Welcome to the Lake Fairlee LoonCam
Lake Fairlee hosted its first loon breeding pair in 2016 when they successfully hatched a chick at a shoreline nest near the mouth of Blood Brook. The next year they returned but their initial effort was thwarted by a raccoon. The Vermont Loon Conservation Project immediately stepped in and furnished a loon nesting raft where the pair successfully renested and hatched another chick. Since then the loons have returned every spring and average one chick a year using the same nesting raft maintained by local volunteers.
UPDATE: Lake Fairlee Loons Lay An Egg To Worldwide Acclaim
June 3, 2024
Lake Fairlee loon cam watchers from Pakistan to Michigan awoke to fantastic news on the morning of June 3. The Lake Fairlee loons had finally produced an egg following a disappointing prior year with no eggs at all. Highlights posted to the LFA YouTube channel show the proud parents tending to the egg, including a close-up of the "egg roll" done with great care to maintain even heating.
This is the eighth year in which a loon pair has nested on the raft furnished by the Vermont Loon Conservation Project. Loons first nested successfully on the shore at the mouth of Blood Brook in 2016, producing the first of seven chicks born in subsequent years. Annually, Vermont loons raise under 100 new chicks each year across the entire state.
This year the loons began sitting on the raft on May 8 following its re-foliation and launching by Doug Tifft and his crew of helpers three days earlier. In the following weeks, the growing loon cam audience watched round the clock as the pair constructed the nest and did everything necessary to produce an egg (yes, some days repeatedly). This is the second year of operation for the only loon cam in the state, which was initiated by Sean Brown and sponsored by the LFA. It provides valuable insights into loon behavior, including clues to last year's puzzling outcome with no egg laid at all. Dedicated viewers who use monikers such as Loonychick, Ebbandflow, and Nascar19fan watch round the clock and post timestamps of significant events.
A second egg may yet be laid in the next day or so. With a gestation period of about 28 days, a loon chick could arrive before the end of June if all goes well. However, as revealed by the loon cam, the egg and the chick face numerous obstacles, including snapping turtles climbing on the raft, eagles swooping from above, and predators such as raccoons swimming from the shore. Some of these dangers have been recorded in the highlights from 2023 and 2024 posted on the LFA YouTube channel. Once the young are hatched, the parents soon depart the nesting raft and can be seen all around the lake with the chick or chicks riding on their back or trailing hungrily behind. The loon cam will then no longer be the site for this part of the loon life cycle, though our remote visitors continue to exalt at the sound of peepers and bullfrogs at night and Lake Fairlee's incomparable sunrises, sunsets, and misty mornings.
June 3, 2024
Lake Fairlee loon cam watchers from Pakistan to Michigan awoke to fantastic news on the morning of June 3. The Lake Fairlee loons had finally produced an egg following a disappointing prior year with no eggs at all. Highlights posted to the LFA YouTube channel show the proud parents tending to the egg, including a close-up of the "egg roll" done with great care to maintain even heating.
This is the eighth year in which a loon pair has nested on the raft furnished by the Vermont Loon Conservation Project. Loons first nested successfully on the shore at the mouth of Blood Brook in 2016, producing the first of seven chicks born in subsequent years. Annually, Vermont loons raise under 100 new chicks each year across the entire state.
This year the loons began sitting on the raft on May 8 following its re-foliation and launching by Doug Tifft and his crew of helpers three days earlier. In the following weeks, the growing loon cam audience watched round the clock as the pair constructed the nest and did everything necessary to produce an egg (yes, some days repeatedly). This is the second year of operation for the only loon cam in the state, which was initiated by Sean Brown and sponsored by the LFA. It provides valuable insights into loon behavior, including clues to last year's puzzling outcome with no egg laid at all. Dedicated viewers who use monikers such as Loonychick, Ebbandflow, and Nascar19fan watch round the clock and post timestamps of significant events.
A second egg may yet be laid in the next day or so. With a gestation period of about 28 days, a loon chick could arrive before the end of June if all goes well. However, as revealed by the loon cam, the egg and the chick face numerous obstacles, including snapping turtles climbing on the raft, eagles swooping from above, and predators such as raccoons swimming from the shore. Some of these dangers have been recorded in the highlights from 2023 and 2024 posted on the LFA YouTube channel. Once the young are hatched, the parents soon depart the nesting raft and can be seen all around the lake with the chick or chicks riding on their back or trailing hungrily behind. The loon cam will then no longer be the site for this part of the loon life cycle, though our remote visitors continue to exalt at the sound of peepers and bullfrogs at night and Lake Fairlee's incomparable sunrises, sunsets, and misty mornings.
May 7: The LoonCam is Back
The Lake Fairlee community has embraced the loons, enchanted by their haunting calls and touched by the care they show their offspring. In recognition of this, the Lake Fairlee Association is pleased to sponsor the first loon observation camera in Vermont.
The Lake Fairlee Association's mission is to preserve, protect, and enhance the distinctive ecology and natural resources of Lake Fairlee and its watershed. The LoonCam has been installed to monitor the health and productivity of the loon population in the Lake Fairlee area and promote a greater understanding of loons in our natural environment. Please maintain a respectful distance from any loons you encounter and support the LFA mission by becoming a member.
The Lake Fairlee Association would like to thank the following for their advice and assistance in establishing this loon cam on Lake Fairlee:
Sean Brown
Doug Tifft, our local "loon ranger"
Dale Gephart
Eric Hanson of the Vermont Loon Conservation Project /Vermont Center for Ecostudies
Bill Gassman of the New Hampshire Loon Preservation Committee
- Click on the lefthand image above to view live loon nest activity. Click on the righthand image to view the highlights playlist.
- The stream is broadcast in up to 1080p HD click on the settings (gear) icon to adjust the resolution to improve picture quality.
- Click on the red progress line to view at time up to 12 hours in the past.
- Click the square in the bottom right corner for a full screen view.
- Subscribe to the channel for chat access. The chat feature of the live stream allows visitors to comment on what they are seeing and discuss the activity of the loons. If you notice interesting behavior while watching the live stream, please share a description of the activity and the timestamp of the observation so we can capture a highlight for future study.
The Lake Fairlee Association's mission is to preserve, protect, and enhance the distinctive ecology and natural resources of Lake Fairlee and its watershed. The LoonCam has been installed to monitor the health and productivity of the loon population in the Lake Fairlee area and promote a greater understanding of loons in our natural environment. Please maintain a respectful distance from any loons you encounter and support the LFA mission by becoming a member.
The Lake Fairlee Association would like to thank the following for their advice and assistance in establishing this loon cam on Lake Fairlee:
Sean Brown
Doug Tifft, our local "loon ranger"
Dale Gephart
Eric Hanson of the Vermont Loon Conservation Project /Vermont Center for Ecostudies
Bill Gassman of the New Hampshire Loon Preservation Committee