Sunday Sunshine

Skiidoos! & How Thick is the Ice?

With this morning's temperature hanging at the zero mark on the thermometer, we are back making ice!

This photo came in mid-January from a reader with the title "skiidoos!" Don't you love it!



We also received a request from another reader:

"Hi I was just wondering if you heard any reports on how thick the ice is.
Thanks."

Can anyone out there give us some numbers? The channel is open but I am sure the main part of the lake is thICK!

Sorry the blog has been quiet for a couple days! The organization is busy: a lake conference, 319 grant meeting, & much planning and typing have taken this week! 2010 promises to be packed with events! Stay tuned ...

Yesterday's Rains + Today's Temps = Ice Out!

Here's a few words from MassWildlife:

Stay safe on the ice

Marion Larson
Outreach Coordinator, MassWildlife

With the recent bone-chilling temperatures, many bodies of water iced over and ice fishermen, skaters and others are impatient to get out on the ice. Before venturing onto any frozen water body, here are some common sense measures you can take to make sure that the ice is safe.

Check ice by using a chisel to chop a hole to determine ice thickness and condition. In general 4 inches of clear blue ice is safe for foot traffic. Because the thickness of the ice will not be uniform all over the pond or lake, continue to chop more holes as you go further out on to the ice.

Don't venture onto ice bound rivers or streams since currents make ice thickness unpredictable.
Ice Thickness
(inches) Permissible Load
(clear, blue, lake ice)
2" or less STAY OFF!
4" Ice fishing or other activities on foot
5" Snowmobile or ATV
8" - 12" Car or small pickup truck
12" - 15" Medium truck


Before you set out on the ice, be sure to wear or carry ice pins or picks. Ice pins are a set of two wooden dowels fixed with a spike that sticks out three to four inches and they hang loosely on two ends of a rope around your neck. Ice picks also will do the job. If you fall through the ice, use them like pitons, a device that rock and ice climbers use, to pull yourself out of the water and onto firm ice.

What if you or a companion fall through the ice? As with any emergency, don't panic! If you fall through the ice, briefly call for help. You must act quickly. Air will remain trapped in your clothes for a short time aiding your buoyancy. Kick your legs while grasping for firm ice and driving the ice picks into the ice. Pull your body up by using the ice picks or pins.













Be careful out there!
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/recreation/safety/ice_safety.htm

Thanks to today's photographers for their submissions!

Yesterday's Skies

Wonder of Winter!

Stepping on the ice for the first time this year, the 2 year old exclaimed, "Mommy! Where did the lake go!"

Tracks in the Snow

This Saturday - MACOLAP Lake & Pond Management Workshop

Join us! At least 4 representatives from Manchaug Pond will be at the Mass Congress of Lake and Pond Association Conference this Saturday, January 23, 2010 from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm at Worcester State College.

10 different workshops to choose from ranging in topics from Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting to Lake Law to Community Preservation Act Funds to Eurasian Watermilfoil... not to mention some old favorites - 319 grants, rain gardens, lake-level drawdown and tree removal on dams.

$25 pre-registration with lunch included. Check the website to do so. http://www.macolap.org/

Ice Auger at 7:19. All Is Well

The USGS has an realtime updated map of recent earthquake activity.


Check for yourself: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/

A July 1980 Manchaug Pond Dam MA.00955 Phase I Inspection Report of the National Dam Inspection Program of the Department of The Army New England Division, Corps of Engineers states: "The dam is located in Seismic Zone 2 and in accordance with recommended Phase I guidelines does not warrant seismic analysis."

Warmer Weather

Yesterday's morning temperature was in the low single numbers, today we have warmer weather!

Don! Was that you on your new snowmobile!?

Don, is that you on your new snowmobile!?

Black or green?



or is that you on the yellow one!

No Limo on Manchaug Pond - Telegram Reports

There is no limo parked on Manchaug Pond.

Photo of Quaboag Pond by T&G Staff Tom Rettig


Head deeper into the local newspaper, the Worcester Telegram, for an article on our "cherished pond and dam" (yes you got that right! Manchaug is a cherished pond!), which recaps the situation arrived at by our dam owner this past summer and fall: the development of an "unofficial agreement" with another local potential buyer for the dam, the state's suggestion for an ownership transfer with an endowment, the refusal of an offer made in good-faith by a Manchaug Pond non-profit, cooperation by the town for development of a hydroelectric power bylaw, and the dam owner's continuance of the breaching process.

