July 24, 2022: Loon Overload

The loon activity has been way over the top this past week.  It began with reports by two observant parties of a loon acting strangely on the lake - just floating for long periods of time and not diving or fishing.  Though loons can act like this, the local LPC loon biologist asked me to go out and investigate, and if I could find the suspect loon, instructed me to approach it slowly to see if it would dive.  It took me two searches of the lake before I found the right loon, hanging close to shore far away from the other loons on the lake, with a leg held out in an awkward position.  

An unusual pose for a loon.

I've often seen loons wag their foot, sometimes for a minute or longer (the reason why they do this isn't known, but one theory is for temperature management) but never in this position with the whole leg exposed.  I did approach the loon slowly, and it continued to hold that foot out and it did not dive.  It did however swim away from me, but only using one foot. 

I've never seen a loon try to swim with only one foot paddling.

Any time I've seen a loon weigh anchor and get underway it has always used both paddles, and this poor bird swimming along using just one foot told me something wasn't right.  By the time I found it in the late afternoon the LPC biologists were preparing for night time banding, so a mission to assess the bird had to wait until the next morning when I met two of the biologists who came prepared with a large net to capture the injured bird for assessment and possible treatment.  

We were able to locate the bird in just about the same location, but it took a moment to be sure because now the questionable leg wasn't held in the air, but rather flat against the water, thought still looking unnatural.  But this time, as we approached, the bird dove!  And I was able to watch it swim rather swiftly under the water.  After watching a second dive the biologists determined the bird was healing quickly and was able to again catch fish and defend itself, so it was decided to let it be.  They asked those who first reported the concern to keep an eye on it, and thanked them for their quick action in reporting the injury.

I asked the LPC team what might have caused an injury like this and the two likely causes are a fight with another loon - a battling loon will grab hold of any body part it can get - or a snapping turtle with a big appetite.  They told of story when someone observed a loon struggling in the water, unable to swim, until it finally escaped the grasp of a large turtle.  That would hurt a leg!

While the LPC biologists were here we toured the entire lake, surveyed the loons present (six), inspected both loon nests, and collected the shell fragments from Maddie's egg.  

LPC biologist Caroline Hughes searches (unsuccessfully) for signs of an egg at the Marion Cove nest while summer intern Tayor Tewksbury records GPS coordinates.

Every last shell fragment of Maddies's egg was carefully collected from the Harris Cove nest.

The next loon event was a two day, maybe longer, battle between two loons, one of which was the banded female from the nest in Marion Cove.  The first time I watched them they spent well over an hour battling each other in the cove.  They were circling, diving, chasing, at one point right up against the shore.  They progressed all the way around the cove and were still going after each other as they went out of sight.  

The next day the same thing occurred.  I can only assume it's two females fighting.  I understand that male loons secure and defend a mating territory while the females fight over a male.  So perhaps a new female has arrived and the banded female is trying to drive her off to defend her position with the banded male.  Or perhaps the intruder is trying to drive off the current female to take over its mate - it's impossible to tell who's the antagonist, but it's been going on long enough that I'm starting to wonder if it will continue until the weaker bird is exhausted and perhaps killed.  

The injured loon was reported before I saw these encounters, so perhaps it was injured in an earlier fight, but  it would have had to heal well enough to go back to fight again.  This scenario is hard to watch, but it was only last year that this very same banded female drove off our previous mate to the banded male, and that female (which was also banded) hasn't been seen since.  

Our present female drove off our long-term nesting female last summer.  She's very proud of her jewelry.

As I said last week, it's a tough life, being a loon.

Immediately following four weeks of nest duty it appears loons are hungry.  I watched one of the northern-pair loons play with a huge sunfish it caught in order to subdue it sufficiently to swallow it whole. 

A big sunfish.

It caught the fish, thrashed it around, released it, caught it again and repeated the process for several minutes.

Wearing the fish out by catching it again and again.

It made one attempt to swallow it but decided it was still too lively. 

Not this time.

So the loon played with it for another minute or two before it finally managed to send it down to its gizzard.

Down it goes.

Talk about getting a fish bone stuck in your throat!

Imagine swallowing a whole fish, bones, scales, and all, and digesting it in your stomach.  No wonder they swallow small stones (and sometimes lead sinkers) to help grind up their food.

