I’ve been thinking our loon nest was “behind schedule” but apparently there are eggs on Damariscotta Lake that are just now beginning to hatch. I’ve shared this picture from our Facebook page. What I find most interesting is the nest itself, it is just a shallow depression on the shoreline:
Category Archives: Wildlife
07 July 2016 Loon Update: Nest OK, Still No Chicks
2016 Fourth of July fireworks. It appears the fireworks displays around the lake on Monday night did not disturb the nesting loons which were observed calmly nest-sitting the next day. Photograph by George Fergusson.
[dropcap]Like[/dropcap] a nervous parent, I have been checking the loon nest every day lately, and sometimes twice when I get the chance. This morning I observed one of the loons sitting on the nest but there is no evidence yet that the eggs have hatched. As near as we can tell the nest was established sometime around the 6th or 7th of June- at least that is when Randy and Arlene Wing first noticed the pair of loons hanging out around the nest site. Exactly when the nest was completed and the eggs laid is not clear but they were seen sitting on the nest by June 11th. That was 27 days ago. With a gestation period between 26 and 30 days, the eggs could hatch anytime. Continue reading
01 July 2016 Test Post: Sample Loon Audio
This is just a test post to see how well the site handles audio and what people think of it. I’ve got about zero experience working with audio files. This calling loon was recorded by Arlene Wing the other night.
28 June 2016: Yet Another Loon Video
This summer’s loon nesting episode on Clary Lake has provided unparalleled photographic and video opportunities. Yesterday I posted a video of one of the loons climbing onto their nest. This new video is comprised of 3 short video clips stitched together that I took back on June 23rd and 24th and shows a loon sitting on the nest. Who knew watching a loon breath could be so exciting 🙂
This video taken with a Nikon D3300 DSLR camera attached to the prime focus of a 6″ f/5 Newtonian reflector with 2X Barlow (doubler) which amounts to a telephoto lens with an effective focal length of 1524 mm. The nest was located approximately 380′ away from the camera.
27 June 2016: Video of Loon Climbing Onto Nest
I’ve wanted to capture video of a loon climbing onto its nest ever since the first time I saw one do it. Loons are clearly not built for getting around on dry land, but they manage. I’ve tried two other times to capture this event but circumstances conspired to thwart my efforts. I got some nice video (will post some at a later time) but catching this special event has eluded me. Until today. It was windy which caused the camera to bounce around, but the wind let up briefly at just the right time. The video ended when the battery in my camera died. Enjoy.
I’ve been able to set my camera, telescope, and tripod up in a spot in some bushes a good distance away from the nest where I could observe the loons almost without being seen. As you can see from the video, the loon was clearly unconcerned by my presence, though it certainly knew I was there.
26 June 2016: Loon Nest Update, More Pictures
Nesting Loon Series, June 2016, Clary Lake. Photograph by Arlene Wing 26 June 2016
Arlene Wing has sent me some great pictures of the nesting loons and I’ve added them to the 2016 Loon Nest Gallery. She and her husband Randy own the former Crow property, that beautiful place located next to the State boat launch. Their house overlooks the cove where the loons are nesting this summer. She and Randy can actually watch the nest from the comfort of their home. I stopped over there this morning for coffee and a visit, and they’ve got a spotting scope set up in the den. How cool is that! Continue reading
22 June 2016: Loon Nest Update, New Pictures Added to Site
Nesting Loon, Clary Lake, June 2016. Photograph by George Fergusson 22 June 2016
[dropcap]The[/dropcap] nesting Loons are doing fine and it appears that people are respecting the bird’s need for privacy and not venturing inside the LOON AREA signs. I stopped by today to try out my hastily-fabricated telephoto lens arrangement and took some pictures of the loons that came out rather well I think. Though it looks like I was right on top of them, I wasn’t. Not even close. From where I was set up on the lawn looking down on the nest, my range finder said I was about 390′ away from the nest. The loons barely took notice of me. The pictures were taken with a 6″ f/5 Newtonian reflector telescope which I normally use for observing stars, planets, comets, and nebulae. I hooked my digital Nikon D3300 camera up to it which gave me what amounted to a 762 mm focal length telephoto lens. By adding a 2x barlow lens I was able to double that to effectively a 1524 mm focal length telephoto lens. Continue reading
18 June 2016: Loon Nest Update
A loon sitting on the nest, trying to maintain a low profile. I took the picture from Randy & Arlene Wing’s shoreline. Their place is admirably suited for observing the nest without disturbing the loons. The water level at the time this picture was taken was a little over 56″ below the top of the dam. Photograph by George Fergusson 18 June 2016
