7507-R3_LSLA_2021_SummerNewsletter_Web

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2021 Little

Early March means days are longer & sun is warmer, it also means that our Loons should be readying for return before long. There is still a good amount of ice on the lake right now (March 6). Last year we had open bays and loons were back by March 30. Hoping this mild winter means an early ice out once again. It has been a trying year for all of us, and I am most certainly looking forward to the normalcy of watching the ice recede and our feathered friends take up residency again. Speaking of what is normal – did you know that the earliest nest discovery here on Little Sebago was on May 17. Once in 2017 with a nest on Hill Island in Hayden Bay, and again in 2020 with a nest on Flamingo Island in Hall Cove. The most frequent pattern seems to be from the last week in May on into the second week of June. LSLA has again contracted with Loon Conservation Associates to help with our Loon Monitoring and Conservation efforts for 2021. Last year we had to cancel training class for Loon Rangers due to safety concerns, but this spring we will be scheduling a virtual classroom training session as well as field training on the water. Many of the Loon Rangers will be returning this year but I anticipate few openings. If you have an interest and can make a commitment for regular weekly monitoring shifts throughout the season, please reach out to me. Training shall begin late May. The purpose of LS Loon Monitoring is to learn more about the habits of loons, to report reproductive successes, and to take measures to support the population to insure continued sustainability of the breed here on our lake as well as throughout Maine. Beginning in 1997 through 2020, 24 loons had been banded on LS. Through our monitoring efforts, in 2020 we were able to positively identify 14 of those 24 banded loons still present on the lake (58%). Thirteen of the 14 occupied a territory. It is possible that other banded individuals were present as non- breeders, but not found, or not identified. Of the 14 banded individuals we identified, 7 occupied the

same territory where they were originally banded. Six others occupied different territories, and one was not paired and did not occupy a territory. One of the previously banded individuals (2005 Policemen’s Cove male) has been identified as an occupant at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire for the past two seasons. You may also recall from last fall’s newsletter, that the 2010 Policemen’s Cove male was discovered deceased late season in 2019 with necropsy results determining the cause to be a fairly common avian lung infection. Three loon parents were banded in 2020. One, a female, had mated with the male first banded at the Treasure Island territory in 2012. This new Treasure Island pair nested on Martin Island instead of Treasure island last summer. The previous Treasure island female was also identified nearby on the lake but did not mate. Another female was banded in the Sand Island/Krams Point territory. Her mate was the male banded at Sand Island in 2014. Each of these two pairs produced one chick that fledged (survived past 10 weeks). The third loon banded, a male, was the chick that hatched from the Martin Island nest. It is unusual to band chicks, but because it was

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