June 23, 2019: Introducing Harley and Davidson

We have two new loons on the lake, and so far they are thriving under the expert guidance of attentive parents.  Everyone is most comfortable when the little ones are safely tucked up on the back of mom or dad.

Our newest loons take a post-breakfast siesta.

My first sighting of the little ones was the morning of June 17th, when the youngest was only a few hours old.

The proud parents on the morning of June 17th

Dave Thorpe earned naming rights this year, and his choice of Harley and Davidson are quite appropriate considering they were born on the final days of bike week 2019.

Dave took this picture of Harley and Davidson on June 19th when they were three and four days old

I was a little surprised when the family came by our house to visit that same day, since that's a long trip from their nesting site, and the rogue loon continues to frequent our cove.

The family's first visit to Marion Cove

Before they appeared we heard quite a bit of ruckus out on the lake, so perhaps they had to chase away "Solo" before they could enter safely.  We haven't had a successful raising of even a single chick on Lake Wicwas for four years now - maybe these tough biker birds will find a way to survive!

They sure look vulnerable when mom and dad dive at the same time

On a later fishing trip to our cove the parents were already teaching them how to fish.  First one parent - we'll say mom - came up with a minnow and presented it to one of the chicks - maybe Harley.

Look how patient Davidson is as mom gives Harley his turn.

The transfer.

He's got it.

But apparently Harley lost it and both of them went for the retrieval, but mom came up with the goods.

Where's that sneaky minnow?

Here, let's try that again.

They will learn soon enough.

Now for some snapper news.  When I was heading to do Lake Hosting one morning I saw a huge momma snapping turtle digging her way down into the dirt right alongside Chemung Road where it's closest to the lake.

Digging a nest amid the poison ivy.  Is that a defense mechanism?

I didn't know they dig their hole head first - painted turtles don't do that.  Her head was covered with dirt except for her eyes which were nice and clean when she opened her eyelids.



Snappers don't seem to make any effort to disguise their nests.  When I came by later she was just heading back to the lake leaving a large, visible wound in the earth.

Back to the lake she goes.

Several obvious nesting sites were dug.

No wonder they lose a lot of eggs to predators.

Later, on a kayak trip I stopped by Turtle Island which is a popular nesting spot for snappers, and I counted 31 individual nests!  However, according to NH Fish and Game, snapping turtles may dig several false nests before they actually lay their eggs, so they do use a bit of defensive deception to confuse predators.  Nonetheless, up to 90% of snapper nests may be destroyed by predators.  Which isn't necessarily a bad thing:  snapping turtles are a dangerous predator of those little loon chicks when they're not up on mom's back.

As of Saturday afternoon, the second pair of loons was still on their nest, only a few yards away from a snapping turtle nest.  With some luck those chicks will hatch around July 4th, and maybe we'll have four little Wicwas chicks for the adults to protect.

One parent stretches while the other keeps the chicks safe from a snapper attack.

Finally, one more exciting note:  The New Hampshire legislature passed SB132 to formally make the spelling of this body of water "Lake Wicwas" and this week the governor signed the bill into law.  At last, we all know for sure that there is no "k" in Wicwas!

Laconia Daily Sun, June 20, 2019