| Did You Know? | |
The blackish down (aka natal down) of a loon chick is replaced after approximately 2 weeks with a second coat of down that is brownish in color. |
| What's that call? | |
Have you ever wondered what the different loon vocalizations mean?
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| Contact Us | |
P.O. Box 604
Lee's Mill Road
Moultonborough, NH 03254
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Greetings!
July is an exciting month for us at LPC. This Saturday, July 16th is the annual Loon Census from 8-9 am. There are still lakes that need coverage, so please contact me (volunteers@loon.org) if you would like to participate. Following the Loon Census is the 34th Annual Loon Festival from 10 am - 2 pm. There are crafts for the kids, slideshows for the adults and food and drink for all. You can even win a chance to dunk a field biologist in the dunk tank if you answer a question about loons correctly! For additional information click the link to the left.
Make sure to pick up the July/August issue of Yankee Magazine. There is a wonderful article on loons by LPC volunteer and member, Kristen Laine. The magazine is also featuring a loon slideshow on their website.
Approximately 130 people attended the Annual Gala Luncheon & Benefit Auction in Meredith on June 26. We raised more than $20,000, all of which supports LPC's monitoring, research, management and outreach. Many thanks to all those who attended and supported the event.
Keep us posted on the loon activity on your lake.
All the best,
Susie |
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Tales from the Field - Truly Wild Winni, Part II
By Vincent Spagnuolo
 You may remember Vincent's saga in the last e-newletter, but I will give you a short re-cap before you read the rest of the story. While roping off a loon nest last summer on Lake Winnipesaukee, Vincent witnessed an unusual sequence of events. To his dismay the loon was accidentally flushed off its nest, left to defend the eggs from a hungry immature eagle and then to defend its territory from an intruding loon. After the intruder was driven away, the adults moved back towards the direction of the nest when the unthinkable happened........
A crow landed inches from the egg. This bird of high intelligence was poised to make an easy meal for itself. I stood in my boat on the verge of screaming, again helplessly watching this wild turn of events, when winged help emerged from the island's vegetation. An Eastern Kingbird, most likely protecting a nest of its own, darted towards the crow mobbing it viciously over and over thus causing it to hop and wing backwards a few feet away from the nest. This action attracted the attention of the closest loon which in a bolt of black and white, flew/swam/wing-rowed across the water to the nest and bumped up on shore thus chasing off the crow for good. After a minute of back-and-forth swimming in front of the nest, the loon clambered back up to the nest and resumed incubation. This epic, nearly half hour ordeal, left me speechless and in total awe at what I had just witnessed. What an incredible sequence of events, two egg predation attempts by an eagle, a fight with an intruding loon, crow close call, and a mobbing Kingbird to save the day. Yet, had anyone arrived at this moment, they would have thought the loon was just cooling itself off in the water.
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 Event Spotlight: Carl R. Johnson Memorial Golf Tournament
The "Carl R. Johnson Memorial Golf Tournament" will be held on Monday, August 15th, at Ridgewood Country Club in Moultonborough. Reservations can be made by calling The Loon Center at 603-476-5666. Prizes include a hole-in-one boat (pictured) and trailer-Bryant Bowrider, 5.0 liter Mercruiser (MPI); EZ Loader custom tandem trailer. Hole sponsors can be purchased for $100.00. All proceeds benefit the Loon Preservation Committee's work to preserve loons and their habitats in New Hampshire. Pre-registration is required. We hope to see you there!
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2011 Field Season: A Preliminary Glance
As I mentioned in the last e-newsletter, the first nest of the 2011 season was initiated in mid-May. So far this season, 208 territorial pairs have been counted; of those 64% (133 pairs) have nested hatching a total of 96 chicks across the state.
These preliminary numbers show a decrease from 2010, but we will know more in the next few weeks once all lakes and pairs are accounted for. In some areas nesting got off to a slower start this year because of heavy spring rain. Many preferred nesting sites were under water for the first part of June. Stay tuned for the next e-newsletter with a 2011 season update and preliminary results from the census.
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The Loon Preservation Committee is dedicated to restoring and maintaining a healthy population of loons throughout New Hampshire; monitoring the health and productivity of loon populations as sentinels of environmental quality; and promoting a greater understanding of loons and the natural world.
Sincerely,
Susie Burbidge
Loon Preservation Committee
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