Loon Preservation Committee

06/05/2026

Have you run into our “Loon Nesting Sanctuary” signs while out on a lake? These signs are intended to reduce human disturbance at nest sites. When humans or boats get too close to loon nests, the incubating loons can become nervous and may flush off of the nest into the water, leaving eggs unprotected and vulnerable. With the help of our volunteers, LPC protected 154 nesting pairs of loons with signs in 2025.
Not every loon nest needs signs—some nests are well hidden, or in low traffic areas, and in those cases, a sign might actually attract more attention to the nest than it would have otherwise received. But in many cases—particularly if a nest is highly visible, or if it is placed in an area that tends to get a high level of boat traffic—signs can help to alert boaters to the need to give that area more space than they otherwise would. Our staff works closely with our local volunteer networks on lakes to determine when signs are most likely to be helpful.

Due to logistical constraints and the need to not impede safe navigation, we often cannot place signs as far away from the nest as we would like. Because of this, we ask that if you see our signs out on a lake and it is possible to safely do so, that you stay at least 150 feet away from the area of shoreline that they are protecting. We thank all who heed the signs and give nesting loons the space that they need!
Photo credit: Brian Reilly

06/03/2026

Many of New Hampshire’s loon pairs have started to nest! The incubation period, from the laying of the first egg to the hatch of the second chick, takes approximately 28 days. During this time, loons deal with a number of challenges that can threaten their nesting success. Those loons that begin nesting earlier in May (the heart of black fly season here in New Hampshire) may find themselves swarmed by black flies, and some may end up abandoning their nests as a result, Thankfully, most of our loon pairs in NH do not nest early enough to be seriously bothered by black flies, and as a result, nest failures due to black flies have been much more rare in New Hampshire than in other parts of the loons' breeding range.

Threats to nesting success that have been documented more frequently in New Hampshire include water level fluctuations (which can flood nests or leave them stranded), predation, disturbance caused by intruding loons, and human disturbance.

If you are out and about on lakes this summer, please keep an eye out for loon nests, and if you find one, please give it a wide berth. When feeling threatened on the nest, loons will lower their heads toward the water, flattening themselves in order to try to minimize their appearance, as is happening in this photo. If you see this behavior, please back away from the nest!

It is not just motorboats that need to keep their distance from loons—self-powered vessels like canoes, kayaks, and stand up paddleboards can be equally disruptive and should also stay 150 feet or more from loons and loon nests. If driving a motorboat, please make sure to drive at headway speed in areas near loon nests in order to avoid flooding the nest with a wake.

06/01/2026

This Wednesday night (June 3rd), we will be giving a presentation about loons at the Fortier Library at White Mountain Community College in Berlin! The presentation will take place at 6:00 PM. If you’re in the area, we hope you’ll attend to learn about loon biology, nesting ecology, behavior, and more!

Photo credit: Kittie Wilson

05/30/2026

Tomorrow is the last day for our May Membership drive! We are so close to reaching our goal. Can you help us cross the finish line? Visit https://loon.org/member-a-day-in-may/ to learn more or to become a member. Winners of the raffle will be contacted early next week. As a small, grassroots non-profit organization, we depend on the support of our members to continue our work on behalf of New Hampshire’s loons. We are grateful to all who have joined us this month for their support!

05/27/2026

Planning to head out on the water in New Hampshire this summer? There is a good chance that you might end up on a lake that has loons! We want members of the public to be able to enjoy seeing and hearing our loons. But it’s important to remember that loons can be vulnerable to human activity.

The close approach of boaters (including motor boats but also self-powered boats like canoes and kayaks) can cause loons to flush from their nests (leaving eggs exposed to predators or the elements). Boat wakes too close to loon nests can swamp those nests, leading to failure.

During the chick rearing period, if people get too close to loon families, it can distract adult loons from providing their chicks the care that they need, which in extreme cases can lead to chicks being lost due to starvation or predation. Finally, motor boats can strike and kill loons, especially chicks that are not as easily able to dive deep enough to escape being hit.

We have put together some loon-safe boating guidelines to help boaters share the lake with our loons. If you’re planning on boating in New Hampshire this summer, please click the link below and take a moment to read them over! Thank you—together, we can create a safe environment for the loons on our lakes.

https://loon.org/boatingguidelines/

Photo Credit: Kittie Wilson

The Loon Preservation Committee’s mission is to restore and maintain a healthy population of loons throughout New Hampshire; to monitor the health and productivity of loon populations as sentinels of environmental quality; and to promote a greater understanding of loons and the larger natural worl...

05/24/2026

Loons most often have a two-egg clutch, but sometimes they will lay just one egg and in extremely rare occasions may lay as many as three. Eggs are typically laid 1–3 days apart.

Once the first egg is laid, incubation is typically sporadic until the clutch is complete. After their clutch is complete, the loons begin to incubate the eggs much more consistently. Egg development requires pretty precise temperature regulation, and as such, the loons must incubate more or less constantly. To achieve this, the male and female take turns tending the nest, usually in shifts lasting 2-6 hours. During the first week of incubation, the male may spend a bit more time on the nest than the female, doing 50–60% of the incubating. This may allow the female more time to forage in order to recover from the energetic demands of producing and laying two large eggs. But by week four of incubation, females are typically doing up to 60% or more of the incubating.

Photo credit: Virginia and Daniel Poleschook

05/20/2026

Loon nesting season is starting up! Here in New Hampshire, loon nest initiation typically occurs between mid-May and late June, though some of our pairs may initiate nests as early as early May and others may start as late as mid-July. By the end of the first week of June, we expect that about 50% of New Hampshire's loon pairs will be nesting.

