It is Nest Floß season: everything about how and when nest flöfe are used –

From Denise Silfee, Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation Director of Education & Communications

May 5th – Spring is the time to thaw from ice and the return of sea loses to the Adirondacks. It is also time that the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation (ACLC) researchers are checked for carefully.

Artificial nest flows are a useful instrument to help LOON pairs that have difficulty slipping chicks due to chronic predators or flooding of radiant rain events. Although all of this sounds great, it is also true that nest flows can actually cause problems for the nesting boobs.

Loons practice the loyalty of the Nistort site, which means that if possible, they like to nest from the same location every year. This cannot be ready to change your territory, even after several failed nesting attempts. While a nest raft can weaken nest failure through predators or floods, it can also increase the territorial battles between Loons. If Loons are too busy defending their territory, they can neglect the nests they have.

All of these considerations must be taken into account before the ACLC researchers explain to the installation of a nest raft.

“Nest flöfe are a form of human intervention,” said Griffin Archhambaudlt, the ACLC research biologist, “and our goal is only to intervene if it is necessary. We only use nest flows if we can find that the raft for this couple of breeding mates really makes a difference.”

Install a nest raft:

One of the first nest flows that were used this year was at the Gull Pond, a private lake without public access in Franklin County.

“The residents of Gull Pond absolutely love our sea divers,” said Catherine Smith, a homeowner from Gull Pond. “We were concerned about repeated nest failure due to the high water level.”

When Catherine and her husband Andy Foster saw a nest platform for the first time: “We had no idea what it was. After visiting a lecture on the VIC (at Paul Smiths College) during the 2024 Adirondack Loon celebration, we learned about Nest platforms and I contacted the Loon Center to see if we had qualified for one.”

According to a thorough assessment and with agreements by residents of Gull Pond, to monitor and remove the raft and save them for the winter season, it was found that the roats on this pond can benefit from a nest platform.

On a sunny, cold day in April, Griffin and ACLC game technician Leah Boget traveled to the Gull Pond to install the raft with Catherine, Andy and neighbor Cindy Merritt. Griffin showed the volunteer home owners how to put together the raft and attach cables to two ash -blocks that help to anchor the raft on the spot. Catherine brought a selection of indigenous plants to make the raft more attractive for the sea hearts.

With the three home owners in kayaks and griffin and Leah in a motorized jon boat, they pulled the raft to the lake and chose a location near the original nest, which was under water from the latest ice and high snow.

Catherine asked why this raft would not receive a bird guard, an arc from trap wire that bends over the raft and can protect the nest from Eagles.

“We first want to cope with the main cause of nest failure,” said Griffin. “Since the water level was the main cause of failure of this nest in recent years, a raft can contribute immediately.”

As he spoke, an eagle hovered over his head.

“Loons and Vogelnest predators such as Eagles, seagulls and ravens have worked together for millions of years,” added Griffin. “Although the insertion of the raft without bird watch makes it more susceptible to bird predators, these are natural cycles. If bird predecessor becomes a consistent problem on the nest raft, we can add a guard later.”

As soon as the place of the nest raft was decided, Griffin dropped the ash with the lake. Each block is connected to the raft by cable, which have enough paint so that the raft can rise and fall with water levels without hiding away. Then Leah put more dirt from a bucket onto the raft surface and made it as naturally as possible.

Lione often make their nests on small earth or tiny islands in lakes, rooms that enable them to quickly get into the water when they are threatened, and which protect the nest from opportunistic land base such as raccoons and bears. The nest raft resembles this type of nest quite well, with the advantage that they are safe from sudden increases in the water level.

When the group worked on sitting the raft, one of the local loons, probably the man who had already returned when they wanted to check the raft.

Decision whether a nest raft is suitable for your lake:

ACLC receives many inquiries about nest rafts. It is important to remember that human interventions should always be the last way out, as it often exists for interventions that cannot be expected.

In order to determine whether a nestraft is appropriate, some criteria must be fulfilled:

• ACLC researchers have to consider whether the lake is privately owned privately in a sustainable place for a privately owned nest flow and that the existing landowner is willing to organize a raft. The State Lane Master Plan for the Adirondacks currently does not allow a nest raft placement on the public coast. This guideline can change, but it is still available at the present time.

• An established Loon couple must have failed to slip on chicks due to factors that a raft can alleviate.

• A voluntary network must be available. This means that there must be people who are ready and able to use a raft, to monitor the raft and the sea divers in the area and to remove them at the end of summer and to store the winter. This can be a single person or a group. The more people take care of the raft, the better!

• ACLC researchers will rate the reasons for nest failure and decide whether a raft is actually the right intervention.

ACLC emphasizes individuals from building and using nesting platforms themselves. One reason for this is that the raft design researchers are proven. An unsuitable nest raft can damage brach shops, chicks or other animals that come into contact with the raft, or for other types that then compete with sea hearts.

Loon nests fail for natural reasons and often. It often takes a few seasons to perfect the art of the correct incubation and protection of nests. And even successful couples hatch and finished chicks usually on average every two years. When a couple fails at his first nest, it will often nest a single summer one or two or occasionally three times. It is important that Loon gives the opportunity to “get the shoot”, so to speak.

In short, the installation of a nest raft is best done with careful consideration and guidance of a researcher who specializes in sea divers.

If you believe that the roats on your lake could benefit from a nest raft, take the criteria mentioned above and then contact ACLC at research@adkloon.org.

For the sea divers on the Gull pond, homeowners are looking forward to whether their sea divers like the appearance of the nest raft and whether they use it this year.

“We were told that they should not expect the sea divers to jump directly onto their raft and start nesting,” said Catherine, “but we are definitely hopeful that they will use it and that their nest will not lose again this year.”

Note from the publisher: This blog was originally divided here on the ACLC website.

Photo at the top: Catherine Smith, who lives on the private seagull pond, and the ACLC research biologist Griffin Archhambault and the wildlife technician Leah Boget give the newly installed nest raft a few grinding. Photo by Denise Silfee.