Lake Wicwas Nature Journal: May 9, 2021: An interesting Start to Loon Season

Nesting season on Lake Wicwas appears to be getting off to an interesting start with an unexpected twist: we may be witnessing a change of mates. Twice now we have witnessed episodes of three loons interacting, both times resulting in one loon wing-rowing all the way across Marion Cove, followed shortly by a second, leaving the third behind. The two active birds then dove with one of them not surfacing within my line of sight, and the other returning to the third bird which had remained distant and aloof to all the action. The two of them then sailed serenely off out of the cove. My thought was it might be a single loon claiming the cove, and driving the pair away.

The following day on an afternoon paddle around the lake I saw two loons right up against a small marshy island, something they rarely do unless it's nesting time.

A couple of loons checking out a potential nesting site.

I stopped on the far side of the lake and watched what looked like scouting for a nest - they would poke around in the weeds, with one raising its head high up to check out the surroundings.

"What do think about this spot?"

"It's nice and quiet, but is it far enough from shore to keep away the predators?"

I watched as they worked the area for a while - I clearly wasn't disturbing them - and then I continued on my way. On my return trip they were still in the same area, but this time one of them was up on the tiny land mass trying it out for size.

As I watched, the second loon climbed near the edge, at one point revealing its leg which showed a band - it was our nesting male, banded in 2019!

Silver band with black dot - that's him.

Hurray - it appears our nesting pair has returned and is starting to look for a homestead for their new family. When I returned to home and zoomed in the pictures I took, I saw a glimpse of a green band and immediately assumed it was our banded female which has a green band on one leg.

But when I checked my notes, I remembered our female has a green band on its left leg, and the band I saw was on a right leg!

Remember when I noted a few weeks ago that we had a visiting loon on the lake, a female banded on Lake Pemigewasset in 2018? I went and checked the data, and this bird also has a green band, but it's on the right leg. And a closer look at my photo does show a hint of silver on that leg, which the Pemi loon has on her second band - and not a hint of red which our Wicwas loon has on its second band. It's the Pemi female! Could our male be a two-timer, or is he deciding it's time for a new mate? That doesn't seem like a very nice thing to do right before Mother's Day....

I sent these observations off to the Loon Preservation Committee, and the response came back, yes, we may be observing a changing of mates. Perhaps the action in Marion Cove wasn't two males fighting, but rather two females, with the Pemi loon chasing away our long-term female, just as she was chased off Lake Pemigewasset two years ago.

The water level in Lake Wicwas is quite high and dropping quickly, and it's still early to be selecting a nesting site, so we're hoping however things get worked out, they'll wait another week or two for the water level to stabilize before nesting. At that point we may be able to determine who's paired up with whom. Until then, all our loon observers will be keeping a close eye out for signs of bands - of course at a safe, non-interfering distance. Stay tuned - we'll report what we learn as the nesting season proceeds.

It's a great time to go for a paddle on the local lakes right now because the lack of aquatic vegetation and the high water levels allow exploring areas inaccessible come summer. On another paddle later in the week in one such shallow area I came upon (fear alert) a huge snapping turtle.

Common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

The well-armored reptile was only slightly concerned with my presence, as it didn't swim away but just exhaled, bubbles streaming from its beak, and sunk down to the bottom of the lake which was only about two feet deep. As it dove I got a good look at the big, clawed hind feet which the females use to excavate the holes into which she deposits her eggs. (I don't know whether this was a male or female.)

Both ends of a snapping turtle mean business.

I'm very happy to keep my distance from both ends of these pre-historic monsters!

More pretty flowers are joining the spring parade of color, blooming all around the the Lakes Region now, including the bright and showy Serviceberry (also known as Shad Bush - see the March 5, 2016 post for the meaning behind the name).