Poland Spring Campground

Jeff and Debbie Richards gave Tami some awesome wildlife photos this week . . .

Here’s an adult eagle with its baby

Right now, the baby eagle is all over the lake, so he’s hard to find.  Especially since he blends into the trees so well.

Here’s a great shot of a turtle sunning himself

Can you see the dragonfly sunning himself on the turtle’s back?

And here are the fox pictures I promised.  This little guy came trotting through the sites in the middle of the quiet week, right by Jeff and Debbie’s camper

He made his way to the edge of the volleyball court and laid in the sun.

Kind of cute, huh?

Hey campers!!  Maxwell here!

Look at these cool pictures Tami took of the Mom loon feeding the baby loon  yesterday!

Mama reached up high to stretch her wings.  Feeding babies is hard work!

After the loons moved out of sight, Tami was about to leave when I hollered, “Look up there! Is it a plane?  Superman?”

The eagle!  Tami kept her camera trained on him, hoping he’d dive for a fish or two.  But he must not have seen anything good to eat, because just like the loon family, he moved out of sight too.

One of our campers reported seeing the fox sun himself on the volleyball court this morning.  Jeff (the camper) and Myndi (Tami’s sister) both got some pictures of him.  Tami’s going to try and get copies so she can post them.

Things sure have been pretty quiet this week.  I can’t wait for our Fall Special people to come back tomorrow for weekend #2!

Our Spring Special campers pulled out Sunday . . . the campground looks too empty without them!

For our last weekend we had horse drawn hayrides with No Baloney Pony

Also on the schedule was Kids Games, Basketball, Arts and Crafts and a Horseshoe Tournament. Our local church, Poland Community Church, put on a spaghetti supper as a children’s education fundraiser. Spaghetti and meatballs, salad, rolls, drinks and dessert, all for $5. Can you believe it?

After supper we showed Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. A wicked good movie!

Here’s some photos our spring specials have sent us . . .

From the Emery family . . .

A fabulous catch . . . that turned into an awesome supper:

Maxwell and an admirer!

And here’s some photos from the Jordan Family:

This little guy’s soaking up the rays . . .

And so’s this BIG guy!

Can you see the feet on him???

Yesterday, I went to vacuum the pool and I found this little cutie in the skimmer:

I thought he was an albino frog, but I’ve since discovered he’s a Cope’s Gray Tree Frog.  I really wanted to keep him!  Soft and calm, he crawled up and down my arm easily. When I put him on a tree, he looked all around. Within a few minutes he’d turned a dull brown.

These guys, along with the peepers and eastern gray tree frogs, sing to us all night long!

Here are some awesome images captured by one of my Spring Special campers, Patti Rethi.

copyright 2008 Patti Rethi

copyright 2008 Patti Rethi

copyright 2008 Patti Rethi

aren’t they gorgeous? She let me look at all the amazing photos she’d taken this spring and it was awfully hard to choose which ones to post here.

Tis the season for turtles! Every year about this time, adult turtles trek 200 to 500 yards up hill from the lake looking for sand to lay their eggs. The playing field, campsites, the edges of the road - you never know where you’ll find them.

And it never fails . . . once a spring, kids will come tell me how they found a lost turtle, and took it back to the lake. Imagine their surprise when I tell them the turtle will just have to make the trip all over again.

Then, once the eggs hatch, baby turtles can be seen trekking downhill, instinctively knowing where the water is.

And at least once a spring, kids will bring one to show me

These two have camped with us so long, they knew exactly what they had to do. They enjoyed studying this baby turtle for a bit before bringing him to the lake to let him go. I know from experience how hard it can be to set this tiny little creature free in a 290 acre lake! Thank you, guys!

Not only were they brave, but these two marked the spot where more eggs were laid took keep them from being stomped or crushed.

I love the turtle season! And I truly appreciate how my youngest campers are so protective of the turtles who share this plot of land with us.

One of my Spring Special campers, Joyce Thompson, took these shots last weekend of the eagle family!

copyright Joyce Thompson 2008

copyright Joyce Thompson 2008

Aren’t they gorgeous???

