There’s great news from the Eastons! I’ve been up to visit them a couple times this past week. They’ve been sitting on their second clutch of eggs. They lost the first clutch, I suspect the nest was flooded, but we’ll never know. Let’s see how their doing. (The Eastons are the easternmost of the loon families I follow. My blog has gotten popular enough that I need to protect the loons’ privacy.)
The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair kicks off Saturday August 3 and runs through Sunday August 11 at the Mount Sunapee Resort in Sunapee, NH. I’ll have lots of new images, from note cards to 20×30″ wall art. Stop by booth 718 to have a look. All the details about the Fair are on the League’s site, www.NHCrafts.org
When I visited the Eastons on July 21, they had a chick and were still sitting on an egg. I returned on July 22 well before dawn and found the same situation.
This morning, I headed back, again before dawn.
I’ve made it out to check on two of our three loon families, and have heard reports from the third.
The Loch Lyme Lodge in Lyme will host me to present An Uncommon Look at the Common Loon in the evening of July 23, part of their Tuesday Night Cookouts. We’re still figuring exactly when I’ll present, as soon as we know, the details will be on their site: www.LochLymeLodge.com.
And, I’m busy getting ready for the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair, August 3-11 at Mount Sunapee Resort in Sunapee, NH. I’ll be in booth 718, come on by and say hello. All the Fair details are on the League’s Site.
While I haven’t had a chance to visit the Westons, a friend reports they’re doing well with the one chick. And, mom seems to be hanging around.
The Eastons lost their first clutch. All I know is the nest was empty when I visited. The water was up to the lip of the nest, I suspect the nest flooded. They’ve decided to try again and the chicks are due in the next few days.
The big news from the Middletons is that the Loon Preservation Committee biologists were able to band both adults over the July 4th Holiday. LPC tries to band something like 30-35 loons every year – almost 5% of New Hampshire’s loon population.
Banding lets them track individual loons over many years giving insights on behavior. Loons get four bands, one with a unique number from the United States Geological Survey (hey, it’s the government). Being unique, that number will forever definitively identify that bird. But the numbers on the USGS band are small and all but impossible to read unless you’re holding the bird. Loons aren’t big fans of being held, so they get three more bands with a mix of colors. If the bird is banded as a chick, the USGS band goes on the left leg, if they’re banded as adults, they wear it on the right leg. The color combination gives a nearly perfect way to identify the individual without having to catch it.
Along with banding the birds, they also take measurements to learn about size and weight along with blood to test for lead, hematocrit (concentration of red blood cells) and for infections including avian malaria.
I’m hoping to get out to check on the Eastons and Westons this weekend, weather permitting.
There’s news – good and disappointing – from our three loon families.
I’ll be at the Blake Memorial Library’s Art, House and Garden Tour July 6 & 7. The Library is in Corinth, VT, the Tour takes you around Corinth and Topsham. I’ll be set up at the Topsham Town Hall. All the details here.
I made it up to visit the Eastons on the 25th. They were in the window where their eggs could hatch. Sadly, I found an empty nest. The water was up to the lip of the nest and had probably been higher the days before my visit. The good news is that it looks like they’re going to try again. They were defending an island where they used to nest. I hadn’t realized they’d claimed the island until I attempted to beach my boat to fiddle with my gear. Dad explained that I had to go. So I did.
Update: I visited the pond again Sunday afternoon, there was a loon sitting a new nest.
The Middletons were out and about when I visited on Friday. The chicks are growing rapidly and appear to be in good health. When I arrived, there was a thick fog on the pond. I had to make two circuits before finding the loons in deep shadows as the sun rose.
Want to help the loon conservation effort? The loon census is coming up on Saturday, July 20. The idea is to get volunteers to check all the ponds at the same time to get an accurate count of all the loons and chicks. All you need to do is go for a paddle around your pond and count the loons. For more details or to volunteer in Vermont, see the Vermont Center for Ecostudies’ site, https://vtecostudies.org/projects/lakes-ponds/common-loon-conservation/loonwatch/participate/. In New Hampshire, check out the Loon Preservation Committee’s site at https://loon.org/census/.
Two of our loon families – the Westons and Middletons have hatched two chicks. I’ve been out to see how they, and their neighbors are doing.
The Tenney Memorial Library will host me this Sunday, June 23, at 2:00 p.m. for my slideshow, An Uncommon Look at the Common Loon. Free and everyone welcome.
I left a game camera looking out my blind by one of the fox dens. Here’s a minute of foxes big and small coming and going.
A neighbor told me he has a whippoorwill stopping by late every evening and early every morning. I sat out by his garden and got a good listen to the whippoorwill. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see him. So far, he’s eluded my game cameras. My consolation prize was a pair of bobolinks:
A friend on the Weston’s pond messaged me on the 13th, telling me they’d seen a chick. I headed up to visit that evening.
