5574-R5_ML&P_LSLA_2018_Web_SummerNewsletter_Web

Loon Preservation, Spring 2018… By Sharon Young

I had a dream last night that the ice was out and the loons were home – sadly it truly was just a dream. Today I sit viewing a fully frozen tundra on a beautifully sunny day at the end of February. The only wildlife in my sightlines is an eagle soaring above the lake looking for leftovers from the weekend’s ice fishermen. Twenty Seventeen proved to be a most interesting year for loon observation. Little Sebago enjoyed an extremely early ice out on April 14th last year which allowed our loon families to return to the lake, select mates, and begin nesting by mid-May. The first active nest was sighted on May 17 th and the first chick hatched on June 15 th . Sadly, that chick suffered attack by an aggressor adult loon on July 1st and was killed. This was the first of two loon chicks that were observed under attack by adult loon predators in the 2017 season. One theory is that our lake has reached saturation for successful loon families to reproduce and protect their chicks through maturity. Newly arriving adults of breeding age vying for territory may be at tipping point.

Little Sebago did have 5 loon chicks successfully complete their first year on the lake in 2017. A water body can provide safe and healthy habitat for a limited number of breeding pairs. Little Sebago typically provides nesting sites for 7 to 8 mating pair. Theses sites appear to be consistent form year to year, sometimes positioned on the same island but in a slightly differently location than the year before, and sometimes positioned in the exact same spot from year to year. Occasionally new sites are sought out which may or may not prove successful. Little Sebago’s Middle Lake has been home to the same 5 nesting sites since I began documented monitoring in 2015. All are on islands; three of the five nests have been moved from one spot on the island to another on occasion. One lower lake site has also been consistently successful over this period, and another lower lake nest site has been attempted for the past two seasons, but not yet successful. The upper lake has attained less success with only one successful reproductive year during the same period.

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