Joyce said she only saw the one baby, so it looks as if he’s going to get Mom and Dad’s undivided attention this year.

While I was at the lake late yesterday, I watched as one of the adult eagles swooped a loon who was fishing nearby. He didn’t touch the loon at all, but it was definitely a warning. After that, the loon moved away from our point.

This makes me a little sad, because I enjoy them both.

So, I heard a rumor this weekend. I couldn’t take just anyone’s word for it though. I had to check it out myself.

Leashing Cookie and grabbing Dave’s camera, I headed for the lake. Mother Eagle was huddled up, sitting on the edge of the nest. It was cold and windy. Still, I hunkered down and focused my camera on the nest.

Sure enough, after about ten minutes I saw this:

The little guy kept bobbing up and down. I think there’s two, but I never saw two heads at the same time, so I can’t confirm that yet.

Seeing him, reminded me of the time I was unexpectedly invited to tag along with the biologist who banded the babies born in 2005. My daughter was so jealous!

The biologist, who’s name was Bill, climbed the tree with his spiky boots and lowered the six week old babies in a burlap bag to his team on the ground. I was expecting cute little, fluffy chicks. This is what I saw:

Little chicks indeed!

Mom Eagle left the island before the boat even landed. She didn’t go too far though. We heard her call several times during the hour we were out there. I thought she might dive bomb the biologist, who stayed at the top of the tree so he wouldn’t damage it too much going up and down a bunch of times. But Mother Eagle didn’t even come to check out her chicks. Nor did the chicks struggle.

The team worked fast . . .

That red band can be seen from the ground with binoculars!

The team measured wings and claws, then drew blood to test the baby’s mercury levels. While all this was going on with baby #1, baby #2 sat quietly nearby and watched. Mom called a couple of times, but still, she kept her distance.

When both birds were tested, they then put one of the babies back in the bag and the biologist pulled him up, putting him safely back into the nest. As Bill was pulling up the second baby, Mom flew overhead with a gosling in her talons. Seeing the biologist, she flew off again. I was reassured by the team that she’d be back after we cleared off the island. (And she did too)

Before Bill came down, he had me pass up my camera in the bag so he could snap a picture of the babies in the nest itself. That’s the photo you see on the bottom right of the eagle link on the campground website.

Bill told me the nest weighed approximately 700 lbs and the tree is a soft red pine, so he was going to recommend not banding at this location again for fear of damaging the tree too much. It really was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me!

A word of caution: foot traffic on the eagle island is not permitted. Because eagles are still endangered, you can be fined for being that close without permission. Game Wardens do police the lake from the water and air quite often.

Please, watch wildlife from a distance.

A couple days ago, Dave was cutting trees when he heard the unmistakable sound of the pileated woodpecker. Rat-tat-tat-tat echoed loudly through the woods. We’ve been trying to catch this incredible bird in action for years, but they’re elusive. Seeing us, the woodpecker would hide itself on the opposite side of the tree and we’d go round and round in circles.

But Dave outsmarted him this time, by having JMoney (our maintenance man) move around the tree while he stood still with the camera.

Pileated Woodpeckers are 16 to 19″ (according to this website) with a wingspan of 26 to 30″.

They drill rectangular holes in trees to find ants. These holes can be so deep, smaller trees will sometimes break. Usually, I’ll see wood slivers dusting the ground at the base of the tree before I’ll see the hole he’s been working on.

We’ve also had this visitor to our feeder this past week:

a baltimore oriole! I love these birds . . . one of my fondest memories was Grandpa standing at the foot of his apple tree, calling to them. They actually answered.

I only see them in May, when they eat the oranges I put out for them. I believe they use the nectar to build their gourd shaped nest.

A few weeks ago, Dave and Ben saw this guy hanging around the bird feeder:

It’s kind of hard to see him clearly, but we think he’s a Red Tailed Hawk. He’s a sit and wait predator . . . obviously sitting and waiting for the squirrels and birds that visit my feeder. We only saw him that week, then he was gone.

