7102-R4_LSLA_2020_SummerNewsletter_Web

. 2020 Spring Loonacy on Little Sebago… By Sharon Young

LSLA kicked off a very successful first year of our LS Loon Monitoring Program in 2019 with grant funding assistance from Maine Community Foundation and technical assistance by Loon Conservation Associates. Nine volunteers participated in formal training lead by biologist Lee Attix and became “Loon Rangers” (a couple additional Rangers joined the ranks as the season progressed). I’m sure many of you saw the Rangers, usually in Kayaks with field glasses and note pads, observing shorelines and identifying loons in residence. A recap of Summer 2019: In 2019, all three basins of LS were surveyed on a weekly basis. Based on well-defined criteria for an established loon territory, a total of 10 territorial pairs were documented, and nine of the pairs nested. From five successful nests, seven chicks hatched and four survived to a minimum of six weeks of age – an age defined as fledging for modeling purposes. Overall productivity on LS in 2019 was 0.40 fledged young per territorial pair. Using traditional night-lighting techniques, a total of three adult loons were captured and banded in 2019. Blood and feather samples were collected for contaminant analysis.

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