I launched the canoe at 6:15 AM this morning (April 22- Earth Day) to the protest of one very loud honking Canada Goose. The geese and many ducks have been on the lake since the very first water opened up on the channel. The loons, however, need lots of open water to land and take off, so they don’t arrive until the ice is truly out.
The ice on Highland Lake went out late on the 19th of April. Within two days, the loons usually arrive. This morning, I was excited to see that in fact they have arrived. They were seen swimming along the west shore near Roger and Kitty Kidder’s lake house.
A quick check on the floating nest platform, which we left out all winter for the first time, shows no ice damage and appears to be in good shape. The moss and other natural material that Kittie Wilson, an award-winning loon protection specialist, and I put on the platform to entice the pair to nest on it is beginning to show new green growth.
Now, we wait and see and enjoy the rituals of spring. Hopefully our pair of loons will mate and nest and raise a successful chick or two!
Get the Lead Out, NH!
Spearheaded by the New Hampshire Lakes Association and the Loon Preservation Committee, the Let’s Get the Lead Out, NH! campaign is aimed at ending the use and sale of lead fishing tackle. If you are fishing with sinkers and lures that are more than 10 years old, they most likely are made with lead. It has been determined that such tackle has been the cause of 49% of adult loon deaths in New Hampshire.
Because adult loons normally ingest pebbles to aide in digestion of food, these objects get mistaken by the loon. Once ingested, they poison the loon, and the bird dies. There have been 124 documented cases of lead poisoning deaths between 1989 and 2011.
Non-lead sinkers and jigs are available for anglers. Companies that sell lead-free tackle and more information about this campaign can be found online at NHLakes.org/Lead. The safe disposal of lead sinkers is being offered by all New Hampshire Fish and Game Department regional offices.