Birdathon & Bloomathon

Saturday, May 21

The annual Birdathon/Bloomathon event, held by the Lakes Region Chapter of New Hampshire Audubon, will take place this year on Saturday, May 21. Expert birders Tony Vazzano, Ned Beecher, and Bob Ridgely, along with Chris Clyne on wildflowers, will hit the birding hotspots of Tamworth, Moultonborough, Sandwich, and vicinity, and try to see as many species of birds and flowers as they possibly can in one day. The Birdathon has been a spring tradition in the northern Lakes Region for well over twenty years, and with the help of Betty Steele and other volunteers, has raised thousands of dollars in pledges over the years for Audubon and the Loon Preservation Committee.  The Lakes Region Chapter will receive ten percent of the proceeds to support their free nature talks, presented monthly at the Loon Center during fall, winter, and spring, while the remaining 90 percent goes to support LPC and their efforts to save our loons. 
 
We encourage anyone who loves loons to pledge by the species.  In past years, the Birdathon/Bloomathon has spotted around 170-180 species, so a pledge of 25 cents would mean a donation of approximately $45 to LPC.  All donors will receive a checklist of the species seen during our "Big Day."  If you would like to donate please visit us online or call LPC at 603-476-5666 to pledge. 

Back on Track: Three Rescue Efforts to Assist Migrating Loons

By John Cooley

We were surprised to see three loon rescues in just over two weeks this month, all migrating loons that apparently crashed en route.   The first came on April 8, on Lake Winnipesaukee.  A stranded loon was reported on the still-frozen Broads, and with the help of Jerry Whiteleather and Caroline McNerny, LPC biologist John Cooley retrieved the loon by hovercraft.

                  Photos by Jerry Whiteleather

The loon was exhausted when we picked it up.  There was a slushy trail from its take-off attempts on the ice for over a mile, from near Parker Island to the northern corner of Rattlesnake Island.  Unfortunately, in spite of prompt treatment over the following two days from rehabilitator Kappy Sprenger and then Avian Haven in Freedom Maine, the loon died from crash-landing injuries to its back and head.  This was a banded loon, originally captured and marked as a breeding adult at Whortleberry Island in 2003.  So, we know he was at least 11 years old and probably at least 13-14 years.  Migrating loons are able to arrive shortly after iceout by flying reconnaissance trips ahead of the thaw, to look for open water, and this loon must have run into trouble as he checked for open water on his home lake.  

The second rescue came on Wednesday evening, April 20th.  Former LPC field biologist and current US Forest Service employee Kori Marchowsky was surprised to discover a stranded loon in Crawford Notch.  The loon, probably flying through the Notch, had apparently crash landed on the side of Rt 302, perhaps mistaking it for open water in the sleet and rain that was falling at the time.  The loon appeared to be in good condition, so it was taken to the Saco River in Bartlett Village where it was released.

Finally, for the third rescue NH Fish and Game Officer Matt Holmes picked up a stranded loon near Twin Mountain, NH on Saturday April 23^rd.  Once again, the loon was scraped up from crashing on dry land, but otherwise appeared uninjured.  As a precaution, it was transferred to rehabilitator Kappy Sprenger. She reported on Monday that the loon was a healthy weight (11+ pounds), feisty, eating well, and probably ready for release within the week.

We usually hear about or respond to a loon crash-landing on migration every year or two.  Perhaps the risk of crash landing on migration or iceout reconnaissance flights is the downside of a bigger body size for New England loons, with the heaviest body weight of any loon population.  These migration incidents demonstrate the physical rigors of long-distance flight and the demands of looking for open water as the lakes thaw, and we track the crash-landings with added interest because in some cases they may be the first sign of compromised health in the individual loons. 

For another mention of migrating loons at a healthy altitude-flying over New Hampshire's Presidential Range instead of through the notches-see this blog report of loons in flight above Mt. Eisenhower in early February, 2008:

http://sparkysride.blogspot.com/2008/02/why-blog.html

NH eBird

A useful tool for reporting loon sightings

eBird was developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society in 2002 as a way to collect data on bird abundance and distribution.  In 2009, New Hampshire Audubon (NHA) and New Hampshire Bird Records teamed up to create NH eBird which allows people to report sightings from the state of NH only.  In reference to loons, it is a great resource to report the date of arrival after ice-out.  It can also be used to record the date the loons leave the lakes in the fall.  For more information on NH eBird, please visit this link.