8615-R4_ML&P_LSLA_2024_SummerNewsletter_Web

Spring/Summer 2024 - Little Sebago Lake Loonacy Sharon Young

And it doesn’t stop there. Education is a huge component in any conservation effort. So in 2023 we erected a live stream camera on one of our frequently successful nest sites. The live stream proved a success, and the resident loon pair did indeed mate and lay two eggs. Unfortunately, a doe decided that the island would be a good place to birth her fawn as well. Deer and Loons do not make good bedfellows! Our nesting adults quickly abandoned the nest when the little fawn peaked through the bushes to say hello to the adult sitting on the nest. It did provide hours of viewing entertainment, watching the courtship and mating rituals, then later a bit of excitement when an intruding pair entered the territory and were quickly sent scurrying by our resident adults, and then a muskrat visit, and finally deer in residence. We are all set to try streaming again in 2024 and will post announcements when we are up live.

Through these many years of working with professionals in the field and gathering our own knowledge and experience the Loon Ranger program has progressed from monitoring to recovery, to rescue! We stand ready to respond to any alerts from our lake community when loons appear to be in trouble. We also hope that everybody enjoys the updates and educational pieces we share on our Facebook page “Little Sebago Loon Watch”. Rangers monitor the page daily and quickly respond to alerts. Otherwise, feel free to reach out to me by text or phone at 207 632-0075 in any emergency and I will dispatch help. Sharon Young, Coordinator Little Sebago Loon Monitoring & Conservation

Figure 6 - LS Loon Rangers - 2023

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