Presentation: Cyanobacteria 101

Join us at The Loon Center (183 Lees Mill Road in Moultonborough) on Monday, August 14 at 7 PM for a presentation from Nisa Marks, Watershed Coordinator at NH DES. As a watershed coordinator, Nisa helps lake associations and watershed stakeholders with issues related to cyanobacteria, watershed planning, and water quality. In this presentation, Nisa will discuss cyanobacteria, cyano blooms, and what can be done to support our lakes.

Sunapee Region Volunteer Appreciation Potluck

Join us on August 19th for a potluck dinner and presentation on the 2024 nesting season. This event is being hosted at the Lake Sunapee Protective Association (63 Main Street, Sunapee NH) and begins at 5:30 PM. Space is limited, so RSVP is required! If you are interested in attending, please email volunteers@loon.org to let us know what you'd like to bring.

LPC Annual Meeting and Volunteer Appreciation Potluck

Join us on August 22nd for our Annual Meeting, our final Summer Nature Talk of 2024, and a potluck dinner to show our appreciation to the wonderful volunteers who make our work possible! The evening will begin at 5:00 PM with a potluck dinner to celebrate our volunteers. If you would like to attend the potluck portion of the evening, please email volunteers@loon.org to let us know what you'd like to bring!

LPC's Annual Meeting will begin at 6:30 PM. At 7:00 PM, LPC's Executive Director, Harry Vogel will present preliminary information on how New Hampshire's loons fared this year. Join us in person for one or all parts of the evening, or join us on our YouTube channel for a livestream of Harry's talk at 7:00.

Photo courtesy of Ray Hennessy.

Summer Nature Talks

LPC's Summer Nature Talk series continues through August. See below for details!

LPC at Work

July was another busy month for us at LPC. Our staff continued our important work on behalf of New Hampshire's loons, including: documenting the outcome of loon nests across the state, floating signs to encourage boaters to slow down in areas frequently used by vulnerable loon families, rescuing loons in distress, educating members of the public about loons and their needs, and banding loons to learn more about their health and life history. See below for some highlights!

In early July, a loon was spotted tangled in fishing line on Akers Pond. The loon had line tightly wrapped around the lower portion of its bill (left). On July 4th, LPC's North Country Biologist, Lauren O'Malley, was able to team up with volunteer Kally Abrams to capture, untangle, and release the loon back onto the pond (right). What better way to celebrate independence day? Photos courtesy of Kally Abrams.

LPC East Lakes Region Biologist, Cassie Wolfe, prepares to float signs to encourage boaters to drive cautiously around vulnerable loon families. Photo courtesy of Ann Haralambie.

Pemigewasset Region Biologist, Jayden Mowery, collects eggshell fragments from a loon nest site. Photo courtesy of Scott Powell.

Outreach Intern, Lynda Moore, teaches children about loons at the Berlin Public Library. Photo courtesy of Denise Torres.

Sunapee Region Biologist, Leo Dutkewych, holds a loon chick during a night of banding in the Monadnock Region.

Tufts Veterinary Intern, Katie Baxter, holds a loon chick during a night of banding in the Seacoast Region.

Annual Loon Census Results

From 8-9 AM on Saturday, July 20, LPC held our Annual Loon Census. During the census, 454 volunteers took to 104 lakes across New Hampshire to conduct a simultaneous survey, creating a 'snapshot in time' of a large percentage of New Hampshire's loon population. Together, we documented the presence of 450 adult loons, 71 loon chicks, and 4 immature loons.This census coverage represents just under 1/3 of the lakes that LPC biologists monitor annually, and as such, our final population numbers for the season (which will be presented during our End of Season Summer Nature Talk on August 22nd) will be higher.

The Loon Census helps LPC to monitor the progress of known loon nests, discover previoiusly unknown nests, check on the survival of chicks that have hatched in the previous weeks, and detect new loon chicks that may have hatched since our biologists last surveyed a given water body. Census results are incorporated into LPC's summer-long monitoring data. We sincerely thank all of the volunteers who dedicated their Saturday morning to help us count loons!

Following the Loon Census, we hosted our 45th Annual Loon Festival! Through the course of the day, hundreds of people attended the festival to learn about loons and participate in our activities. We had a great time and cannot wait for next year!

LPC Volunteer, Jayden Jech, looks for loons on Lake Winnipesaukee during the Annual Loon Census.

A Loon Festival Attendee attempts to dunk LPC Biologist, Christine Santos, in the dunk tank at the 45th Annual Loon Festival. Photo courtesy of Colin Moura.

Annual Benefit Raffle

The Loon Preservation Committee's Annual Benefit Raffle presents a wonderful opportunity to support our work on behalf of loons in New Hampshire while also taking a chance to win one of three great prizes! This year's prizes include:

• A Vapor 10XT Kayak, with paddle and life vest included. Generously donated by Irwin Marine.
• Rustic Loon Wall Art: This colorful, handpainted vintage saw will complement any room! 27" long and 7" high. Generously donated by Montie Fiske.
• A Day at The Lake package: This LL Bean "boat and tote" bag comes with all the essentials for a day at the lake—an ultra-absorbent sand cloud beach towel, a 25 oz Camelback Eddy water bottle, and the newly released Loons of New Hampshire: Preserving a Natural Treasure by local author and historian Glenn Knoblock.

