The loon is a New Hampshire icon, and many have fallen in love with their distinctive calls. Just watch Katherine Hepburn's excitement over loon sightings in the award-winning movie “On Golden Pond,” shot on Squam Lake here in New Hampshire
Tiffany Grade is a biologist at the Loon Preservation Committee. I joined her at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in Holderness where she leads loon themed cruises.
“How can you not love them? They're so charismatic,” said Grade. “And we get some very hard core loon fans.”
Alice McBee is a self-described loon super fan. She devotes hours to watching the preservation committee’s live stream of loon nests. She lives in Pennsylvania, but she is from New Hampshire. For her, the Loon Cam is entertainment as well as a touchstone to her time in the Granite State.
“Being in Philadelphia and being able to hear the sound of a New Hampshire lake during May and June is a wonderful thing,” McBee said. “All of those YouTube videos of calming water music have nothing on a loon cam.”
McBee’s mother-in-law Diane Cook echoed her excitement, saying their visit needed to include something loon-related.
“[Alice] said, what do you want to do? And I said, loon cruise. I didn't even think about it.”
Tiffany Grade says loons are special to New Hampshire culturally and scientifically. The Loon Preservation Committee was founded in the 70s. At that time, the species was heading towards extinction here, in part due to human activity.
Thanks to public awareness and monitoring and management from biologists, there are more loons than there used to be. But they’re still a threatened species in New Hampshire.
Loons’ health mirrors the lake’s ecosystem. Researchers have found traces of PFAS chemicals and other contaminants in loon eggs. Lead poisoning from old fishing tackle is the leading cause of death for the birds.
“Loons are dealing with so many challenges,” Grade said. “Those challenges in many ways are continuing to increase because of human activities. And of course the whole threat of climate change is a major looming issue for the loons as well.”
Loons are northern birds, so even a 70 degree day is hot for them. Heavy rain like New Hampshire saw this summer can flood their nests.
Biologists with the preservation committee create sturdier, artificial nests on the shoreline to help protect the loon eggs. Out on the lake, Grade points to one of those nests, and it kind of looks like a lobster trap.
“You can see there's some nice grassy stuff on there. We supply them with the nest material, Grade said. “Every spring I'm out here working on my loon interior decorating skills [to] give them all the comforts of home [and] hope that they move in.”
Grade is encouraged by the species' population growth, even if it’s slow and sometimes painful. But she says that if humans can cause loon numbers to decline, maybe more thoughtful human action can help bring them back.
“We're fortunate to have a community around Squam who cares so much about the loons and came together to help us and support our work to research what happened and to recover the loons,” Grade said.