Loons are ground nesters, and because they cannot walk well on land, they tend to build their nests close to the water's edge. Their preferred nest sites are on small islands, which are less likely to have populations of mammal predators as compared to shoreline sites. They tend to nest on the lee side of these islands, which protects their nests from being flooded by natural wave action. In the absence of suitable island sites, loons may also nest on hummocks in marshy areas, or on the mainland shoreline in protected coves.

Over the next two months, we ask members of the public to keep an eye out as they’re boating around lakes. Regardless of what kind of boat you’re in, please be sure to keep an eye out for loon nests (especially in the sort of areas described above, where nests are more likely to be located) and give them a wide berth. It’s not just motorboats that can stress nesting loons—self-powered boats like canoes, kayaks, and SUPs can be equally disruptive to loons.

Photo credit: Mike DiGioia

The Loon Preservation Committee’s mission is to restore and maintain a healthy population of loons throughout New Hampshire; to monitor the health and productivity of loon populations as sentinels of environmental quality; and to promote a greater understanding of loons and the larger natural worl...

05/18/2026

There are two potential mechanisms by which a loon may ingest lead tackle:

1) Current fishing activity (ingesting a fish with attached tackle or striking at a bait or fish being reeled through the water)

2) Mistaking lead tackle on lake bottoms for pebbles that they ingest to aid digestion
If bottom-lost tackle were the primary source, we would expect lead-related loon deaths to be evenly distributed across all months that loons are present on our lakes. But that’s not what we see. Instead, New Hampshire’s lead tackle mortalities peak in July and August, when fishing activity on our lakes is at its highest. This strong seasonal pattern points toward current fishing activity as the main driver.

Additional evidence supports this. Most loons that die from ingested lead tackle are found with other fishing gear (hooks, line, swivels, etc.) in their digestive systems along with the lead. It is unlikely that a loon would intentionally pick up a piece of tackle still attached to line or hooks and confuse it for a pebble. This reinforces that most loons that die from lead tackle are likely ingesting tackle that is in active use, not from lake bottoms.

Because the leading source of lead poisoning is tackle that is in current use, there is a clear solution to the lead mortality problem: ending the use of lead tackle on NH lakes. New Hampshire has already taken important steps to protect loons—state law bans the sale and freshwater use of lead sinkers and lead-headed jigs weighing 1 oz or less (the types and size range of tackle most commonly recovered from dead loons).
We have seen reductions in the per capita rate of lead tackle mortalities in our loon population in the years since legislation went into effect. But, as evidenced by the five lead mortalities that we documented in 2025, the problem isn’t gone. Lead tackle purchased prior to the ban’s implementation, purchased in states that do not ban its sale, or homemade lead tackle, persists in tackle boxes in New Hampshire.

If you fish, please check your tackle box and remove any lead tackle you still have. Participate in our Lead Tackle Buyback Program to ensure those items are safely disposed of, and get $20 towards new fishing gear! If you don’t fish, you can still help by spreading the word about the danger that lead tackle poses to loons. Working together, we can reduce these preventable deaths and safeguard New Hampshire’s loon population. https://loon.org/loonsafe/

05/15/2026

We’re two weeks in to our May Membership Drive! Did you know that in addition to the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting New Hampshire’s loons, all new members who join during the month of May are also entered into a raffle to win one of these three great loon-themed prizes? (include brief descriptions of raffle prizes)

To learn more, please visit https://loon.org/member-a-day-in-may/. Thank you!

Every spring as the loons find their way back to New Hampshire, LPC looks to recruit new members to our family of loon supporters. For over 50 years, LPC members have provided the foundation of support for the important work to preserve and protect loons in New Hampshire. We hope that you will cons...

05/13/2026

On Monday, we posted about Common Loon population dynamics and population growth rates. Today, we want to discuss how lead poisoning resulting from the ingestion of lead fishing tackle has impacted the growth rate of New Hampshire’s loon population.

The life history characteristics that we discussed in Monday’s post (delayed age of reproductive maturity, low annual reproductive output, but generally long lifespan) mean that the survival of adult loons has a large influence on population growth rates, and even small changes in the survival rates of adult loons can drastically reduce population growth. Unfortunately, here in NH, lead poisoning from lead fishing tackle ingestion (not a natural cause of death) has been the leading cause of adult loon mortality, accounting for 36% of documented adult mortalities from 1989–2025.

Because population growth rates are so sensitive to changes in adult survival in loons, deaths of adult loons from non-natural causes like lead tackle ingestion can drastically impact populations. In a 2018 study, LPC showed that adult mortalities from lead tackle ingestion reduced the population growth rate by 1.4% per year from 1989–2012. While New Hampshire’s loon population continued its recovery over this time period (due in large part to intensive management in the form of rafts, signs, and water-level management to increase breeding success), the recovery would have been much stronger had the loons lost to lead tackle ingestion survived and continued to reproduce.

Unfortunately, lead poisoning from lead tackle ingestion continues to be a major problem for our loons. In 2025, we documented 5 adult loon deaths due to lead tackle ingestion. If you fish, please check your tackle box, clean out any lead tackle you find, and participate in our Lead Tackle Buyback Program. If you don’t fish, please help us spread the word! Tell your friends, families, and neighbors about the danger that lead tackle poses to loons. Together, we can protect our loons from this critical threat.

If you’re interested in reading our study, please check the comments for a link!