It was a sad day at the LPC loon cam 1 today with the 2nd egg from the loon pair crushed as Dad loon returned early in the morning to begin incubation. There are some sounds while he is moving around that may be the egg crushed underneath his feet. He remained on the nest incubating the remains of the egg and tried to roll what was left of the egg and the little chick that was developing inside it. The egg was fertile and developing even with the variable incubation times at night Dad finally leaves the nest. Mom did not come to the nest at all today so they have abandoned the nest now with both of their eggs breaking.

The LPC cam 1 team with John Cooley & the loon cam operator came to the nest to retrieve the egg shells and remains of the embryo. They discussed the development of the egg and the variable incubation, the new young female, the thin nature of the eggs that broke this season, looked at mussels on the nest & any possibility of renesting this season (highly unlikely). The loon cam 1 will be turned off on July 12th. We will be watching the LPC loon cam 2 and look forward to the possible hatching of the two eggs beginning Sunday July 14th to 17th. Sunday will be day 25 and Wednesday will be day 28 of incubation.

Many thanks to the entire LPC loon cam team for all the work they do and for taking time to answer questions on the events that transpired today. We all appreciate the opportunity to watch these beautiful loons and we hope that this pair of loons will be successful next season. ♥ Thank you for watching!

To see the highlights below, please click on the timestamps to advance to that portion of the video.

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 OPENING Dad loon returns to nest to incubate
02:00 Sounds of egg crunching on the nest
02:54 Dad tries several times to roll the remains of the egg shells
05:29 Dad leaves the nest
06:10 LPC loon cam team to the nest for a retrieval of the remains of the egg and discussion on possible causes for the breakage
07:47 mussels on the nest
08:45 Fertile egg embryo was developing
11:03 Discussion on the thinness of egg shell
13:20 Discussion on the variable nighttime incubation of loon egg
26:20 Loon cam 2 pip watch begins Sunday July 14th Wed 17th

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In the 2023 season for Loon cam 1, territorial disputes led to the nest being left unused, a first in many years. This season, a pair has been visiting the area regularly. The female is a new member of the pair and has no record of nesting. The male has been using this nest for years and can be identified by its unique band colors—white over orange and silver over blue. The female is not banded. LPC loon cam 2 did have a successful season for 2023.

If you are interested in additional videos on the loons, be sure to visit my Youtube playlists for LPC Loon cam 1 and 2, for 2023 and 2022. Thank you for watching!

Video captured & edited by Lady Hawk

Courtesy of LPC Preservation Committee Loon Cam many thanks on this camera! #loonpreservationcommittee #loons #looncam #LPC

LPC’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 world.

LPC Loon cam 1:    • Video  

LPC loon cam 2:    • Video