Early in June the loon pair that resides on Canobie Lake nested on the raft for a few days. Then they abandoned the nest. It may have been because some boaters got very close to the raft and frightened them off. It may have been because a marauding animal took the egg.
On or about June 23, they resumed nesting on the raft. Our official loon watcher, Dave Blake, reports there are now two eggs on the nest! Yippee! If all goes well, they should hatch around July 21.
Read MoreOur resident loon pair is not nesting this year. The Loon Society biologist has visited Canobie Lake twice, and he doesn't know why they are not. He says there are plenty of good sites to nest, in addition to our raft. They do not appear to be unduly disturbed by people or critters. Best guess - they just don't feel like it. Sometimes "our" pair is joined by a third loon. The biologist thinks the third loon is a single female. Sometimes the three swim close together; sometimes two of them fight. It is possible the presence of the third loon is upsetting the pair, but not certain.
The time window to nest and produce a chick which would be viable by the end of the summer is rapidly closing. Too bad!
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