By the 16th, the Middletons were in the window for the chicks to hatch. I headed over early, in heavy fog. It was a fine 36° when I put in. Heavy fog made it hard to find the loons.
Early on the 18th, I headed up to check on the Westons. It was 74° when I put in, almost 40° difference in two days.
There was sad news when I got out on the pond.
I went back up to the pond on the 19th, on a very hot and hazy morning.
Monday morning there were stars above and a thick fog over the river in the valley below. I decided to risk a trip to visit the Eastons. Most of the trip to the pond was slow going through the fog. As I started to climb towards the pond, I rose back above the fog to find a beautiful morning.
Dad was foraging by himself near the boat launch, he paddled in close to hoot softly to me before returning to feasting on crayfish. Mom called a couple times while I was getting the boat in the water. This is the pond where Dad is banded, letting me tell who is who if I can see a leg.
The chicks were keeping mom busy. They’re very demanding, poking and pulling feathers whenever she got near. She didn’t spend much time on the surface, she’d dive quickly when a chick got near. I’m convinced this is why the parents leave the pond before the chicks – they just want some peace.
Heading back to the boat launch, I pass dad who is lazily paddling along, seemingly enjoying the peace and quiet on this end of the pond.
I was surprised the fog hadn’t shown up on the pond, there’s usually a period where the pond gets foggy as the fog lifts from the valley. Driving back towards home, I discovered why – the fog was still sitting heavy on the river.
Back at the house, the goldfinches have discovered the thistle I left for them.
The rain let up enough for me to get out to check on all three loon families this week. And, I only got caught in a shower once.
The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair is coming right up, August 5th through the 12th. I’ll be down there with lots of wildlife and other photos. Stop by booth 726 and say hello. All the details for the fair are here.
I visited the Middletons last night. They’re the ones that lost their chick. On the last visit, they showed signs they might be courting again. That was before the heavy rains and flooding. We were spared the worst of the flooding, but did get significant rain. A friend on the pond has kept me updated. She says the loons have had one or two intruders on the pond regularly. When I visited, the hummock where they’ve nested the last several years has been washed away, with no sign of another nesting spot. There was an intruder on the pond, with some circling and posturing but no outright fights.
This morning, the forecast was for rain and thundershowers. When I got up, there were stars visible. I headed out to check on the Westons. One of the adults and two chicks were foraging not far from the boat launch. The other adult soon came down the pond to join them. They were in shadows, I headed up the pond to see who else might be about. The rain held off until I got to the other end of the pond. I had a soggy retreat.
On Wednesday morning, the forecast was mixed and there were a couple stars between clouds when I got up. I took a chance and headed east to visit the Eastons.
Bad weather and too many chores kept me from checking on the loons for a time. When the weather cleared this week, I was quick to hit the water.
I’ll be down at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s 90th annual Fair in Sunapee, NH, August 5th to the 13th. Stop by to have a look. All the Fair details here.
Let’s start with a few pix of the Eastons from the day after my last post. The chicks are two and three days old. This is the pair where dad is banded, allowing me to tell them apart – sometimes.
That evening, I made it over to check on the Middletons.
The next morning, I returned to visit the Eastons. They spent most of their morning feeding the chicks.
The morning of the sixth, I headed west to check on the Westons. Their pond has steep hills on both sides of the southern end of the pond. The family spent most of the morning foraging in deep shadows along the side of the pond. I headed out to see who else was about.
The usual suspects were out and about, kingbirds, red-winged blackbirds, lots of warblers seen not heard. But the best find was a trio of tree swallow fledglings and their parents feeding them.
The last three years, the Eastons have hatched their chicks the third Friday and Saturday of June. I’d visited last Friday without any sign of chicks. Monday’s forecast suggested a chance I’d not get rained on. I headed out to visit the Eastons in a thick fog.
The weather improved throughout the day, I went to visit the Middletons in the evening. Our off duty parent was preening for some time before giving a series of four stretches.
I’ll try to keep up with all three families through the summer. If you know someone who might be interested in following along, please share my blog with them.
This pair of loon chicks is 11 weeks old this weekend. There was thick fog on the hill this morning when I checked the weather. Hoping the loons would be above the fog, I headed out. We went from fog to haze before a beautiful day broke out. The chicks’ big project continues to be to learn to fly.
I’ll be down at the Capital Arts Festival in Concord, NH September 24 & 25 with lots of wildlife photos and note cards. Come by and say hello. The event is free, much of the activity is on Main Street. You can find the details here.
This morning provided better weather for visiting the loons than Friday. I headed out before dawn to see what they were up to. The chicks were ten weeks old this weekend. They’re mostly foraging for themselves now, they can make prolonged dives. But they’re still happy to have their parents rustle up a meal for them.