Raffle winners will be drawn on November 30th. You can purchase tickets by phone at (603)476-5666, or by stopping in at The Loon Center (for hours, please click here). Thank you for your support!

New Hampshire's Oldest Known Loon Returns

The oldest known loon in New Hampshire is a female who was originally banded as an adult on Lake Umbagog in 1993. Because loons do not reach adulthood until age three, we know that she is at least 34 years old this year. However, because the average loon will not reproduce successfully until it is 6-7 years old, and this loon had chicks the year she was banded, it is likely that she is now 37-38 or older. In early July, staff at the Umgagog National Wildlife Refuge became concerned about this loon acting strangely—'loafing' around, not diving, and allowing boats to approach her closely. Thankfully, after a few days of close monitoring, she resumed normal behaviors. Many thanks to Grace Drewery and Katrina Fenton of the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge and LPC volunteer Kally Abrams for closely monitoring this special loon!

New Hampshire's oldest known loon shows off the yellow band on her left leg. Photo courtesy of Kally Abrams.

The 1993 Umbagog female shows the bands on both of her legs. Time has faded these bands—the band on her right leg used to be bright orange! Photo courtesy of Kally Abrams.

In July, during a night of banding in the Seacoast Region, LPC biologists recaptured another old friend—the male in the photo above, who was originally banded as a chick on Swains Lake in 1999. At age 25, this loon was older than many of the biologists on the banding crew! He now nests on a small lake just 9 miles away from his natal lake. This loon did not hatch chicks of his own this year, but he did gain two new siblings—his father, who was banded the same night that he was in 1999, is still breeding on Swains Lake and hatched two chicks this year.

Loon Fact of the Month: Late Season Social Gatherings

In recent weeks, you may have noticed larger groups of loons on your local lake. At this time of year, it is not uncommon to see groups of 3, 5, 10, or even 20+ loons, especially on larger lakes. This may seem unusual, as loons are typically very territorial during the breeding season—throughout much of the summer, the resident pair on a territory will chase any extra loons out. However, larger social gatherings consisting of multiple loons become more normal from mid-July onward. These late-season social gatherings often consist of non-territorial birds (those loons that were not able to acquire or maintain control of a breeding territory during the summer) and loons that held a territory but did not succeed in hatching or raising chicks. Later in the summer, loons that have succeeded in breeding may also start to join in on the gatherings.

A group of four loons spotted during the 2024 Loon Census. Photo courtesy of Scott Powell.

Why do loons switch from being territorial and aggressive towards other loons early in the breeding season to being more tolerant and social later in the summer? Many researchers have suggested explanations. Dr. Judy McIntyre suggested that late-summer social gatherings may help to facilitate cooperation among adult loons. For those loons that will take part in group feeding during migration or in the winter, late-summer social gatherings can serve as good practice, priming them to work well with others when the time comes. She also noted that loons' hormone levels may be waning in the late summer because the time for nesting has passed, which may help to reduce their levels of aggression towards other loons.

A social gathering of six loons on White Lake in July. Photo courtesy of Johanna Vienneau.

Social gathering may also help loons to gather information about other nearby lakes. Dr. Jim Paruk has suggested that if a loon does not have a territory or mate of its own, social gathering may help it to gather information that will help it to find one or both of those things the following year.

Dr. Walter Piper has noted that the loons involved in mid-to-late summer social gatherings may have different motivations for participation. If a pair has succeeded at raising chicks and other loons land on the lake and start a social gathering, one of the pair members may join the gathering in order to distract the intruders and keep them away from their chicks. Loons that do not yet have a territory of their own may join social gatherings in order to gain information about the lake they are visiting—did it produce chicks this year?—which can help them decide which territories they may be interested in trying to take over the next year. Loons that occupy nearby territories may join social gatherings on a different lake in order to attract nonbreeders to that lake, keeping the extra loons away from their own lakes and chicks.

A social gathering on Loon Pond. Photo courtesy of Priscilla Wells.

We still have much to learn about loon behavior, including these social gatherings. But if you see one in the next couple of months, rest assured that it is a normal sight this time of year!

This month, the Loon Canvas Tote is on sale in our store! This tote measures 16" x 15" x 3.2" and hangs comfortably from the shoulder. Tote features a charming loon print. Stop by The Loon Center in person or shop online to take advantage of this deal! All proceeds from our store are used to fund our important work for loons in New Hampshire. Thank you for your support!

We’re rated by Charity Navigator! You can give with confidence knowing that we have been independently evaluated for effectively stewarding donations.

Loon Preservation Committee | 603-476-LOON (5666) | www.loon.org