On August 17th, about 30 people met for a walk on Stamp Act Island. Jeff Lougee from the Nature Conservancy and Peter Goodwin led the walk in two separate groups. Everyone seemed to enjoy most of the walk although ground wasps stung a few of the walkers, an unpleasant end to their morning.
The woods of Stamp Act Island are unique because lumbering has not occurred there for a long time. This makes the woods feel a bit different because there is no sign of human activity.
Jeff Lougee is pointing out some of the interesting features of the forest in this picture with part of the assembled group. Points of interest that were visited included the old eagle nest tree, the old dead pine near the North Beach. It is now a place where the eagles perch and one group had an adult fly to the tree, look down and fly away. The eagle was not expecting people on the island. Humans are only allowed to penetrate the woods during these guided hikes once a year. One group visited the new nest tree and saw the “misplaced” branches that were supposed to be on the nest but had dropped to the ground. They then visited a tree that had been burned because of lightning strike. The fire was put out by the Wolfeboro Fired Department so, with the exception of that tree, there was no damage to the island.
The island is wonderful in that the mosses and vegetation are lush. The ground underfoot is soft (as there are no trails) and generally there isn’t a lot of undergrowth impeding progress.
Jeff Lougee has had a wonderful time walking on the island the always gives a great walking tour talking about the flora and fauns.
Peter Goodwin, in red, led the other walk and knows more of the local history but is learning more about the flora and fauna from Jeff and others.
There will be another walk scheduled walk next year. Registration information will be posted on the Wentworth Watershed Association website. These walks tend to take place in August.