LOON PRESERVATION COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2021 Photo courtesy of Randy Roos DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE The More Things Change... t’s a very satisfying experience to complete a large and The Loon Preservation Committee Icomplex task, especially when the challenges associated 183 Lee’s Mill Road, P.O. Box 604 with that project meant that the outcome was uncertain. The Moultonborough, NH 03254 project I am describing is the construction, now substantially 603-476-LOON (5666); www.loon.org complete, of the new and expanded Loon Center Campus. The Loon Preservation Committee (LPC) is a This endeavor took a considerable amount of hope, planning, non-profit, self-directed and self-funded organiza- organization, and hard work spread among LPC Trustees, tion affiliated with New Hampshire Audubon. friends, and staff. And it happened even as Covid-19 and Autonomous in membership and fundraising, LPC works to preserve loons and their habitats in New economic turmoil posed their own challenges for LPC to ac- Hampshire through monitoring, research, manage- complish its important mission to recover New Hampshire’s ment, and education. loon population, monitor loons as indicators of environmen- tal health, and promote a greater understanding and appreci- LPC Staff: Harry S. Vogel ation of loons and the larger natural world. That other, much Senior Biologist/Executive Director larger project, the one the Loon Preservation Committee was John H. Cooley, Jr. created for, remains incomplete, despite very substantial Senior Biologist progress. Progress that our expanded and new buildings Kellee A. Duckworth were created to facilitate for the foreseeable future. Center Manager To take nothing away from that first bricks and mortar Tiffany J. Grade Squam Lakes Project Biologist accomplishment, its real value is not new walls and a bigger Holly M. Heath and better, electricity-generating roof over our heads. It’s the Membership/Center Assistant equipment and supplies and educational exhibits, and most Caroline M. Hughes importantly by far, the staff, that work within those spaces. Volunteer & Outreach Biologist This year we will set a new record for the number of loon Linda Egli Johnson nesting rafts we float on our lakes. We will likely, depend- Special Assistant/Newsletter Coordinator Kirsten Knell ing on our number of nesting loon pairs, set a new record for Loon Center Assistant the number of those pairs protected by ropes and signs. We Lin L. O’Bara will add substantially to the number of lead sinkers and jigs Development Coordinator we forever remove as a threat to loons. Less tangibly, but Joan M. Plevich no less importantly, we will add to the body of research that Database Technician will ensure the success of our efforts to protect loons and help Bette J. Ruyffelaert Assistant Loon Center Manager them thrive, even in the face of seemingly intractable threats like climate change and the always increasing human use of LPC Board of Trustees: our lakes. Kristen F. Begor, Chair The real importance of our fancy new digs is that they are a Thomas S. Deans, Vice Chair Glyn P. Green, Treasurer foundation for, and symbol of, our commitment to our con- Elizabeth P. Gabel, Secretary tinued and expanded work to save loons. Our focus on that Rick Blank singular goal hasn’t changed. That work will go on the same Susan R. Goodwin as before. But better. David P. Govatski Sandra L. Helve Beverly L. LaFoley Annie Montgomery Jeffrey H. Patterson Photo Kittie Wilson Jordan S. Prouty (Honorary) Robert I. Rotberg Brenda Stowe Robert W. Varney Ex-officio Trustees: Charlie W. Nims, NH Audubon Board Harry S. Vogel, LPC Senior Biologist/Executive Director - 2 - LPC AFIELD Northeast Loon Study Working Group Meeting: LPC Zooms Out to an Expanded North American Audience in 2021 fter the annual Northeast Walter Piper and colleague Sarah- study lake, Squam. ALoon Study Working Group Saunders detailed worrisome de- Turning from observational (NELSWG) meeting was cancelled clines in reproductive success and research to applied techniques, due to COVID last year, the group unpaired “floater” loons (Piper et other NELSWG sessions included was back in action in 2021, with al. 2020), and projected declines Vermont Center for Ecostudies’ the Loon Preservation Committee in Wisconsin’s loon population Eric Hanson’s review of the wide hosting six virtual two-hour ses- in the future, driven by climate variety of artificial loon nest raft sions in March. We still weren’t change and human land use designs, and summaries of LPC’s in person, but the virtual format (Saunders et al. 2021). From Birds Lead Tackle Buyback Program enabled a wider audience, gather- Canada, an analysis of decades and COVID-era outreach from ing attendees and presenters from of volunteer observations from Sheridan Brown and Caroline across the US and Canada. We hundreds of lakes has revealed Hughes, with a discussion of loon heard descriptions of loon ecology increasing population trends in rescue and rehabilitation from Dr. and behavior from Wyoming’s