HARDWICK – I was kayaking in mid-September with my partner in New Hampshire. We got out of our boats on the backside of the lake to explore the shoreline a bit. We saw abundant signs of wildlife on the sandy shore. We walked a ways and then returned to our boats for a picnic dinner. Just after finishing our meal, my partner looked past me and said, “What is that?”
photo by Miranda Hunt
I looked and saw a large rock with remarkable black fungus patterns all over it and jokingly responded, hieroglyphics. I instantly figured out what he had been looking at and realized that it was a cat. He lifted his binoculars and whispered, “It’s a Lynx!”
I instantly began freaking out because my camera was several feet away, zipped safely in its bag. I slowly began to go for it, thinking that by the time I looked back up it would be jumping into the tree line. Fortunately, I have since learned from a New Hampshire biologist that they are very curious animals.
We were able to watch this cat for about three minutes, which allowed me to take many photos.
We determined that it was a large male cat. When it finally walked into the trees in the distance, we both could not believe what we had just witnessed. It was an incredible experience, one I never thought I’d have, especially with my camera in tow. The sighting was reported to New Hampshire Fish and Wildlife.
photo by Miranda Hunt
I spotted a bald eagle perched on a low branch over Hardwick Lake and was able to take a photo from the middle of the road. In the many years of photographing the eagles on Hardwick Lake, I have never had such a close encounter.
Thanks to an increase in the eagle population in the state, Hardwick Lake is now on the map for the state’s mid-winter bald eagle survey. This was something that I helped to make happen after consistently reporting eagle sightings on the lake for many years. The survey is helpful in counting how many resident eagles the state might have.
I participated in the survey for many years, counting eagles in mid-January on the lake and Lamoille River. The eagles residing on Hardwick Lake hold a special place in my heart and I ask that everyone be respectful when viewing them. Keep a distance of 100 feet when possible.
Miranda Hunt is a photographer who lives in Hardwick.