And this came in late Saturday:  Another loon observer (thank you CF!) reported a loon on the side of Chemung Road near the lake.  Dave and Marge Thorpe went right out to investigate and found the loon no longer on the road, but in the thick weeds close to the road.  It did make its way back out to the lake on its own.  Could this be the injured loon from earlier in the week?  Just another mystery on the lake.

And of course, there is Maddie.

Maddie goes for a ride.

As of late Saturday she is doing fine and her parents are already taking her on long excursions away from the nest.  She's being fed well, is growing quickly, and evidently being kept well away from the other loons; she has been consistently observed with her parents way over on the west side of the lake along the Hamlin conservation area where no loons have nested recently.  

A little fish for a little loon.

It seems they moved the family over there to distance themselves from all the drama taking place on the lake.

That's too much loon action for one week, so as not to go on too long, I'll just add few pictures from a morning walk along Chemung Rd. (Happily, no loons were seen on the road.)

Meadowsweet on the side of the road.

A gray catbird sings good morning.

A bowl and doily spider web snags small insects.

Eastern chipmunk on lookout.

All of these were along just a quarter mile stretch of Chemung Road by the Chemung State Forest.  One doesn't have to travel deep into the forest to find interesting sights!

Photo and caption by Debby Crowley.

August 3, 2014

The new loon chick continues to thrive on the abundant waters of Lake Wicwas - I send many thanks to the loon watchers who continue to send me such great pictures.  These photos were taken by Marge and Dave Thorpe, who just yesterday were recognized at the Lake Wicwas Association annual meeting for receiving the John F. Morten Award in recognition of their exemplary stewardship of the lake by the New Hampshire Lakes Association!  (There was also a great presentation on Osprey and their migration from New Hampshire to South America by Iain MacLeod, Executive Director of the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center. If you missed it you can read about the osprey journeys here:  http://www.nhnature.org/programs/project_ospreytrack/ )

 5 Week Old Chick with Mom

Mom was proudly showing off her leg band again with a foot wag,

and the young protege had to show that he/she could do it too!

Another observer watched one the parents providing the chick some fishing lessons.  It came up with a small minnow, brought it over to the eager chick, who was then very dismayed to not have the fish popped in its beak, but rather to see mom drop it in the water for the chick to catch.  The chick watched in confusion as the minnow swam away, then dunked its head under the water a few times to look for it, and learned an important lesson:  if one wants to eat, one better work for it!

Although getting to be good size now,

 it is still a fuzzy, downy, young bird.

I saw another pair of water birds, Black Ducks, on the lake, but if this pair had ducklings, they were nowhere to be seen.  The drake was up on a rock, visibly preening itself, while the duck and any ducklings were hidden away in the reeds and bushes close by.

One other bird, a visitor from the ocean, was on the lake playing sentry:

Seagulls like to hang out on the buoys, watching for small fish to rise near the surface, and then grab them for lunch.  They are safe out there from competing with the Opsrey which tend to fish from trees overhanging the shoreline.

Along the shoreline I saw a small stand of Skullcaps blooming.

Common Skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata)

These are called Common Skullcap, Hooded Skullcap, and Marsh Skullcap, as their preffered habitat is marshes and wetlands.  It is considered an herb, and was used by Native Americans as a medicinal sedative, though its medical properties have not been formally documented.

Other summer flowers in bloom are the Meadowsweet, also a perennial herb, though not indigenous to America, and the Hedge Bindweed, a member of the Morning Glory family.

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)

Hedge Bindweed (Calystegia sepium)

A bit farther inland, I found this large Sulphur Shelf mushroom growing on a oak stump - it is well over a foot across.

Sulphur Shelf (Laetiporus sulphureus)

It is also called a Chicken Mushroom, as it is edible and is supposed to have a taste and texture like chicken, though I'm not about to try it - I'll stick with the blueberries!   Blueberries are still out there, though the Black Cherries have been totally cleaned out now.

Bare Stems of Black Cherries

Later this week I will post a review of the Black Cherries, as I followed their progression from flower to consumed fruit this year, so keep your eye out for a mid-week post.

Goodbye for now....