8615-R4_ML&P_LSLA_2024_SummerNewsletter_Web

Spring/Summer 2024 - Little Sebago Lake Loonacy Sharon Young

Greetings Little Sebago Loon lovers. Did you know that summer 2024 marks the 10th anniversary of my personal Loon observations and the 7 th year since the formation of the Little Sebago Loon Monitoring and Conservation Program? We have come such a very long way!!! I began informally observing and recording loon nesting activities in 2015 when Biodiversity Research Institute curtailed their formal program on LS. BRI had been banding and surveying loons on LS since 1997. When I started observing I recorded the dates nests were discovered, dates when they either hatched or failed, and numbers of chicks hatched and surviving the season. I had no formal training in Loons or in scientific research – just an absolute love of the beautiful creatures that we share the lake with. In 2018 I asked the Lake Association to allow me to apply for a grant to begin a formal program and hire a research biologist to train a team of “Loon Rangers” in scientific data collection and loon monitoring. We were awarded the grant and began the program. The team of Loon Rangers received training in identifying banded birds on the lake and were trained to recognize common loon behavior patterns and activities. We were given data collection sheets and assigned observation territories (places where loons were known to nest in previous years) to monitor for reproductive successes. And so, it began. Our program has come a long way from just monitoring and data collection, although that remains a critical task. Each year these dedicated volunteers have had more training opportunities with our consulting loon specialist, Lee Attix, and spend countless hours on the lake observing and collecting data. As time went on, so did our own knowledge. We learned not only to recognize behavior habits and monitor territories, but more about the birds themselves; how

to properly handle and contain a 10–15 pound loon while the biologist bands them and takes samples to test for lead and other contaminants in blood and feathers. We learned when it is appropriate to provide intervention in critical situations and when we must let nature take its course. Observations of nesting activities provide a measurement of reproductive success. Loons have been known to live into their 30’s. They go through just one reproductive cycle each year and typically build their nest on islands or in protected coves. Their nest usually contains only one or two eggs. The eggs have only a 50% chance of hatching. Nests often fail due to washouts from weather related water level fluctuations, and more and more frequently, from boat wakes that drive wakes right up onto land and wash out the eggs. Another cause of failure is known predators such as crows, ravens, eagles, bears, and racoons. Nests are also sometime just abandoned if the loon parents feel threatened by aggressive intruding loons or by humans and their pets getting too close. Even if the nest hatches 1 or possibly 2 chicks, historical data suggests approximately 50% of hatched chicks survive (“fledge” in loon lingo). Turtles, large fish, and many of the same predator threats to the eggs are also threats to the loon chicks. Other adult loons are also a frequent cause of death to loon chicks if their parents are unable to defend them. So, over the 25 or so years of mating maturity of an adult loon, 1/2 of the nests are successful and ½ of the hatched chicks survive. That means that each adult can reasonably be expected to generate just 3 additions to the population over their lifetime. It’s easy to see why it’s so important for we humans to do everything we can to support their successful reproduction. Several years ago, our team began recovery activities in addition to the monitoring. Abandoned eggs are collected to test, and cadavers are collected to necropsy. Both the eggs and the cadavers provide scientists with valuable tools to

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