17 June 2016: Loon Nest Spotted on Clary Lake!
For the first time since the summer of 2012, a pair of loons is attempting to nest again on Clary Lake. This is fantastic news and it has us very excited. The nest is located at the end of the sandbar on the east end of the lake 800′ to 900′ feet northwest of the State Boat launch, opposite Randy and Arlene Wing’s home which is the white cape located next to the boat launch. In fact news of the loon nest was brought to my attention by Arlene Wing who sent me an email last night. David Hodsdon, Jack Holland, and I were scheduled to conduct our biweekly water quality monitoring data-collection exercise this morning and after we were done we boated over and confirmed that there is indeed a loon nest there. I was able to get a couple of pictures of the sitting loon without getting too close.
Our resident Loon expert Mary Gingrow-Shaw (pictured at left) helped me round up the Association’s floating “LOON NEST AREA” signs which have been languishing in the weeds near my boat launch and together we headed over about noon today and set 3 of them just off shore from the sandbar to warn boaters away from the nest. Hopefully people will see these signs and give the loons the peace and solitude they require. People however are the least of the problems these marvelous bird face. They are vulnerable to attack by eagles from the air and coyotes and foxes from the shore. Once the eggs hatch (gestation period is 26 to 31 days) the risks only increase: I’ve seen more than a few baby loons snatched by snapping turtles than I care to remember.
By far the biggest threat these nesting loons now face is from fluctuating water levels. Their nest can either become stranded if the lake level falls too much, or get flooded if it rises too much. As you can see in the picture, loon nests don’t have a lot of freeboard- only 3″ or 4″ at most. An inch or 2 of rain is all it will take to bring the lake up that much and more.
Loon Nest Area Sign.
These floating signs were built many years ago by long time Clary Lake Association member Edward Grant and were last used in 2012 when a loon pair attempted to nest in the marsh over on the west end of the lake by Route 126. Sadly, that nesting attempt failed when the nest was flooded. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen again. Please everyone, respect these signs and give the Loon nest a wide berth. We’ll be monitoring the nest from the shoreline and will post more pictures and updates as the summer progresses.
03 April 2016: Sunrise on Clary Lake
Sunrise on Clary Lake this morning was short but intense.
Avian Haven’s 2015 Year End Report Now Available
American Bittern
[dropcap]The[/dropcap] Avian Haven Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center’s 2015 Year End Report is now available and has been posted on the Avian Haven website. The report is packed with pictures and fascinating stories of their rescue efforts through the year and makes for a very enjoyable read. The picture at left is of a juvenile American Bittern from their website. Avian Haven has been in existence since 1999 and are currently handling about 2000 rescue cases a year, making them one of the largest rehabilitation practices in New England. Avian Haven is a non-profit organization located on the Palermo Road in Freedom, Maine. They’re great folks, doing an amazing job caring for sick and injured birds of all sorts. In addition to the Avian Haven website, you can also follow them on their Facebook page. Enjoy the report!
16 February 2016: No Muskrat Houses, No Muskrats
They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
01 September 2015: August 2015 water level chart archived
I’ve archived the August 2015 water level chart (at left), and what a chart it is. One glance and you can see that the water level hardly moved. For the entire month the lake level never rose above -63″ below the top of the dam and on August 7th it reached -65.16″ below the top of the dam, the lowest level I’ve ever recorded. The lake is so low in fact that water is no longer flowing out of the lake into the outlet channel and hasn’t been since early July; there’s a trickle of water flowing through the open gate in the dam but it is coming from ground water and springs in the meadow area. It’s actually been at or below -60″ below the top of the dam since July 10th. This makes it the longest stretch of the lowest water levels we’ve experienced in the last 4 years. It’s gotten almost this low before, but it has never stayed this low for this long.
