Outdoor Adventures with Gary Lee - Vol. 269
The National Weather Service tracked the local tornado on 7/16 west of Limekiln Lake coming from an area on the Adirondack League Club to the little island in Limekiln Lake. The island’s trees were leveled but for one tree. There was nothing but water between there and the south end of the private beach on the lake where it continued and did damage as it hit several camps, cars, and homes. The big balsams tipped over like dominoes, not all going in the same direction as it twisted across the landscape. It ended at the road into the Moose River Area putting a few trees across the road with others still leaning. Looking down toward the lake there was a lot of timber down or broken off. I was on the lake just before it hit and got off as it was just a constant rumble of thunder coming from the west. I went over the hill to home and never knew it hit other than the lights blinked a couple times but as the trees fell, they never took down the powerlines. Some of the residents are still cleaning up the mess in their yards and woods. They are doing some repairs to their structures which got hit by some of the downed trees. One vehicle was totaled as a balsam top broke off on top of the garage roof and speared through the windshield and out the back window, another windshield was smashed. Some shingles were ripped off and others had holes through their roofs from the falling and flying trees.
A couple of days later was the Annual Loon Census 7/20 from 8am to 9am done across the state with most of the lakes monitored in the Adirondacks. I flew with Tom Payne of Payne’s Air Service to check my lakes back in the Moose River Area Wildforest, same as I did last year. Getting started before eight we had a young lady go with us as more eyes while looking is always good. As Tom warmed up before we took off, she saw a loon on Seventh Lake just east of the big island. As we taxied before takeoff Tom said there was a Bald Eagle flying right along off the left wing and we were airborne. Flying over Seventh Lake Mountain and the Red River over the west side of the Moose River Area toward our first stop at Little Indian Lake. I was pointing out other water bodies Mitchell Ponds and the Moose River as we went south as we passed just east of Beaver Lake there was a nice fog bank hanging over the landscape where the Indian River and the Moose River meet. Soon we were coming down on Little Indian Lake just a little after eight, Tom taxied into the boot of the lake seeing a family of Canada Geese with five little ones which is a first for that lake that I know of. Going back toward the outlet we saw a family of Common Mergansers but no Loons. We took off through the boot end to the south and went right over Muskrat Pond seeing no loons there on the dead calm water. We turned and came to the east end of Muskrat (Squaw) Lake and taxied to the west end seeing three adult loons fishing together by the islands and the Ospreys and young on the nest at the west end of the lake. Off there about 8:30 and flew over the ridge to Beaver Lake coming in from the east I saw two adult Loons and a chick off the right side of the plane. We went back to check and saw them again. Last year we saw the same there, but we also saw a Bald Eagle checking out the Loons. Tom said we are going to do a power turn at the east end of the lake to take off over the west end as there was still no wind blowing. We circled over the ridge looking at the Moose River and Mitchell Ponds. There was a single Loon on the Upper Pond there. We did a look-see at the tornado damage on Limekiln Lake and took a few photos as you could see the swath of trees laying down toward the Moose River Area Road. I believe we were back on Seventh Lake, and we had the wing rope being caught by the young ladies’ father a little after nine. After a few photos were taken on the dock, we said our goodbyes. There were a pair of adult Loon’s fishing not far from the dock but no chicks.
The forest fires are burning out in twelve western states number 62 with the most in Oregon. The largest reported four days ago is the Park Fire started when a man pushed a burning car into a gully near Chico. It has grown to 353,194 acres and it has burned 130 structures and threatening several thousand more in its path. This is north of Sacramento and about 12% contained.
The most fires in one state are in Alaska with seventeen active fires burning currently far out in the wilderness, and not a threat to communities, life, or property. Many of these fires were started by lightning strikes and they are burning around lakes still covered with ice.
Loon banding starts around here (Inlet) on Wednesday for three days with a day off and then in the Saranac Lake Area for three days, but that’s another story. See ya.