As Snow Falls, Keep Heads Up Friday for Intensive Eagle Count

In reporting the two eagles sightings earlier this week, MassWillife Information and Education Biologist Marion Larson has invited all of us to join Friday's statewide sruvey effort. "Perhaps you (or nearby neighbors) can keep an "eagle eye" out for a bird on Friday as part of our concentrated eagle count. Just call in the sighting (or email here) to our office--508-835-3607. We appreciate your enthusiasm for eagles! Marion"

Further noted on their website: http://environment.blog.state.ma.us/blog/
On January 8, 2010, agency biologists and many other cooperators will take part in a statewide effort to survey of the coast and major rivers, lakes, and reservoirs for eagles. We even expect a helicopter, generously provided by National Grid, to help count eagles in the Quabbin Reservoir and along the length of the Connecticut River. I’ll probably be posted at the Enfield Lookout at Quabbin Reservoir in Belchertown to answer questions and watch for eagles....
Last year, volunteers and state wildlife staff spotted a record number of 80 eagles (with 26 eagles spotted at the Quabbin Reservoir) during a one day survey in January.

Photo taken this summer on Manchaug Pond.

Sunset

Heads up! An Adult Bald Eagle Just Flew By!

2 for the eagle survey count here on Manchaug Pond! This time an adult, last time a juvenile. As I sat at the kitchen table minutes ado, I saw the big bird gliding directly toward me - huge wingspan was the give away it was a big bird. With the camera in front of me, I thought I could catch a picture as it flew by the window... white head and tail clearly visible ... but that delay from the time you press the button until the shutter moves left us with this



I can't see it among the branches. :(( It was close so it should be easy to spot. Next time, perhaps.

I'll email MassWildlife education biologist Marion Larson with this sighting!
http://environment.blog.state.ma.us/

By any chance did anyone capture that sunrise this morning - pink and blue stripes?

The Storm Continues...

Today's photo....captions anyone?

An Immature Eagle! That's 1 for the Count!

Just before 4 p.m. today a large, dark bird flew slow and low up the channel heading north here at Manchaug Pond. It circled east giving us another look before it headed toward Camp Blanchard. Definitely a juvenile eagle! Did you see it?

I'll be notifying MassWildlife of the sighting as part of the National Midwinter Eagle Survey! If you see an eagle now through January 13 email it in!

Here's the details:

Help us count bald eagles
Marion Larson
Outreach Coordinator, MassWildlife

Every year, MassWildlife participates in a midwinter eagle survey that occurs nationwide. This year, the Midwinter Bald Eagle survey period begins on December 30, 2009 and ends on January 13, 2010. I encourage everyone who is outdoors and sees an eagle during this time period to report his or her sighting! You can send your report to us at mass.wildlife@state.ma.us or to Eagle Survey, MassWildlife, Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA, 01581. Please provide the date, time, location, and town of eagle sightings, plus the number of birds, whether juvenile or adult, and your contact information.

On January 8, 2010, agency biologists and many other cooperators will take part in a statewide effort to survey of the coast and major rivers, lakes, and reservoirs for eagles. We even expect a helicopter, generously provided by National Grid, to help count eagles in the Quabbin Reservoir and along the length of the Connecticut River. I’ll probably be posted at the Enfield Lookout at Quabbin Reservoir in Belchertown to answer questions and watch for eagles. The photo is of me and local naturalist/photographer John Greene at that location in 2005.

Last year, volunteers and state wildlife staff spotted a record number of 80 eagles (with 26 eagles spotted at the Quabbin Reservoir) during a one day survey in January.
You can send your report to us at mass.wildlife@state.ma.us or to Eagle Survey, MassWildlife, Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA, 01581. Please provide the date, time, location, and town of eagle sightings, plus the number of birds, whether juvenile or adult, and your contact information.

You can find Ms. Larson's post and others in the state's new blog "The Great Outdoors" at http://environment.blog.state.ma.us/

Happy New Year from Manchaug Pond!