Loon habits

[ApS]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

One was hanging out for an hour or so just 10' from our shoreline in shallow water. Unusual to see because they seldom stray from deep water and was worried that it might have been injured but it finally left and looked fine.
Also a group of five has been cruising around this week. Boaters keep approaching for pictures despite warning signs.

Loons in summer usually troll our shoreline in about 20-feet of water. Now that "drawdown" has receded the shoreline away from rocky habitat, they're trolling in about 10-feet of water depth.

Encouraged by the low water level, I started rearranging the rocks along our shoreline. I came across the second crayfish of the season. However, he wasn't sheltering among the rocks, but under an iron "U" channel, temporarily lying in about 18-inches of water. He had blue claws, so he was a "seasoned" adult.

I'm guessing crayfish' "hideaways" are becoming scarce, so predators (fish and fowl) are on the hunt for the few crayfish that have survived this summer's "wake-thrashing" among Lake Winnipesaukee's rocky shorelines.

In the last 30-40 years of rearranging rocks, I've yet to see any crayfish under five inches.

(Although I could see them in Tasmania, where river crayfish grow to 15 pounds!)