Today is Friday, and I’m expecting approximately forty check-ins! Most are taking advantage of our Spring Weekend Special. Five consecutive weekends, for one low price. Campers arrive on Friday’s and go home Sundays, but leave their equipment right on site (storage really). We do this again in the Fall; click on our website on the right there, and go to our Campground Calendar to read all about it.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone out there! Check back late Sunday or early Monday for some pic’s from breakfast and arts and crafts . . .

until Clean Up Weekend!

I just received a call from the nursery, and we’ll have trees for planting this year. In 2007, there was a little mix up, the trees didn’t come in on time, and the kids were so disappointed. We ended up sending one of our employees into the woods to carefully dig up one-foot baby pines. It’s always warms my heart to see how much the kids enjoy this ecological activity.  Some families request the same site year after year so they can check on “their trees”.

Every year we lose new growth between the sites, due to people cutting between sites, kids riding bikes off road, or campers setting up their equipment off the cleared site area. If we didn’t transplant trees, over time we’d end up with a tree-less campground.

Those of you who are camping this weekend, don’t forget about our pot luck supper on Saturday night! We’ll have a sign-up sheet in the office.  Hmmmm . . . maybe I’ll bring chili.

A snow update: Cookie and I walked the park early this morning and found only four little areas with the white stuff. Yea! There were still a few spongy road spots, but between the rain (to help get rid of the frost) and the sunshine they’re predicting after it, those areas will be firm enough by the weekend.

Halfway through my walk, the haunting sound of the loon reached out to me.  It was sweet, sweet music to my ears!

I would have headed down to the water’s edge to sneak a peek and catch if there were one or a pair,but alas . . . I had to get Ben ready for school. He was not a happy camper this morning. April vacation went by much too quickly . . .

The weather has been gorgeous these last couple of weeks!  The snow is melting nicely.  There’s still a few snow covered areas like here in the 40’s

but for the most part, the campground now looks like this

And Sam . . . your site looks like this

Isn’t that better!?

The roads are still too soft to drive on, but I think I can put those snow shoes away now.

Within the last week, we’ve watched the ice on the lake recede a few yards at a time. Last Sunday, there was still quite a bit off to the left of our point.  Today, I’m pleased to announce there wasn’t a smidgen of ice in sight.

The loons are back!  I can’t wait to hear their call over a roaring, crackling campfire.  It’s one of my favorite things.  There were ducks everywhere too!  At least fifty dotted the lake between our frontage and the golf course.

Even Mama Eagle was up on the edge of her nest, enjoying the warmth in the air

So keep thinking those Spring like thoughts!

Cookie and I took a walk to the point today. Poor thing, she’s been cooped up for a little over two weeks, what with Ben and I both so sick for so long. When I used the word “walk”, I swear she jumped and wiggled in mid-air!

I’m sorry to report, only the TOPS of the picnic tables can be seen as I walk through the campground. There’s still three to four feet of snow in most places, although I did see some bare ground too. I wore my snowshoes to make the trip easier.

When Cookie and I reached the lake’s edge, I was so glad I remembered the camera! Here’s proof, our eagles are nesting;

What do you mean, you don’t see anything? Right in the middle . . . there . . . don’t you see a white bump? That’s the top of her head. Hmmmm - how about this image?

The second eagle had flown in to feed the first. I’m not sure which is which, female or male. I’ve read that incubation duties are shared, but the female primarily does this job. So, it’s probably her on the nest.

I stayed to watch them for a bit. Getting a few more shots like this

before I heard splashing water. Heart in my throat, I scanned the ice. Sure enough, Cookie had fallen into a 3 foot wide hole, about 5 feet off shore. She was in over her head and although her front paws were on the ice, she couldn’t get her back legs up and out.

I ran around the point, trying to find something, anything, to lay across the ice and get to her. The docks were all too heavy or frozen to the ground. For twenty minutes I coaxed, demanded, pleaded, and begged. But it wasn’t until I tearfully called to her, “Cookie! I have to go home. I have to get David! I’ll be back!”

At the word “home” she started to cry and whine. She scrambled and dug at the ice until finally, she broke free! I fell to my knees and hugged her sopping wet neck.

She looked at me, like, “What? What’d I do?”

I now smell like wet dog. And wet dog has never smelled so good.