Birds and Nature North America

Headwaters of the Connecticut

Far Northern New Hampshire

31 May – 5 June 2017

Connecticut River

On my May 2017 trip to Moose Bog in northern Vermont, I studied maps of the general region and came upon the headwaters of the Connecticut River in northernmost New Hampshire. I was particularly interested in Scott Bog and East Inlet, within the Connecticut Lakes Natural Area. The best thing about these boreal habitats was that they were quite close to the Deer Mountain Campground, operated by the state of New Hampshire. This primitive campground was situated on the Connecticut River, just below Moose Falls Flowage, a boggy widening of the Connecticut, created by a small dam. The campground is about five miles downstream from the headwaters of the Connecticut, which lies on the Quebec/New Hampshire border. It is a 14.5-hour drive from my home in Bethesda, MD.

Campsite in Deer Mountain Campground

The whole area surrounding Deer Mountain Campground is wild lands, and much of it has not been logged for a number of decades. Most has now been set aside as “natural,” meaning it will no longer be logged or otherwise managed except for wildlife and natural habitat.

Alder Flycatcher

The geographically interesting thing about the area is that this northernmost piece of New Hampshire extends north of Vermont, and is bracketed by Quebec on the west and north, and Maine on the east. It is surrounded by mountains and features the four Connecticut Lakes (created by damming of the river) and an abundance of boreal forest, dominated by Red Spruce and Balsam Fir. It is notable that the area is entirely without White Pine, a conifer that is well represented in other northern-tier forests. At this season, Black Cherry and Shadbush were in flower, and two species of trillium, Hobblebush, and Rhodora were in bloom in the forest understory and bog openings, respectively.

Rhodora

The nearest town is Pittsburg, New Hampshire, 19 miles south of the campground on route 3. This is a very quiet corner of New Hampshire, and one well worth visiting in early June. But go prepared for rain and mist and cold. Nighttime temperatures dropped into the 30s and daytime temps, with the cloud and mist, stayed in the low 50s. I was there for wildlife and birds in particular, and the weather did not seem to keep them from their spring territorial activities. Also note that at this time of the year one sees first light at 5 AM, when birdsong commences.

Boreal Chickadee in song

In many ways, this field trip was a continuation of my Moose Bog field trip of early May. I was here to witness the wood warblers and other songbirds as the breeding season started to peak. The timing was good and the birds were out in force. This is also major Moose habitat, and I of course was eager to see Moose.

female Black-backed Woodpecker

East Inlet

I brought my bicycle with me with the express purpose of spending each morning “bicycle birding.” The first morning I biked down route 3 to the turn off to the graveled East Inlet Road, which took me into one section of the Connecticut Lakes Natural Area, and featuring the dammed East Inlet. The tertiary roads I biked were mainly flat, as I was in low boggy country, so the going was good, and with my bike I could move swiftly, all the while listening for birdsong, of which there was a great deal—thrushes, vireos, wood warblers, kinglets, nuthatches, and flycatchers. I spent from 6-10 AM birding by bike and recorded 42 species of birds. Here are some numbers that give you an idea of the advantages of birding by bicycle: 5 Blue-headed Vireos, 6 Swainson’s Thrushes, 3 Northern Waterthrushes, 15 Magnolia Warblers, 15 Black-throated Green Warblers, and 3 Canada Warblers. The morning 12 species of breeding wood warblers. Also 5 species of woodpeckers, including a curious pair of Black-backed Woodpeckers. And a cow Moose.

Blue-headed Vireo

Scott Bog

On my second morning, I spent more time on the Scott Bog Road, which is north of East Inlet. This morning was much like the preceding, with lots of birds in song. I heard Common Loons making all sorts of weird spring vocalizations—birds on water as well as birds in the air. It is amazing to hear the eerie sounds of this species coming through the Scottish mists. Highlights of this morning included 2 Hermit Thrushes in song, Philadelphia Vireo (seen and heard), four nice flycatchers: Olive-sided, Yellow-bellied, Least, and Alder; a lovely adult male Purple Finch, a singing Boreal Chickadee, 3 Winter Wrens in song, and 7 Ruffed Grouse (mainly males drumming).

Canada Warbler male

Fourth Lake

The late afternoon of the second day, I drove north to the Canadian border crossing, parked the car, and walked west across no-man’s land to the boundary trail to the Fourth Connecticut Lake. This is the headwaters of the Connecticut River, and smack on the border with Quebec. The hike passes a number of USGS benchmarks emplaced in the granite of the ridgetop, with clear indication where New Hampshire ends and Quebec begins.

International Boundary Marker - Quebec and New Hampshire

I passed much of this hike in Quebec territory. The lake itself is hidden in a rocky bowl filled with old growth Red Spruce with an understory of Balsam Fir. At the end of the day the bowl is filled with the high-pitched notes of the Northern Spring Peeper frogs.

Red Squirrel

As I approach the lake I have to lower the setting of my hearing aids because the frogs are so loud. No many birds are singing at this time of day. After about an hour, walking the perimeter of the small boreal lake, I manage to track down the two montane specialties of this region—Blackpoll Warbler and Bicknell’s Thrush. This twosome loves the montane conifer forests of New England and the Adirondacks. I hear Bicknell’s call, then sing, and then an individual shows itself in the gloaming. A nice sighting to end the day.

Fourth Connecticut Lake

Mount Magalloway

In the late morning of the third day the weather was a mix of clouds, mist, and blue sky. I decide to climb Mount Magalloway, east of the Second Connecticut Lake. This 3,300 foot summit has a fire tower atop it and is capped with a large crown of Balsam Fir. I had hopes of spending more time with the rare Bicknell’s Thrush up here, where the habitat was more expansive that at Fourth Connecticut Lake. It was not to be. The weather degraded, and Bicknell’s was nowhere to be seen. At the summit clearing I found Swainson’s Thrush, but no Bicknell’s. The summit was birdy—there were Blackpoll and Myrtle Warblers, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Blue Jays, but no Bicknell’s. I am confident this large tract of Balsam Fir had a good population of this elusive species, but that they were busy with nesting duties and not showing themselves to me. It rained on the hike down, and the rest of the day was a wash-out.

vista from summit of Mt. Magalloway

Return to Moose Bog

On my last morning at Deer Mountain, I did East Inlet and Scott’s Bog by car, and was able to photograph ten species of birds by the car—Philadelphia Vireo, Alder and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, and more. Then I packed up and headed to Norwich, Vermont, where I was scheduled to spend the night with friends. On the way southwestward, I stopped to pay my respects at Moose Bog, in the Northeast Kingdom of VT. I arrived in early afternoon. The sun shone and the Black Flies and Mosquitoes were fierce along the lovely walking trail on the north side of the bog. Birds were thin, but on the way out, I heard the drumming of the Black-backed Woodpecker. I found a female drumming on a dear spruce in the boggy pond on South American Road. Before long, a male joined it and the two mated on a branch not far from me. That was a surprising encounter for me, and a nice way to end the field trip. The drive south to Norwich was glorious, with big puffy clouds in the deep blue sky—a change from the low cloud, rain, and Scottish mist I had been suffering for days.

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher