City Loons
Seriously. There are city loons and country loons. I suppose we could even say there are suburbanite loons. If there is a waterbody big enough to land and take off on, has clear water, can provide enough fish and has a good nest site, then a loon pair is likely to show up sooner or later. Loons can adapt to different neighborhood environments and have been known to be just as comfortable in the channel at the Weirs on Winnipesaukee as on Mountain Pond in Chatham.
But loons generally prefer the same lakes people prefer: clear water and preferably nice scenery consisting of bays and coves and islands. And I might add, big enough to have a motorboat. In other words, a multiple loon territory lake. Loons seem to love the company of their own species even though they are constantly squabbling with each other. Sound like any other species you know?
The Loon Cam #2 pair are city loons. They can’t swim outside their territory without entering the territory of one of two neighboring pairs. And then you have the local hooligans roaming around, looking for trouble. That’s what happened to the LoonCam’s neighbors a few days ago: a knock-down, drag-out fight between the nesting pair and a rogue who wanted to take over. The result was one broken egg and then total abandonment of the nest. It remains to be seen who won the battle or if it is even over.
This can be a concern to our Loon Cam pair. On multiple territory lakes, a disruption on one territory can have a domino effect that ripples across the lake. In each altercation, there is going to be a loser. That loser can then be a threat to other pairs. Our current Loon Cam male is a perfect example. He was first banded in 2006, on a territory “two doors down”, so to speak. He remained there until at least 2015, and first showed up on this territory in 2017. So he has already been the loser in one battle and the victor in another.
So the pair will need to remain vigilant for the rest of the season, and do their best to fight off any intruders. That’s the typical city life. The most fit loons get the opportunity to breed.
