Great news! LPC's
2019 looncam
is now live! We are so excited to bring you live footage from a New Hampshire loon nest site for the 6th year in a row! The camera is streaming from the same lake as we've shown you for the past several years, and we have confirmed that the same pair is back on territory this year.
This pair has an interesting history. The female was originally banded as an adult in 1998. Loons do not mature until they are at least 3 years old, so we know that she is at least 24. However, because loons will, on average, not breed successfully until they are around 6 years old, it is likely that she is actually at least 27 years old! The male of the webcam pair was initially banded in 2014, so we know that he is at least 8 years old.
Though we only know for certain that they've been together since 2014 (when the male was first banded), it's possible that this pair has been together for much longer-prior to her mate's banding in 2014, this female had been paired with an unbanded male since 1999. That means that there is a chance (though it is not possible to confirm) that this pair has been together for two decades! Since she was initially banded in 1998, the webcam female has successfully hatched 17 chicks! At least 6 of these chicks were fathered by her current mate. We hope that this loon pair's strong history of nesting success will continue this year!
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In 2018, the pair from our first webcam hatched 2 chicks. Tune in this year to watch this same pair again!
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These loons will likely not begin nesting for another couple of weeks, but viewers can tune in now to watch their fascinating pre-nesting behaviors, which include nest site selection and nest building. We hope that you will watch, and I will be sure to provide another update when eggs are laid!
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In other news, congratulations are in order for LPC's Squam Lake Project Biologist Tiffany Grade. Tiffany has been very busy over the past few months. In early April, Tiffany presented her research on the multiple stressors affecting Squam Lake's loons at a meeting of the Linnean Society of New York City.
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LPC's Squam Lake Biologist Tiffany Grade presents at the American Museum of Natural History to the Linnean Society of New York City
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Later in April, a paper for which Tiffany was the lead author was published online in the journal Ambio and will come out in print later this summer. Loons play a prominent role in the article, but Tiffany and her co-authors also reviewed the ingestion of lead fishing tackle by other wildlife species and the efficacy of voluntary and regulatory efforts to encourage the use of non-toxic fishing gear.
Finally, Tiffany's paper about the population level effects on New Hampshire's loons of lead poisoning resulting from the ingestion of lead fishing tackle, which was published in the Journal of Wildlife Management in 2018, was selected to be part of a special virtual journal issue ahead of a joint meeting of The Wildlife Society and the American Fisheries Society. The special issue highlights research topics and papers important to both wildlife and fisheries professionals.
Congratulations to Tiffany-loons in New Hampshire and beyond are fortunate to have her working on their behalf!
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Ingestion of lead fishing gear is the number one cause of known adult loon mortality in New Hampshire. This loon, which was rescued on Lake Winnipesaukee in May 2018, later died from lead poisoning.
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As of May 9th, 20 new members have joined LPC in response to our Member a Day in May Membership Drive! We are so thrilled to have their support, which helps us to fund our important work on behalf of loons. We are nearly halfway there, but we still need help to reach our goal of 31 new members during the month of May.
Don't forget if you join this month you will be entered into a drawing for one of
four
great prizes:
- A 15x19" framed loon print by Tristan MacDonald
- An LL Bean tote bag with LPC's logo
- A $50 gift certificate to LPC's Loon's Feather giftshop
- A copy of the book Journey with the Loon and its companion dvd
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This map shows our monitoring regions in New Hampshire. LPC employs seasonal biologists to monitor the lakes within each monitoring region, plus one biologist each to cover Squam Lake and Lake Winnipesaukee. We work with the Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge to monitor for loon activity on Lake Umbagog.
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Our 2019 field season officially starts up on May 20
th
. LPC divides New Hampshire into different monitoring regions and hires seasonal field biologists to survey the lakes in each region for loon activity. If you see any of our crew members out on your lake, please say hi!
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Wishing you a happy spring!
Caroline
Caroline Hughes
Volunteer/Outreach Coordinator
Loon Preservation Committee
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Upcoming Events
The
Birdathon/Bloomathon
will be held on
May 16th
! To donate to the Birdathon/Bloomathon, please click
HERE!
Join LPC and the Lakes Region Chapter of NH Audubon on
June 6th from 7 PM-8:30 PM
at the
Loon Center
for a nature talk entitled
"A Photo Journey through the Fundy Isles."
For more details, click
HERE.
The
2019 Loon Census
will be held on
Saturday July 20th, from 8:00-9:00 AM
. For more information about the Loon Census, please click
HERE.
After the census, join us at the
Loon Center
for the
Loon Festival
, from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM.
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Loon Preservation Committee | 603-476-LOON (5666) | www.loon.org
Loon Center Hours: Open Thursday through Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm
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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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