[NatureNS] Loon platform success so far

Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2019 12:16:12 -0300 (ADT)
From: "rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca" <rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca>
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&gt;&gt; limited to just one lake.   I
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  <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&#39;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&#39;t present any great problems from</span>
  </div>=20
  <div>
   <span style=3D"font-size: 12pt;">a teck standpoint! But I&#39;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;">&#160;</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 &#60;dcrossland@eastlink.ca&=
#62; wrote:
   <br/>
   <br/>=20
   <p>It&#39;s nice to read additional loon observations.&#160; 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.&#160; T=
his species has been nesting on our lakes since the lakes began to hold fis=
h.&#160; That being said, I wonder if anyone has observations of their popu=
lation responses to invasive fish.&#160; The invasion of chain pickerel in =
lake systems is a sobering game changer.&#160; 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.&#160; Stories of chain pickerel consuming=
 loon chicks are sobering.&#160; Fishermen recount some horror stories from=
 investigating the stomach contents of chain pickerel; they eat nearly anyt=
hing.&#160; </p>=20
   <p>Loons were late nesting last year on a number of lakes, presumably fr=
om unusually high waters.&#160; It will be interesting to learn of final ou=
tcomes by summer&#39;s end.</p>=20
   <p>Kevin&#39;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.&#160; 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.&#160; 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.=
&#160; The loon pair would apparently swim closer to the canoe and stay nea=
r them until the eagle stopped hunting.&#160; Loons are smart and they have=
 very individual personalities, so perhaps they really had made an associat=
ion with this canoe as &#39;safety&#39;.&#160; 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.&#160; The resident eagles know the chick is there=
 and it is a question of time before it succeeds at predation.&#160; </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&#39;s many inland l=
akes.&#160; This unnatural population stems directly from human activity th=
at has upset the natural balance.&#160; 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.&#160; I haven&#39;t had time to read about this further, but it is co=
ncerning.&#160; PEI has similar reports of growing eagle populations causin=
g issues, possibly from our NS food-supplemented eagles.&#160; (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.&#160; Consider holding the popular &#39;eagle watch&#39; to=
urism events with ~ 40 birds instead of 400.&#160; Forty eagles in one smal=
l area is impressive.&#160; 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>&#160;</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">&#160;</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">&#160;</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Hi Nancy:&#160; Your update on the loon platfor=
m is of interest.&#160; 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.&#160; It&#39;s interes=
ting that the Canada Goose &#39;broke</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">it in&#39; a bit.&#160; Maybe that helped insti=
ll confidence.&#160; 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.&#160;&#160; I&#39;d b=
e interested to see a photo of the loon</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">platform on Lake Torment.&#160; I can wait unti=
l the loon is off the nest to</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">see the &#39;setup&#39;, in case you are out wi=
th camera in hand, Nancy.</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">&#160;</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Of additional interest is the late nesting of l=
oons.&#160; 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.&#160; High waters may hav=
e delayed exposure of nest</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">sites on several lakes.&#160; 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">&#160;</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Thanks for the update.</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">&#160;</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">Donna Crossland</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">&#160;</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">On 2019-07-17 11:11 a.m., nancy dowd wrote:</p>=
=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">&#62; 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">&#62;&#160;</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">&#62; Nancy D</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">&#62;&#160;</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">&#62; Sent from my iPad</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">&#62;&#160;</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">&#160;</p>=20
     <p class=3D"MsoNormal">---</p>=20
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