It's time for LPC's Annual Member a Day in May Membership Drive! |
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The Loon Preservation Committee has always been a grassroots organization that relies on a broad and dedicated membership base in order to conduct our monitoring, research, education, and management efforts to support loons in New Hampshire. During these uncertain times when many non-profit organizations, including LPC, continue to face financial hardship, the support of our members is more critical than ever. Today begins our annual Member a Day in May Membership drive. The goal of this drive is to get 31 (or more!) new LPC members during the month of May. All memberships are tax deductible and help to fund our important work on behalf of loons in New Hampshire. New members who sign up during the month of May will be entered in a raffle to win one of four great prizes:
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Perfect for the loon lover who enjoys catching up with loved ones over a cup of tea! The Tea for Two basket includes two LPC mugs, two loon coasters, an assortment of teas hand-picked by LPC staff, a tea infuser, and a copy of “Fascinating Loons” (a cd of loon calls). |
If you have a garden or yard in need of some loon-themed decor, this is the prize for you! This bronze sundial features a loon on a pond, with a cattail shaped gnomon. Dimensions are 11.25″diameter x 8″ height. |
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The "Loon Kitchen" Basket |
For those looking to add some loon-themed items to their kitchens, the Loon Kitchen basket is a great prize! Functional as well as decorative, this basket includes two loon dish towels and a loon shaped cutting board from Board in the Kitchen. Cutting board is made of counter top material and comes with a wooden display stand. |
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The "Sweet Dreams" Basket |
Perfect for those looking to pass on their love of loons and lakes to the children in their lives, the Sweet Dreams basket includes a loon-themed night light and a copy of Good Night Lake by Adam Gamble. |
We understand that this past year has been difficult for many families. If your budget allows, please consider becoming an LPC member. To learn more about our Member a Day in May membership drive or become a member of the Loon Preservation Committee, please click here. If you are unable to become a member at this time, there are many other ways that you can support us! Please consider volunteering with us or advocating for us by sharing our mission with a family member or friend. Even following or liking us on our social media platforms is a great way to show your support, and it comes with the added benefit of allowing you to keep up with what we are doing day to day!
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LPC's Loon Cam Going Live! |
Our first Loon Cam of 2021 will be going live later this month! The Loon Cam will be streamed from a different site this year, and we look forward to introducing you to the new loon pair. We hope to begin streaming by mid-May—be sure to check our website for updates.
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We are excited to announce that construction has ended, and the Loon Center is now open to the public! Our current hours are Thursday–Saturday, 9 AM–5 PM. After May 17th, we will be open 6 days per week (Monday–Saturday) from 9–5 PM. We look forward to welcoming you back! |
Common Loon Q&A with LPC Biologists |
Please note date change! Do you have questions about loons that you'd like us to answer? Join us on Thursday, May 13th at 7 PM on our YouTube channel for a live Q&A session all about the common loon. Panelists will include LPC Senior Biologist/Executive Director Harry Vogel, LPC Volunteer and Outreach Biologist Caroline Hughes, and Dr. Mark Pokras, loon-expert veterinarian and emeritus professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. If you'd prefer to submit your questions ahead of time, please email them to Caroline Hughes at [email protected]
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Contaminants in New Hampshire's Loons |
On April 15th, LPC's Squam Lakes Biologist, Tiffany Grade, presented on LPC's research on contaminants in loon eggs across New Hampshire and the next steps in LPC's efforts to research and protect loons from this statewide threat. If you were unable to attend the live presentation or would like to watch it again, you can access the recording here.
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Photo courtesy of Ray Hennessy. |
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We'll Buy Your Lead Tackle! |
To reduce loon mortalities from lead poisoning, the Loon Preservation Committee continues to partner with NH Fish and Game and local tackle shops to put on a lead tackle buyback program. Please visit loonsafe.org for program details.
