The Vermont Loon Recovery Project (VLRP) annual statewide loon count is fast approaching, and we still have some lakes that need volunteers. This is a great opportunity to check out a lake or pond you normally might not visit. Many of the unassigned lakes are small and will likely not have loons, but it is still important to check them occasionally. However, there are are also some high priority lakes in need of volunteers including: Harveys, Jobs, Marshfield, May, Moore Res. (need a motorboat), Nelson, Newark, Pigeon (4-mile hike/bike), Pensioner, Spring, and Woodward.
Moderate priority lakes that need surveying include Amherst, Echo (Plymouth), Echo and Beebe (Hubbarton), Hortonia, Inman, Knapp Brook 1 and 2, Levi, Little Elmore (hike/bushwhack), Little Salem, Long (Eden), Long (Sheffield -hike), Mollys, South America (backroads/hike), Star, West Hill, and Wrightsville.
All surveys should be done between 8 and 9 a.m. on Saturday 16 July. Please contact the VLRP Coordinator, Eric Hanson, if you are interested in surveying one or several of these lakes so we do not have 3 or 4 people surveying the same lake. If you survey 2 or 3 lakes, it is o.k. to survey outside the survey period, since having a survey conducted is more important than missing the count altogether.
2011 Breeding Loon Update
As of early July, we have so far confirmed 63 nest attempts statewide, 11 failed nests, 4 re-nest attempts, and 31 successful nests which have produced 44 chicks total with 42 chicks still with us. Volunteers are reporting more Bald Eagle sightings and flyovers above loon families. Loon chicks are potentially easy targets for eagles, but mom and dad loons do their best to discourage these predators. We've had a first-time chick on Harvey's Lake. I've recently dealt with 2 adult loons caught up in fishing line, or at least tried, as I and volunteer Henry Dandeneau spent 5 hours searching Harriman Reservoir for one and never found it. The other entangled bird is currently on a small pond, hopefully feeding, but we're not sure if it will survive. We are still watching a loon "stuck" on a fire retention pond at Tafts Corners in Williston. It appears healthy, but we will likely try a capture attempt soon. Vermont won't likely see nesting numbers as high as last year's record 72, but this summer's totals will at least be similar numbers to those of 2008 and 2009. High waters early in the season have likely contributed to widespread delays in nesting, and to some pairs not nesting at all.
Eric Hanson
VCE Biologist and VLRP Coordinator
ehanson@vtecostudies.org
(802) 586-8064
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