For decades, nest rafts have been an effective response to specific causes of loon nest failure, including water level fluctuations, egg predation, and habitat loss.  In New Hampshire, the Loon Preservation Committee floats nest rafts for Common Loons in coordination with NH Fish and Game and Marine Patrol. We are careful about when and where to float nest rafts, using our monitoring data to determine which loon pairs have experienced repeated nest failures due to a problem that a raft can solve. 

For those pairs that qualify for a nest raft, LPC will provide one. We depend on volunteer help at every step in the raft process, from monitoring loons and determining where a raft is likely to be helpful, to raft construction, to annual raft maintenance and floating.

If you are an LPC volunteer responsible for maintaining a nest raft, each year you should:

1) Assemble a local team to help with raft repairs, floating, and maintenance. It is a big job to care for a nest raft, and we recommend that at least three local households be involved to ensure redundancy and lighten the load for each team member.

2) Inspect the raft in early spring (prior to deployment) and perform any needed maintenance. Click here for a raft maintenance checklist.

3) Float your raft before mid-May. Click here for raft placement instructions.

4) Ensure your nest raft has enough nest material. Click here for a guide to vegetating your nest raft.

5) Retrieve the raft at the end of the nesting season. This can be after chicks hatch or, on lakes that did not have chicks hatch, after mid-August (when new nest initiation is unlikely). Click here for instructions for raft storage.

 If you have any questions, need replacement materials for the raft on your lake, or think that your loon pair may meet the criteria for receiving a nest raft, please contact our Field Program staff at field@loon.org or call (603)476-5666. Thank you for your help!