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LPC Seacoast Region Biologist, Olivia Fortuna, holds the rescued loon while LPC Volunteer and Outreach Biologist, Caroline Hughes, prepares to band it prior to release. Photo courtesy of Maria Colby. |
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On April 13th, LPC received report of a loon that had crash landed in a backyard in Rochester, NH. LPC Volunteer and Outreach Biologist, Caroline Hughes, collected the loon and brought it to Capital Area Veterinary Emergency and Specialty (CAVES), where they took a radiograph and performed blood tests to check for lead and other health parameters. After consultation with veterinarians and with wildlife rehabilitator, Maria Colby, the loon was deemed fit for release. It was banded prior to release, which has allowed us to monitor its progress will enable us to track it in the future. The loon was released on a quiet pond close to the location it crash landed. LPC staff and volunteers have kept an eye on it in the weeks since the rescue, and we are please to report that the loon appears to be doing well. We thank all who were involved in this successful rescue: those who initially reported the loon, Maria Colby and the staff at CAVES who assessed the loon, Dr. Mark Pokras who provided additional consultation, and the volunteers who have helped to monitor the loon post-release. |
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Preparations for the 2021 loon nesting season are well underway! On April 14, LPC volunteer Steve Burtchell dropped off the bases for 12 loon nesting signs, which he constructed over the winter. We thank Steve for his hard work—many loons will benefit from these signs protecting their nest sites this year! |
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On April 22nd and 23rd, LPC staff and volunteers braved cold temperatures and intermittent snowstorms to participate in our annual Volunteer Raft and Sign Building Workshop. We had so much interest that we needed to add a second day of work to allow for proper social distancing between groups! In total, we were able to construct 5 new rafts. We sincerely thank all who participated for their help to build these rafts, which will be floated on lakes and ponds throughout New Hampshire this year to help address some of the threats that loons face while nesting. |
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Snow couldn't stop this group! Volunteers Skip Grady, Deb Moskey, Rick O'Callaghan, Joanne Grady, and Lois Kessin work with LPC Senior Biologist, John Cooley, to assemble a log-style loon nest raft. This intrepid team worked through several snow squalls throughout the day! |
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Students from Moultonborough Academy also joined us on April 23rd for an Earth Day Work Day. They helped to spruce up the Loon Center grounds, measure and cut camouflage for loon nest rafts, and untangle rope lines that will be floated this summer to protect nesting loons. We thank them for their help! |
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Continued loon observations welcome! |
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This photo was submitted to us last month to accompany a report of the loon's arrival. Photo courtesy of Carol Varney. |
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Now that the loons have returned to many lakes in New Hampshire, we welcome your continued observations! You can report sightings (including those of particular interest such as nest initiation, fights/territorial interactions among loons, etc.) using our online Volunteer Observation Report. If you can snap a photo of your loons (from a safe distance of 150 feet or more) to include with your report, even better! Thank you!
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Loons are incredibly territorial birds. Once they've established their territory, they employ a suite of different behaviors to defend it from intruding loons (those loons that do not have a territory of their own and are looking to take over an existing territory). The yodel is a call that is given only by male loons and is frequently used during territorial interactions. The yodel is a complex call, and research from our colleagues in the midwest has indicated that each male loon's yodel is unique and is used to communicate many pieces of information, including that loon's identity, body condition and fighting ability, aggression, and willingness to escalate to a physical confrontation.
The rate at which loons yodel changes throughout the year. Yodels are given most frequently during the spring, when loons are returning to their lakes and reestablishing their territories. A second peak in yodeling frequency occurs around the time that chicks hatch. The video below, taken recently on a New Hampshire pond by Dave and Sue Luther, shows a pair of loons in a territorial confrontation with an intruding loon. During this confrontation, the male loon yodels several times. When the loon yodels, you may notice that he extends his neck flat over the water's surface. This helps to better project the call. Fortunately, in this instance, the territorial confrontation did not escalate to a physical fight. In the days following this interaction, the intruding loon was not seen on the pond—it must have understood the message that the territory is well defended!
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Video courtesy of Dave and Sue Luther. |
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This month, Gavia—Tales from Loon Country is on sale in the LPC online store! This book contains a collection of photographs and tales from Loon Country. In the words of Nick Leadley, photographer and editor, “This book is an attempt to explore through words and pictures the mystical relationship people have with the Common Loon”. Foreword written by LPC Senior Biologist and Executive Director, Harry Vogel.
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Loon Preservation Committee | 603-476-LOON (5666) | www.loon.org |
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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. |
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