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>> limited to just one lake. I <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org= /TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"><html xmlns=3D"http://www.w3.org/1999/xht= ml"><head> <meta content=3D"text/html; charset=3DUTF-8" http-equiv=3D"Content-Type= "/> =20 <style type=3D"text/css">.mceResizeHandle {position: absolute;border: 1px= solid black;background: #FFF;width: 5px;height: 5px;z-index: 10000}.mceRes= izeHandle:hover {background: #000}img[data-mce-selected] {outline: 1px soli= d black}img.mceClonedResizable, table.mceClonedResizable {position: absolut= e;outline: 1px dashed black;opacity: .5;z-index: 10000} <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family: "Cambria Math"; } @font-face {font-family: Calibri; } /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {margin:= 0cm; margin-bottom: .0001pt; font-size: 11.0pt; font-family: "Calibri",= sans-serif;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: #954F72; text-decoration:= underline;} .MsoChpDefault {} @page WordSection1 { margin: 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;} div.WordSection1 {} --></style> =20 </head><body style=3D""> =20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">Very interesting as always Donna.</span= > </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">All fresh water fish as they age will c= hange from insect feeders to</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">more diverse diets. Large Brook trout w= ould enjoy a baby loon you</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">can be sure but most end up in a frying= pan long before that.</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">The movements of CP even on the Lahave = are not too well</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">know to me. The other evening a friend,= a very good angler went with</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">me to a know hot spot on the Lahave We = didn't catch any CP although</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">we saw a couple rise and only 2 SMB. Fi= sh are a mystery to me!</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">Keji has a lot of data on loon numbers,= adults and chicks and also</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">the water levels at a couple of spots. = A study of the relationship of the two</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">would be extremely interesting. It shou= ldn't present any great problems from</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">a teck standpoint! But I'm too old = for that - fishing is more fun!</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">From now on CP and water levels are con= founded but with a good base</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">it should be possible to get a good est= imate of the variance in loon populations</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">based on water levels alone. So CP effe= cts can be estimated more accurately.</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">Hope to see you in Kjii soon.</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">And for those who like a good day in th= e wilderness Loon Count day is soon!</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">Paul</span> </div>=20 <div> <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;"> </span> </div>=20 <blockquote style=3D"position: relative; margin-left: 0px; padding-left: = 10px; border-left: solid 1px blue;" type=3D"cite"> On July 23, 2019 at 9:44 AM Donna Crossland <dcrossland@eastlink.ca&= #62; wrote: <br/> <br/>=20 <p>It's nice to read additional loon observations.  Loons remai= n an indicator of lake and fish population health, so observations of a loo= n pair with offspring is reassuring in this period of rapid change.  T= his species has been nesting on our lakes since the lakes began to hold fis= h.  That being said, I wonder if anyone has observations of their popu= lation responses to invasive fish.  The invasion of chain pickerel in = lake systems is a sobering game changer.  I have read a paper that con= cluded that loons can respond positively to invasion of small mouth bass, t= aking advantage of high bass numbers, but I am not so sure they will thrive= under a chain pickerel invasion.  Stories of chain pickerel consuming= loon chicks are sobering.  Fishermen recount some horror stories from= investigating the stomach contents of chain pickerel; they eat nearly anyt= hing.  </p>=20 <p>Loons were late nesting last year on a number of lakes, presumably fr= om unusually high waters.  It will be interesting to learn of final ou= tcomes by summer's end.</p>=20 <p>Kevin's observations between eagles and loons is a concern, havin= g heard many reports in recent years of loon chicks preyed upon by a growin= g population of eagles.  As we know, young loons are flightless on the= ir natal lakes until autumn, and so they are of limited capacity to thwart = continual attempts at predation by resident eagles, exhausted from diving t= o escape the eagles, they finally succumb despite some protection from the = parent loons.  Just this week, I heard from a lady who said that whene= ver she and her husband heard their resident loons vocalize loud distress c= alls, they would immediately respond by paddling their canoe into the lake.=   The loon pair would apparently swim closer to the canoe and stay nea= r them until the eagle stopped hunting.  Loons are smart and they have= very individual personalities, so perhaps they really had made an associat= ion with this canoe as 'safety'.  One can imagine the dilemma = of loon parents, particularly if raising a chick on a small lake with few p= laces to hide, their options are limited for protecting the chick when eagl= es decide to nest nearby.  The resident eagles know the chick is there= and it is a question of time before it succeeds at predation.  </p>= =20 <p>All of this would be a more easily accepted part of nature if not for= the ~350-400 food-supplemented eagles residing around large industrial far= m operations each winter in the Annapolis Valley that presumably is the sou= rce of increased eagle numbers nesting near Nova Scotia's many inland l= akes.  This unnatural population stems directly from human activity th= at has upset the natural balance.  Apparently a growing number of inci= dences of eagle predation on loons and herons, and likely other species, is= also becoming a problem in the US, as recently recounted to me by Dr M. Hu= nter.  I haven't had time to read about this further, but it is co= ncerning.  PEI has similar reports of growing eagle populations causin= g issues, possibly from our NS food-supplemented eagles.  (This would = be interesting research.)</p>=20 <p>The solution seems simple enough, send dead animals from industrial f= arm ops to the local rendering plant, rather than throwing them in fields t= o feed raptors.  Consider holding the popular 'eagle watch' to= urism events with ~ 40 birds instead of 400.  Forty eagles in one smal= l area is impressive.  Four hundred eagles is a sign of something gone= wrong, and people should be aware of potential impacts to other species.