some regions and declining trends Mark Pokras (see photo page 4). Yellowstone region to the south- in others, but underscores the lin- The expanded audience at ern Appalachians and the Florida gering impact of acid rain on loon NELSWG this year presages an panhandle, and reports on LPC’s productivity in Canadian lakes international loon symposium findings in New Hampshire were (Bianchini et al. 2020) (see figure now planned for Fall 2022 in paired with research underway below). Here in New Hampshire, Portland, ME. North American on datasets from the Midwest, LPC’s Tiffany Grade reported on working groups on loon com- Canada, and across North Amer- the growing evidence that both munity science and loon rescue ica. Recent results from some of legacy and emerging contami- and rehabilitation have formed in these projects are sounding alarm nants besides mercury are present advance of the symposium, and a bells for loon conservation across at problematic levels on a range of third research group is planned. the continent. From Wisconsin, lakes, beyond the initial focal continued on page 4 This screen shot, from Birds Canada scientist Doug Tozer’s presentation, captures the “Zoom” feel of the 2021 NELS- WG conference, and highlights factors found to affect loon productivity in a recent analysis of long-term data from Ontario lakes. - 3 - continued from page 3 Mark Pokras Photo Mark Pokras Like NELSWG, the groups have been able to meet virtually, with much overlap in participation. Even as progress with the CO- VID pandemic makes in-person meetings possible again, LPC’s improved capacity to host and attend remote meetings has expanded the usual collection of loon researchers, managers, and community scientists, who typi- cally huddled for a group photo in The Loon Center’s driveway during pre-pandemic in-person NELSWG events. Those gath- erings and group photos will certainly be back in future New Hampshire mud seasons, but for Loon Preservation Committee staff and colleagues, 2021 prom- ises to be an exciting year for col- NELSWG presentations on loon rescue work included this photo of a loon be- laborations inspired by this year’s ing treated for lead poisoning at Tri-State Bird Rescue in Maryland. Unfortu- wider virtual reach. nately, treatment for lead poisoning is rarely successful. ~John H. Cooley, Jr. he virtual format of the 2021 Northeast Loon Study Working Group meeting Tallowed for an expanded audience, with attendees and presenters from across Literature Cited: the U.S. and Canada. The following individuals presented at this year’s meeting, Bianchini, K., D. C. Tozer, R. which was hosted by the Loon Preservation Committee: Alvo, S. P. Bhavsar, and M. L. Mallory. 2020. Drivers of de- Kristin Bianchini, Acadia University & Birds Canada clines in common loon (Gavia Sheridan Brown, Loon Preservation Committee immer) productivity in Ontario, Alex Dalton, Biodiversity Research Institute Canada. The Science of the Total Dave Evers, Biodiversity Research Institute Environment 738:139724. Tiffany Grade, Loon Preservation Committee Ericka Griggs, Biodiversity Research Institute & Western Connecticut University Eric Hanson, Vermont Loon Conservation Project Piper, W. H., J. Grear, B. Hoover, Caroline Hughes, Loon Preservation Committee E. Lomery, and L. M. Grenzer. Kathy Jones, Birds Canada 2020. Plunging floater survival Andy Kratter, Florida Museum of Natural History causes cryptic population de- Arcatta Leavitt, Ricketts Conservation Foundation cline in the Common Loon. The Katie Lowe, University of New Hampshire Condor 122. Jay Mager, Ohio Northern University Ellen Martinsen, University of Vermont Saunders, S. P., W. Piper, M. T. Jim Paruk, St. Joseph’s College Farr, B. L. Bateman, N. L. Walter Piper, Chapman University Michel, H. Westerkam, and C. B. Mark Pokras, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Tufts University Wilsey. 2021. Interrelated Sarah Saunders, National Audubon Society impacts of climate and land-use Lucas Savoy, Biodiversity Research Institute change on a widespread water Inga Sidor, New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Vin Spagnuolo, Ricketts Conservation Foundation bird. Journal of Animal Ecology Paul Spitzer, Florida Museum of Natural History 90:1165–1176. Doug Tozer, Birds Canada Harry Vogel, Loon Preservation Committee - 4 - Winter Loon Rescues: A Solstice Marathon to Cap Off a Busy Year o cap off a year that included south to Tover 30 loon rescues, Decem- Groveton. In ber 2020 featured a marathon the meantime, a four-day stretch as the lakes froze. second attempt From Dec. 18-21, LPC and NH on Kanasatka Fish & Game staff, supported Lake on Sunday by wildlife rehabilitator Maria used a 60-ft tarp Colby, rescued six loons, with five to cover all but a released successfully on the New small patch of the Hampshire coast. As a winter remaining open storm on the 17th of December water. This con- dumped a few feet of snow across fined the strand- central New Hampshire the initial ed juvenile loon call came from Webster Lake in so that it could be Franklin, where the slushy ice caught.