Help the Loons
 

Very interesting program last night by Harry Vogel, executive director of the Loon Center. While program was related to climate change and the impact on loon population, he spoke about the importance of not approaching nesting loons, or loons with chicks - even if you are in a silent kayak. The nesting loons can spook very easily and if they leave the nest, even on a 75 degree day, the eggs will "cook" in the nest without a parent to protect them. Please help protect out loons!

Can someone tell me about the orange "loons nesting" signs? There's one at the end of Hanson Cove, but I don't see anything nearby.

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The eggs usually hatch around the 4th of July. The Loon Preservation may have already removed the nest, if it was one that they placed there.

Orange signs for Loons
 

The signs mean that there is a nest in the nearby neighborhood, and chicks have hatched and are swimming about with their parents. The chicks usually hatched mid-July. We have two sets of nesting loons at the northern end of Moultonboro. Last week we were so fortunate to see two different adult loons catch fairly good sized sunfish and swallow them. It was magical. We also saw one of the parents come up with a little minnow and feed one of the chicks who are about the size of a quail about now.

We anchor in a cove with a nesting pair on a floating nest. This pair appears to have hatched one chick this year, but we haven't seen it in over a week. There are loon nesting area buoys in the immediate area of the buoy. We anchor 75-100 yards from the nest.

We will hang out in the water on floating noodles or a couple of inflatable chairs. We have been amazed how close the loons come to us, whether in the boat or in the water. What is really amazing is how close they will come with the chick. We sit vey quietly, and the most we get is a a stare as they swim by.

While we would like to get a close look while they are on the nest, we resign ourselves to watching from afar and use binoculars.

We unfortunately watch power boats go real close, kayakers go real close (a selfie next to a floating loon nest 😠) and now paddleboaders. No, we don't say anything to them as it would most likely fall on deaf ears.

Dave

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We had a chick hatched on Merrymeeting last week. Pretty late in the season but wonderful nonetheless. I doubt there are many, if any, left on the nest at this point. The issue becomes one of timing. If the new loon doesn't become big enough and strong enough to fly out by the time ice starts forming, it usually doesn't end well.

30 to 35 years ago a friend had a place on the end of the quiet side of Massabesic, There were loons that always came up to our canoe, You could count on them everytime and they were very calm till a motorboat would come through, Then they got loud and would get after the boat, These were fearless.

We had chicks in the basin weeks ago. The Loon Preservation Society removes the signs whenever they want to. So far the two chicks are doing great, but we have so many boats coming into the basin to do water sports. The chicks are often in the middle of the basin and many boaters do not pay attention to the loons at all. They just keep going around them. We lost a chick to a boater last year. They have one of those wake board boats that make the huge waves. Their waves caused a chick to be separated from the parents and the rest is history. The boat is from a house in the basin. They spend hours and hours out there.

missing chick
 

There was a chick with parents in the cove the week of the 30th but have not seen it is since the storm on Sunday the 6th.

Are you talking about the loons in Green's Basin? If so I know they are fine. I saw them yesterday.

We are on Bear on the west side on the carry.