&#= 160; Tourism that is marketed toward the haunting call of the loon and only= an occasional soaring eagle seems the best approach.</p>=20 <p>Balance; a lofty goal for all.</p>=20 <p>Donna Crossland</p>=20 <div class=3D"moz-cite-prefix"> On 2019-07-21 2:07 p.m., Kevin Lantz wrote: </div>=20 <blockquote type=3D"cite">=20 <div class=3D"WordSection1">=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span>There was a late nesting last year on one= of the lakes near Lunenburg (possibly a second attempt) Incubation started= on July first and the nest produced one chick first seen on July 29<sup>th= </sup>and last seen in mid October when it seemed to be feeding entirely o= n it=E2=80=99s own. </span></p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span>This year incubation started on May 18<su= p>th</sup>, 2 young were produced but I haven=E2=80=99t seen any Loons on t= he lake since June 26. At that time only one chick was left and an eagle wa= s making low passes over the lake to wailing complaints from the adult Loon= .</span></p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span>What I have noticed is that eagle sightin= gs at the lake seem to drop off in early July, possibly because their young= have fledged. Whatever the reason the decreased eagle presence through sum= mer and fall seemed to help last year. It was the only success the loons ha= ve had since the eagles took up residence.</span></p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span> </span></p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span>Kevin Lantz</span></p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span>Front Centre</span></p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"> </p>=20 <div style=3D"border: none; border-top: solid; #e1e1e1 1.0pt;padding: = 3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm;">=20 <p style=3D"border: none; padding: 0cm;" class=3D"MsoNormal"><strong>= From: </strong><a href=3D"mailto:dcrossland@eastlink.ca">Donna Crossland</a= ><br/> <strong>Sent: </strong>July 21, 2019 11:30 AM<br/> <strong>To: </str= ong>naturens@chebucto.ns.ca<= br/> <strong>Subject: </strong>Re: [NatureNS] Loon platform success so far<= /p>=20 </div>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"> </p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Hi Nancy:  Your update on the loon platfor= m is of interest.  I believe</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">it may be only the 2nd occurrence of a loon nes= ting platform being</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">occupied by loons in NS.  It's interes= ting that the Canada Goose 'broke</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">it in' a bit.  Maybe that helped insti= ll confidence.  MTRI has had a</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">project of producing loon platforms, but so far= occupancy has been</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">limited to just one lake.   I'd b= e interested to see a photo of the loon</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">platform on Lake Torment.  I can wait unti= l the loon is off the nest to</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">see the 'setup', in case you are out wi= th camera in hand, Nancy.</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"> </p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Of additional interest is the late nesting of l= oons.  That is also my</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">impression of what may be occurring with some o= f the loon population in</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Kejimkujik this year.  High waters may hav= e delayed exposure of nest</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">sites on several lakes.  It will be intere= sting to follow the</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">survivorship of potentially late-hatching loon = chicks.</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"> </p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Thanks for the update.</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"> </p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Donna Crossland</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"> </p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">On 2019-07-17 11:11 a.m., nancy dowd wrote:</p>= =20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">> A person on L Torment, E Dalhousie, Kings= Co, decided to install a floating Loon nesting platform he got from DNR th= is year. The latter suggested he install it near the island where they=E2= =80=99ve nested in the past and so he did. This =E2=80=9Cisland=E2=80=9D on= ly emerges if the water is low enough. This year the water levels here are = quite high so it is still underwater. The platform went in in May and Canad= a Geese promptly occupied it and raised a family. Once they were gone the L= oons did seem to notice it, probably because they were looking for their us= ual nesting site. I hear that a Loon has been on the platform full time for= 1-2 weeks so presumably sitting on eggs. If all goes well and a chick (or = chicks) hatches this will be a very late little Loon (into Aug). Seems at l= east 12 weeks are necessary to get young to the stage of self-sufficiency s= o possible.</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">> </p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">> Nancy D</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">> </p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">> Sent from my iPad</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">> </p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"> </p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">---</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal">This email has been checked for viruses by Avas= t antivirus software.</p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"><a href=3D"https://www.avast.com/antivirus">htt= ps://www.avast.com/antivirus</a></p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"> </p>=20 <p class=3D"MsoNormal"> </p>=20 </div>=20 </blockquote>=20 <div id=3D"DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2"> <br/>=20 <table style=3D"border-top: 1px solid #D3D4DE;">=20 <tbody>=20 <tr>=20 <td style=3D"width: 55px; padding-top: 13px;"><a target=3D"_blank" h= ref=3D"https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=3Demail&utm_source=3Dlink= &utm_campaign=3Dsig-email&utm_content=3Demailclient"><img height=3D"29" alt= =3D"" width=3D"46" src=3D"https://ipmcdn.avast.com/images/icons/icon-envelo= pe-tick-round-orange-animated-no-repeat-v1.gif" border=3D"0"/></a></td>=20 <td style=3D"width: 470px; padding-top: 12px; color: #41424e; font-s= ize: 13px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">V= irus-free. <a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm= _medium=3Demail&utm_source=3Dlink&utm_campaign=3Dsig-email&utm_content=3Dem= ailclient">www.avast.com</a></td>=20 </tr>=20 </tbody>=20 </table>=20 </div>=20 </blockquote>=20 <div> <br/>  </div> =20 </body></html>
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