The low water condition has been exacerbated by the near-drought conditions we’ve experienced so far this year. As of the end of August we had received only 18.88″ of precipitation for the year compared to 32.83″ on this date a year ago. As a result, because the ground is so dry, there has been no absolutely no runoff as the result of what little rain we have received. To make matters worse, because of the topography of the shoreline around lake, when it does rain the lake doesn’t so much get deeper as it does bigger. This then explains how last August 11th and 12th when we received 2.29″ of rain, the lake only came up 1.92″ total. This defies logic, but as those of you who have stuck sticks in the mud on your water front to mark where the water line is can attest, it ain’t moved.
This extended period of excessively low water levels has severely restricted everyone’s use and enjoyment of Clary Lake even more than usual, not to mention the ongoing impact on wildlife habitat, and water quality. There will be consequences.
28 August 2015: Wednesday night meeting to air grievances about Clary Lake well attended
CLA President and meeting moderator Malcolm Burson sits between State Representative Deb Sanderson and State Senator Christopher Johnson near the end of the August 26th meeting of Clary Lake shore owners and town of Whitefield officials. Photograph by George Fergusson 26 August 2015
Judging from the turnout (at least 61 people, maybe more) and the feedback (more than 31 people spoke, some of them more than once) I’d say last night’s standing-room-only meeting was a great success. The meeting, which came about as a result of discussions earlier in the month between Clary Lake Association (CLA) representatives and State Representative Deb Sanderson, was well-moderated by CLA President Malcolm Burson. In an outstanding show of solidarity, both State Representative Deb Sanderson (a Republican) and State Senator Christopher Johnson (a Democrat) ran the meeting together in a refreshing show of non-partisan cooperation. While the Clary Lake water level crisis is not a partisan issue, it was still refreshing and encouraging to see our two elected representatives completely aligned and working together towards a common goal. They will be working together to draft a letter to, and bring this matter to the attention of, the Department of Environmental Protection.
One of the main goals of the meeting had been to arrange for Clary Lake shore owners and other community members share their grievances with officials from both towns in the hopes of spurring them to take a more active role in support of the State’s defense of the water level order. To that end, Representative Sanderson had extended an invitation to both Jefferson and Whitefield officials to attend the meeting. While all 5 of Whitefield’s Select Board members were at the meeting, to everyone’s surprise, none of Jefferson’s 3 Select Board members decided to attend. This was an insult to the Jefferson residents that represented over 1/2 of the people that showed up and spoke at the meeting. Continue reading
10 August 2015: Drained Beaver flowage adds water to Clary Lake
A funny thing happened over the weekend: the lake level which has been falling a consistent 1/4″ daily (due to evaporation only) had, without warning, risen 1/4″ by early Saturday afternoon without us having received any rain at all… This situation had me thinking I’d made a mistake in measuring the water level until I discovered early that evening that the marsh on the south side of Route 126/215 at the primary inlet to Clary Lake which had been recently flooded by beavers was draining into Clary Lake. The picture at left shows the inlet of the culvert well plugged by sticks and mud on Thursday afternoon with the water level less than a foot from the top of the culvert. Sometime early Saturday morning someone, most likely a Town of Jefferson work crew, brought an excavator to the site and dredged out the blockage. Continue reading
31 July 2015: Another Lake shore owner complains to DEP
Jane Roy sent an impassioned email to Beth Callahan of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection the other day, and received a response from Ms. Callahan earlier today. Jane promptly posted both emails on the Clary Lake Association’s Facebook page but I thought they were worth re-posting here.
Jane Roy is a daughter of Stanley Whittier, a long time Clary Lake Association member who built his place on the lake way back in 1958. The Whittier property is located on the north shore of Clary Lake at the end of the Duncan Road in an area of the lake which as we know has been badly impacted by both low water and pond weed growth (see post “Duncan Road lake shore owners severely impacted by low water” and “Lake shore owners concerned about invasive aquatic plants“). I tied up at the Whittier’s dock the other day (in about 12” of water!) and spent a while talking with Stanley and his daughter Gail about the upcoming annual meeting, the low water conditions, the status of 80c proceeding in Lincoln County Superior Court, and various initiatives currently underway by the Clary Lake Association.