Outdoor Adventurers Vol. 270
The National Weather Service tracked the local tornado on 7/16 west of Limekiln Lake coming from an area on the Adirondack League Club to the little island in Limekiln Lake. The island’s trees were leveled but for one tree. There was nothing but water between there and the south end of the private beach on the lake where it continued and did damage as it hit several camps, cars, and homes. The big balsams tipped over like dominoes, not all going in the same direction as it twisted across the landscape. It ended at the road into the Moose River Area putting a few trees across the road with others still leaning. Looking down toward the lake there was a lot of timber down or broken off. I was on the lake just before it hit and got off as it was just a constant rumble of thunder coming from the west. I went over the hill to home and never knew it hit other than the lights blinked a couple times but as the trees fell, they never took down the powerlines. Some of the residents are still cleaning up the mess in their yards and woods. They are doing some repairs to their structures which got hit by some of the downed trees. One vehicle was totaled as a balsam top broke off on top of the garage roof and speared through the windshield and out the back window, another windshield was smashed. Some shingles were ripped off and others had holes through their roofs from the falling and flying trees.
A couple of days later was the Annual Loon Census 7/20 from 8am to 9am done across the state with most of the lakes monitored in the Adirondacks. I flew with Tom Payne of Payne’s Air Service to check my lakes back in the Moose River Area Wildforest, same as I did last year. Getting started before eight we had a young lady go with us as more eyes while looking is always good. As Tom warmed up before we took off, she saw a loon on Seventh Lake just east of the big island. As we taxied before takeoff Tom said there was a Bald Eagle flying right along off the left wing and we were airborne. Flying over Seventh Lake Mountain and the Red River over the west side of the Moose River Area toward our first stop at Little Indian Lake. I was pointing out other water bodies Mitchell Ponds and the Moose River as we went south as we passed just east of Beaver Lake there was a nice fog bank hanging over the landscape where the Indian River and the Moose River meet. Soon we were coming down on Little Indian Lake just a little after eight, Tom taxied into the boot of the lake seeing a family of Canada Geese with five little ones which is a first for that lake that I know of. Going back toward the outlet we saw a family of Common Mergansers but no Loons. We took off through the boot end to the south and went right over Muskrat Pond seeing no loons there on the dead calm water. We turned and came to the east end of Muskrat (Squaw) Lake and taxied to the west end seeing three adult loons fishing together by the islands and the Ospreys and young on the nest at the west end of the lake. Off there about 8:30 and flew over the ridge to Beaver Lake coming in from the east I saw two adult Loons and a chick off the right side of the plane. We went back to check and saw them again. Last year we saw the same there, but we also saw a Bald Eagle checking out the Loons. Tom said we are going to do a power turn at the east end of the lake to take off over the west end as there was still no wind blowing. We circled over the ridge looking at the Moose River and Mitchell Ponds. There was a single Loon on the Upper Pond there. We did a look-see at the tornado damage on Limekiln Lake and took a few photos as you could see the swath of trees laying down toward the Moose River Area Road. I believe we were back on Seventh Lake, and we had the wing rope being caught by the young ladies’ father a little after nine. After a few photos were taken on the dock, we said our goodbyes. There were a pair of adult Loon’s fishing not far from the dock but no chicks.
The forest fires are burning out in twelve western states number 62 with the most in Oregon. The largest reported four days ago is the Park Fire started when a man pushed a burning car into a gully near Chico. It has grown to 353,194 acres and it has burned 130 structures and threatening several thousand more in its path. This is north of Sacramento and about 12% contained.
The most fires in one state are in Alaska with seventeen active fires burning currently far out in the wilderness, and not a threat to communities, life, or property. Many of these fires were started by lightning strikes and they are burning around lakes still covered with ice.
Loon banding starts around here (Inlet) on Wednesday for three days with a day off and then in the Saranac Lake Area for three days, but that’s another story. See ya.
Photo Above: Blanket of fog below Beaver Lake at the intersection of the Moose and Indian Rivers
