Two more chicks!
I have fantastic news-the remaining loon nest on Squam hatched 2 chicks!! It’s very exciting to have a two-chick hatch-this is something we haven’t had on Squam Lake for two years, so it’s great to have a twosome out there again! Unfortunately, however, this wonderful news is tempered by the loss of one of Squam’s other chicks. You’ll recall that, in my last e-newsletter, I mentioned that one of the families was experiencing some difficulties with intruding loons. Sadly, the chick disappeared while this was going on. This brings our totals to 1 chick on Little Squam and 4 chicks on Squam Lake. Thanks very much to everyone who has been keeping an eye out for the loon families and helping with Loon Chick Watch! For more information on Loon Chick Watch and to volunteer to spend some time on the weekends helping to protect Squam’s loons, please visit https://www.squamlakes.org/loon-chick-watcher-program. We all need to do everything we can to help these chicks thrive on the Squam Lakes!
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Loon Census this past Saturday! We could not have asked for a more perfect day for counting Squam’s loons! Thirty-five adult loons were seen and all chicks were accounted for that day! Thanks to everyone for helping, and it was great to see many of you on Church Island!
In lieu of “Meet the Loons of Squam” this week, I’m attaching Loon Preservation Committee’s annual Progress Report on the Squam Lake Loon Initiative, our intensive research, monitoring, management, and outreach effort to understand the causes of the declines in Squam’s loon population and restore a healthy population of loons to the lake. As you will learn in the report, we have made important progress in the past year in bringing on additional collaborators to investigate the issue of contamination in the Squam watershed, and Loon Preservation Committee is continuing to advocate with these collaborators for comprehensive contaminants work to ensure the best possible outcome for Squam’s loons and other wildlife. Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions about the report or the Squam Lake Loon Initiative.
“Meet the Loons of Squam” will return next week, but, in the meantime, please let me know if you have any reports or questions about Squam’s loons. And, as always, please contact the Loon Preservation Committee to report any sick, injured, or dead loons (603-476-5666).
Thank you for your interest in Squam’s loons!
Tiffany
