Twelve weeks goes by in a flash when you are an LPC field biologist.  We will be sad to say goodbye to them at the end of this week, as they have worked incredibly hard monitoring and protecting loons throughout New Hampshire.  I would like to extend a special thank you to our huge army of volunteers who have helped the field staff along the way.  Their commitment and dedication to LPC and to the loons on their lakes certainly makes our job easier.  We would not be able to do it without their help!  We are once again hosting volunteer appreciation potlucks in different parts of the state, so please see below for more details. 

LPC Volunteer, Tim Keith, helps Senior Biologist John Cooley float a nesting sign and ropeline to protect a loon nest in the Lakes Region of NH.  Photo courtesy of Bill Petry.

As many of you probably know by now, the second webcam nest was finally abandoned on July 26, almost three weeks past the expected hatch date.  It was actually a very unusual situation.  When the male got off the nest, the egg was attached to him, and then was seen later floating in the water, not too far from the nest site.  That's the first time we've heard of that happening!  We suspected the egg might be cracked, but it was completely intact when we collected it.  Perhaps the loon had some pitch pine on his feathers which caused the egg to stick. 

The following day, LPC Senior Biologist John Cooley and Winnipesaukee field biologist James Demers opened both of the unhatched eggs to see if they could determine whether there was any sign of development.  In the picture below, you can see just how big loon eggs really are, although I forgot to include a reference for size when I took this picture (that's an 8.5 x 11" piece of paper).  It's no wonder the female only lays 1-2 eggs!

This inviable egg was collected from LPC's second webcam nest on July 26.  Several measurements are taken before the egg is opened.

Here's a link to a video of the dissection of the unhatched egg from the first webcam.  Remember, one chick hatched from that nest and is doing well!  To see videos from both of our webcams this summer, make sure to visit LPC's YouTube channel.  Thanks again to all of our viewers--we had more than 6 times the audience this year than in 2016! 

The Swimmers lucked out again with amazing weather for The Swim on August 3.  The 2017 team led by Wendy Van de Poll included Suzan Ballmer, Vicky Boreyko, Virginia Craig, Lisa Davy, Rose de Mars, Pamela Halsey, Laurie Hoyt, Jen Marts, and Rick Van de Poll.  Rockywold-Deephaven Camps generously donated its boat to accompany the Swimmers across the lake, and spotters Jeff Marts and Ralph Kirshner (captaining the boat) kept a close eye on the Swimmers to ensure a safe trip across Squam Lake.

The 2017 Swim team celebrates at the end of their 7-mile journey across Squam Lake to raise money for loon preservation.