Before posting Jane’s email and Ms. Callahan’s response, I thought I’d comment briefly on this matter. First, I think Jane’s email was thoughtful and considerate and absolutely appropriate. Second, I felt Ms. Callahan’s response was honest and sincere, but understandably restrained: DEP staff has to be very careful what they say regarding an ongoing 80c proceeding. I’ll be somewhat less restrained and say that it is clear to me that both the Maine DEP and the Attorney General are actively engaged and aggressively pursuing a resolution of this matter in court and I am confident that we will ultimately prevail. So take heart people: it is only a question of when, not if, DEP will initiate aggressive enforcement action against the dam owner. Also, the Clary Lake Association is well aware of the fact that other parties besides DEP can take enforcement action. This and other initiatives will be discussed at tomorrow’s annual meeting.
Here are the emails:
From: Roy, Jane [mailto:Jane-Roy@idexx.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2015 4:01 PM
To: Callahan, Beth
Subject: Clary Lake – Please Help Us?
Hi Beth,
I just left you a voice mail at your 446-1586 number.
Please call me and help me understand why nothing has been done to
enforce the Lake Level order. Our Lake is all but gone now.
I cry each time I go to the Lake and watch it disappearing. We all are.
I can’t sit back anymore and simply hope that George Ferguson and
the facts of this case will stand on their own merit. Another Summer
has come a gone with additional losses of acreage each year. In 2012
I sold my Sea Doo and bought a kayak because of this mess. I ran aground
in my kayak in the middle of the lake this year. Is this ok? I think not. Continue reading
29 July 2015: North Shore Clary Lake Video
Published: 29 July 2015
The north shore of Clary Lake in the vicinity of Duncan Road has been severely impacted by the ongoing water level crisis. Now, with the lake level 63″ below the top of the dam, the water has receded over 100′ from where it would normally be this time of year. How long will this be allowed to continue?
21 July 2015: Spider
Look what I found when I flipped my dock over the other day. That’s a finished 2×6 she’s sitting on which makes her oh… a little better than 3″ across. This picture really doesn’t do it justice. I can honestly say it’s the biggest spider I’ve ever seen.
18 July 2015: Annual Maine Audubon Loon Count nets 1 Loon, 1 new rock
Usually Mary and Ernie have their 16′ boat in the water, and they can usually be seen most pleasant evenings taking a slow and leisurely sunset cruise around the lake but this year there wasn’t enough water at the State boat ramp for them to launch their boat. For that matter there isn’t enough water on their shoreline for them to put in their dock either, so to conduct today’s loon count they asked me to take them around in my 14′ boat. During the loon count I managed to find a new rock on the north side of the lake off the point at the end of Duncan Road, in an area that I thought was plenty deep enough, and free of hazards. I was wrong. There are 2 buoys off the point marking shallow water ledges, and I had given them what I thought was a sufficiently wide berth. Fortunately I was not going too fast and my motor was not locked down so no serious damage was done, but my propeller got bent. I will have to pull it and file and reshape it before heading out again.
28 May 2015: A Black Crappie caught in Clary Lake
Jack Holland sent me a picture the other day of a full-grown Black Crappie that was caught by 9 year old Eric Richmond in Clary Lake last week. According to his mother Rachael Richmond, they were fishing near the State boat launch and caught the 2 fish in the photo at the same time (the other one is a white perch held by Eric’s sister). They let both fish go.
Jack tells me that he believes his neighbor has caught 2 crappies in the past couple of years so it sounds like there’s a new species of fish in Clary Lake. The Black Crappie aka Calico Bass (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) is a non-native species in Clary Lake meaning it was introduced either intentionally by someone who wanted to supplement the lake fishery or accidentally by an ice fisherman by releasing bait. Both actions are in violation of State law. From the Maine IF&W website:
Adult Size: Sexual maturity is reached between 2 and 4 years of age, at which time crappies may be 6 to 10 inches long. Typical crappie fisheries produce fish between 6 and 11 inches long, although crappies exceeding 14 inches and 3 pounds have been caught in Maine. I think it’s safe to assume there is a breeding population in Clary Lake now.
Black Crappie. Click on the image to go to the IF&W site
Identification: Closely resembling bass and sunfish species, which have 10-12 dorsal fin spines, crappies possess 6-8 dorsal fin spines. Body form is very deep and narrow (laterally compressed). Coloration is silvery-olive to golden brown, with an irregular mosaic of dark black blotches.
Crappies are a popular fish with a lot of people and are supposedly quite good eating. If you catch a crappie in Clary Lake, please let us know. Biologists with the IF&W would like to know too.