July 21, 2024: Loon Census

The 2024 loon census was held this past weekend and though there were no new chicks to be included there is an interesting development.  Michael Marion and I did the survey on the north half of the lake and at 8:00 when the count started there was a single loon floating near the vicinity of the northern territory nesting site, and very shortly a second loon came to join it.  The two of them appeared quite comfortable as they came together, and even started preening together.

I had initially thought being so close to the nesting island that one of them would be the breeding male so I took several pictures of them preening, and when I expanded them I in fact saw that one was our banded male. 

Northern territory male identified.

So it appears to me that he has already accepted a new mate, or at the least is evaluating a potential mate.  It also further makes we wonder if his prior mate was killed by this female which wanted to take over the male and its territory - after all, that's how the prior female came to be his mate.  Only the strongest genes survive.  After preening, the pair swam southward together further into Marion Cove.

After observing these two loons we moved slowly out of the cove, and at the north end of Sheep Island we saw four more loons swimming together into Marion Cove where the pair was.

Two of these are likely the southern nesting pair.

We watched the four of them swim down the cove and decided to follow along behind to see what would happen.  As soon as the first pair noticed them they turned around and swam directly north to meet them.  As they came together there was no altercation; instead the six of them grouped up and swam together.

We watched for a minute and then continued on to survey the rest of the lake before 9:00 when the survey ended.  We saw no other loons in the northern half of the lake.  At 9:00 we met to share notes with the Thorpes who had surveyed the southern half of the lake.  It turned out the six loons we saw were the only ones observed on the lake.  It seems certain to me at this point that breeding is over on Wicwas and there will be no chicks in 2024.  The two pairs will likely stay on the lake to defend their respective territories; there has been a lot of ongoing loon interactions with circle dances, head bobbing and wing-rowing chases around the lake.  It will be interesting to see what transpires next year and if a new pair will establish a third nesting territory on the lake.  After discussing the events both parties returned home and on the way we saw the six loons still together and now heading south down the main body of the lake.  

At least two non-resident loons being escorted by the locals.

There was a fascinating twist of nature found on the lake last week by Nancy Marion:  a blue-headed frog.

A pickerel frog with a case of Axanthism.  Photo by Nancy Marion.  

She (nor I) had never seen a creature like this and looking into it she learned that it's a rare condition occurring in a very small percentage of frogs caused by the frog's inability to create yellow pigment - a condition called axanthism.  (Researchers Michael Berns and Lowell Uhler from Cornell found that only 0.003% of the 2 million frogs studied had this condition.  [Wild Rhode Island, Summer 2021, Vol 14, Issue 3])  A frog's typical green color is the result of yellow and blue pigments combined to make green, but when yellow pigment is absent you get a blue frog.  I found only a few studies on the subject, the best was referenced in the article by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management [ibid].  Here's an excerpt from the article:

"Green skin in frogs is caused by three types of cells in the skin working together. Melanophores that contain melanin make the skin darker or lighter, just like in humans, iridophores are cells that reflect light, and xanthophores that contain carotenoids produce a yellow pigment.  After Berns and Uhler’s study was published, several other researchers postulated that the blue coloration was the result of lacking one of the three pigment cells located in the skin of the frogs."  

It appears Nancy came across a true rarity that will be reported to our own Department of Fish and Game!

I came a cross another amphibian on a hike on the Tripyramids this week, one that's not rare, but is nonetheless impressive in its size.

This toad was right in the middle of the hiking trail.

Another not-rare find on that hike was this snake sun bathing in the rocks on the north slide.

Garter snake on the north slide of Mt. Tripryamid.

Even though it's only a garter snake it gave me quite a startle because finding a snake in a dry, rocky, sun-exposed habitat, one's mind instantly thinks rattlesnake.  I know there are very few rattlers in New Hampshire, but there are some, and this is the perfect spot for them.

I saw quite a few more pretty dragonflies around the lake this week, but the insect I'll share today is this Primrose Moth I found in Linda's Evening Primrose flowers one morning.

Primrose Moth on ...  a primrose.

Evening Primrose bloom only at night when moths are active.  The sweet smell of the plant attracts the moths they need for pollination.

I'll end today with two more sights from Mt. Tripyramid:  finally a clear, less humid day, and a pretty mountain stream.

The Osceolas on the left with the Franconia Range in the distance.

Slide Brook