Early in June the loon pair that resides on Canobie Lake nested on the raft for a few days. Then they abandoned the nest. It may have been because some boaters got very close to the raft and frightened them off. It may have been because a marauding animal took the egg.
On or about June 23, they resumed nesting on the raft. Our official loon watcher, Dave Blake, reports there are now two eggs on the nest! Yippee! If all goes well, they should hatch around July 21.
Our resident loon pair is not nesting this year. The Loon Society biologist has visited Canobie Lake twice, and he doesn't know why they are not. He says there are plenty of good sites to nest, in addition to our raft. They do not appear to be unduly disturbed by people or critters. Best guess - they just don't feel like it. Sometimes "our" pair is joined by a third loon. The biologist thinks the third loon is a single female. Sometimes the three swim close together; sometimes two of them fight. It is possible the presence of the third loon is upsetting the pair, but not certain.
The time window to nest and produce a chick which would be viable by the end of the summer is rapidly closing. Too bad!
On June 28, 2013 two mute swans were seen swimming together in the northern part of the lake. They are all white, and gorgeous. At least one swan has been seen on the lake, at various times, as far back as late May. You may recall that we had four swans last summer. For a photo from last summer, see the post from June 2012. We have had two, and sometimes three, loons residing on Canobie Lake this summer. In early June one of the loons climbed up on the raft, made a nest, and stayed there for several days according to Dave Blake, our loon watcher. Then she left. We don't know why. But it appears we won't have a loon chick this summer. When we have more information from the Loon Society, we'll let you know.
The Canobie Lake Protective Association will be holding its annual meeting on Saturday, August 4 from 9-11 AM. It's at the Searles School & Chapel in Windham, located on Chapel Road off route 111, opposite St. Matthew Church. The meeting is open to the public. From 9-10 AM there will be a social time and a business meeting. At 10 AM our guest speaker, Alexis Rudko, will give a talk on the status of loons in New Hampshire. Alexis is a field biologist for the Loon Preservation Committee. She has visited Canobie Lake many times in recent years, to observe the pair of loons that nest on the lake. For those who love loons, and are concerned about their survival in New Hampshire, this will be a very interesting talk.
More information is available in the latest newsletter.
