is a wonderful, easy hike to a great overlook of Lake Sunapee. The trail starts across Route 103A from the Park-and-Ride off Exit 12 of I-89.
Here is a six-photo panorama taken just after 7 AM with morning fog obscuring Mount Sunapee.
During a second visit I took another six-photo pan where Mount Sunapee can be clearly seen across the lake.
During my first trip, I found a backlit spider web along the trail.
I also visited the Esther Currier WMA off Route 11, mostly to photograph dragonflies. Here is a Blue Dasher. A future Blog will cover dragonflies and other similar insects.
I photographed a Common Grackle far out over the marsh …
… and some kids enjoying a beautiful summer morning.
Newbury
Two separate visits yielded two very different photos. Early in the month, a Canada Goose was standing at the end of the dock in Newbury Harbor. Native Americans called Sunapee the “Lake of the Wild Goose” because it is shaped like a goose.
Mid-July before 8 AM on the same dock, a yoga class was in session. The police had closed the parking lot, but I snuggled my car just off the road and got a few photos.
Newport
In Newport I found some great graffiti and many molting birds. Nearby, I got this photo at an old RR bridge.
I visited Pollard Mill Falls, a great spot for moving water photos and swimming. I braced my camera against a tree and, with a slow shutter speed, got a young girl with an interesting blur as she jumped in.
Quechee
I misspoke earlier in the blog. I did a quick trip west into Vermont and took some photos at Dewey’s Pond. It was filled with waterlilies.
Here are two more photos from the pond.
Springfield
I reported on the Great Blue Heron Nest in Springfield that I photographed in late June and early July. In my Blog I expressed concern about the smallest of the young herons. I went back July 12 and was happy to find there were still four young in the nest. Clearly one is smaller than the others. I hope he or she made it.
Sunapee
I spent most of my time in Sunapee and got some nice sunrises and sunsets. Here is a sunrise looking southwest toward Mount Sunapee.
This sunset will be on the Summer/Fall, 2020 cover of Kearsarge Magazine, a great local publication.
Here are a few more sunsets over Lake Sunapee.
Early morning can be very nice too. Here are some early shots from Burkehaven Harbor. The lighthouse is the Burkehaven Lighthouse.
One morning we watched a Loon circle and land. Here it is skidding to a stop.
Below are a pair of photos from Burkehaven Harbor.
Mount Kearsarge can be seen across Lake Sunapee from many spots. In the photo with Black Mountain to the right of Kearsarge, the lighthouse is Loon Island Lighthouse. The other lighthouse is Herrick’s Cove Lighthouse. Lake Sunapee has three lighthouses.
I photographed two Great Blue Heron on the lake.
There were families of Common Merganser around.
I found a group of Chickadees. I have plenty of photos of these cute but common birds, but I have learned that warblers often mix in with Chickadees, so I pay attention to a flock. Sure enough, there was a beautiful Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Adults and kids certainly enjoy the lake. In the last two photos of the slide show below there were young kids getting wake riding lessons. With wake riding the person starts holding a rope but then lets go. He or she is then propelled by the wake unconnected from the boat in any way.
One dark night I was able to capture the Milky Way.
In the photo on the right the brightest “star” is Jupiter. The “star” to its left is Saturn.
The star above them is actually a star called Altair. It is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth brightest star in the night sky.
Here are a few more photos from Sunapee during July 2020.
Sutton
I visited Russell Pond in Sutton to photograph dragonflies. They will be the subject of an upcoming blog.
The west and north sides of Russell Pond are owned by the Town of Sutton. An easement is held by The Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust.
While there I got a photo of a Cabbage White Butterfly on Pickerelweed.
A dad and son came with kayaks to fish. Here they are on the pond.
Washington
After a visit to Bradford, I continued on to East Washington and Pillsbury State Park in Washington.
In East Washington I photographed a Common Water Spider. This is a great illustration of surface tension.
Heading to Washington I stopped briefly at Ecchardt Farm and got a photo of a goat.
When I drove to the parking area near Mill Pond in Pillsbury State Park, I took four steps from my car and found a Red-eyed Vireo nearly at eye level.
As soon as the vireo left, a Chestnut-side Warbler appeared in the same tree with an immature young.
I suggest to my photo students that they practice the “180-degree rule”: After you take the photos you plan to take, turn 180-degrees and look behind you. Often great things are there. I did this and found a Killdeer on a rock keeping watch over its young.
Wilmot
A photographer friend who lives in Wilmot has gotten some fabulous photos of Great Blue Heron at a small wetland. I spent several hours there twice without the kind of success he has had. But I did get a Kingfisher, a bird I have had a lot of trouble photographing.
There were Wood Ducks in the wetland.
There was an American Bittern present for a short while.
I did get a few photos of a Great Blue Heron at the wetland.
I hiked Bog Mountain with two friends and a dog. It is a very nice, relatively easy hike. We started at 6:30 AM to beat the heat. Here is a photo taken just after 7 AM.
Near the summit were a pair of Cedar Waxwings. I managed to get some photos with my small hiking camera.
July 2020 was a good month for us, in spite of a family reunion that got cancelled because of covid. Hopefully next year.
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