Eastman Living Online Magazine

By Aaron Jenkyn

Here’s a look at what some of your friends and neighbors saw while out and about in Eastman this summer:

On June 17, Rae Tober watched as an eight-inch snapping turtle laid eggs in the garden of her Clearwater Drive home. The turtle dug many holes in the garden, and, once she found the right spot, it took her about 90 minutes from start to finish to lay her eggs. She then headed back to Eastman Brook the long way.

On June 18, Lorie McClory had a red squirrel in the yard of her Brookridge Drive home. At first she thought it was injured, but then realized it was searching for bugs in the “lawn,” which it did for nearly an hour. Also, on June 22, she saw a doe and her young fawn on Brookridge Drive.

While kayaking in West Cove, Kimberly Huot was joined by a mother duck and her ducklings. Four of the ducklings jumped onto her kayak and beckoned the others to join them.

On June 21, Arlene Brown observed an heron flying high over South Cove.

Elaine Lascher was the first to announce the birth of the loon chicks. Around 7 p.m. on June 23, Elaine heard both loons using every call in their repertoire and making a lot of noise – something they do when they have a hatch. So, early the next morning, she went out in her kayak with binoculars to check on them and, sure enough, there were two hatchlings! There was no activity on the island, and both the male and female loons were in the water nearby; the two babies were with the mother, one on her back and one bobbing in the water.

Charlie Taber had special visitors this summer: a duck family living in the vernal pool behind his house on Loon Drive! Each night, he and his wife watched and listened as the ducks waddled from the vernal pool, down the bank to splash into the lake for an evening swim before returning along the same path to the woods for the night.

Rob & Kathy Stebbins saw a bald eagle perched in a tree on the north end of the lake on the evening of July 12. They commented that the loons were not very happy with their visitor!

On July 15, Kristen and Mike Mendoza and their 5-year-old son Sebastian were in their boat on Eastman Lake between East Cove Beach and the South Cove condos when they spotted two adult loons. They were excited to see the loons after hearing their distinctive calling from their house all week and to experience in person the loons in their natural habitat.

Pete Kershaw spotted a blue heron perched on a log at the North Cove Beach in early morning of July 30.

Dave Wood encountered a young bear crossing Road Round the Lake on the evening of August 7. Dave’s car was blocking the bear’s path, so the bear kept going back into the woods, walking a little farther north and trying to cross the road again. He finally sauntered across near Mourning Dove Way. Dave later spoke to Peggy Hammer, who said that she had also seen it there an hour earlier.

David and Carol Greenfield spotted a snapping turtle laying her eggs along the fire lane in West Cove A near the West Cove Covered Bridge on the morning of August 16.

In August there were many sightings of an unaccompanied bear cub in the stump dump area off Road Round the Lake on the south side of Eastman, and some questioned whether this bear had been orphaned, although an adult bear had also been seen in this area within this time frame. Dave Wood contacted Lionel Chute, manager of the Sullivan County Conservation District, who pointed out that the extended drought reduced the wild food production in the region, stressing the wildlife population, so it was possible that the cub had been orphaned. He suggested that it was equally likely that the cub’s mother was encouraging the cub to forage on its own. If this was the case, the mom was likely some distance from the cub and not visible, but within earshot. Mr. Chute suggested waiting a few weeks before attempting any sort of intervention since bears have a range of about 10 miles. He advised that if the cub was still alone at the same location after a few weeks that would be abnormal and NH Fish and Game Department should be contacted.

Some of the highlights from our summer out and about in Eastman include: a wonderful morning watching a bald eagle in flight over the North Cove Beach on Cherry Lane; walks in the rain looking for red eft newts; and swimming at a West Cove beach with a loon diving for fish just 10 feet away. It was also a great summer for birding. We saw eagles, herons, hawks, and many different kinds of ducks. In the early summer, we had a young bear and a deer in our backyard, and our fox family has stayed all summer, although we never did see the kits. It was a great summer for being outside, and now we are ready for some cooler weather and the return of the backyard birds once we put our feeders back up.

Filed under: What's Out There.