SUNCOOK LAKES INTERACTIVE BLOG

Welcome to the new Suncook Lakes Interactive Blog. Say hello, make a comment, upload photos or post a news story or personal classified or rental. Thanks for posting your comments!

Edited by author 07-14-2009 10:35 AM

Pittsfield Balloon Rally 7/31-8/2 click for info http://www.pittsfield-nh.com/pu

Here's an example of a message that might be posted -
LOST! One blue inflatable raft with white stripes. If it has floated onto your beach pls contact John at 269-0000 Thanks!

order your decal or dock sign from any association officer

Here's some information concerning loon protection that the Suncook Lake Association might be interested in.
 
Legal Protection of Loons
 
Loons are a State of NH listed threatened species and as such they have a little more protection than most birds. Harassment of loons is a crime punishable by up to 1 year in jail and/or a $2,000 fine. However, defining harassment and proving harassment can be difficult. In the case of nesting loons, if a person intentionally flushes an incubating loon off the nest, that is strong evidence of harassment. You should report any harassment of loons to NH Fish and Game, 1-800-344-4262.
 
The Loon Preservation Committee uses ropes and signs to warn people to stay away from loon nests when we think there is a danger of human interference. If the nest is well concealed and in a quiet area, we prefer to not use signs because the signs may actually attract curious people to the nest. People who ignore the signs and ropes could be considered to be careless and insensitive but unless there is evidence that they are causing potential harm to the loons, they cannot be prosecuted for harassment. We try to use diplomatic, respectful education and persuasion when we see people ignoring loon nest warning signs and ropes.
 
It's a delicate balance. Most people who may be interfering with loons are actually only curious folks out to enjoy nature. The more we can teach them about loons, the more these people will appreciate the birds and the better off the loons will be.
 
In the absense of ropes and signs, the loons themselves will tell an astute person when he or she is too close for comfort.
 
Nesting Loons
 
For nesting loons, our rule of thumb is stay at least 150' away. However, loons are individuals and they all have their own idea of what is too close. If you come upon a loon on the nest, the first indication that the loon is concerned is that it will raise its neck up straight to get a better look at what is going on around it. The loon may also raise the feathers on its forehead (we call it a squared-off forehead). Either of these two signs are indicators of mild stress and should be taken as a warning to back away. If the loon crouches down real low and extnds it's neck parallel to and over the water, it is extremely stressed and is ready to flush off the nest. If a nesting loon is in this posture, you are way too close and should leave the area immediately. A number of things can happen if a loon is repeatedly flushed off the nest.
1. The eggs may become inviable.
2. The eggs may be predated while the parent is off the nest.
3. The loon pair may eventually abandon the nest.
 
Swimming Loons
 
For loons swimming freely in the water, it is best to let them approach you. Loons are naturally curious and if you wave a hat or bandanna at them, they might come up close. If you chase them to get a close-up picture, all you'll get is a picture of the hind end of a loon and all the loon will get is lost time when it would have been better off feeding or preening. Here's how a loon will let you know you are too close to it, in ascending degree of stress:
1. It will swim away from you. If it does, don't chase it.
2. It will get a squared-off forehead (see above).
3. It will vocalize, using any of its calls that are more than a soft coo or hoot.
4. It will "penguin dance." It will raise out of the water, facing you, and spread its wings. There are subtle differences between a penguin dance and a normal wing-stretch. The best way to tell the difference is to look at the position of the loon's bill. If it is pointed up, the loon is just stretching and you will probably percieve a casual attitude. If the bill is pointed straight at you, more or less horizontal or down a little, and there is a lot of splashing of feet involved, the loon is doing a penguin dance and you are much too close.
 
Loons with Chicks
 
Loons with chicks need a little extra distance. Both parents have to put in long days to feed and defend their chicks. Any human interference will distract the loons from their chores and jeapardize the survival of the chicks. The same rules of thumb apply for determining when you are too close for comfort.
 
Chris Conrod
Field Program Coordinator
Loon Preservation Committee
(603) 476-LOON (5666)
www.loon.org

~~~Loon Presentation ~~~

Come out and hear the Loon Preservation Committee talk and educate us about the life of a loon. This event will take place on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 7 P.M. at the GIW Town Hall. There will be a lecture and a slide show and time for questions. This presentation is sponsored by the Crystal Lake Association and is free and open to the public.

Just today I found a webcam located on lower suncook. It is located at http://www.nhtourguide.com/suncooklake/webcam.htm and is provided by NH tourguide.com

from the Baysider
"BY BRENDAN BERUBE
Staff Writer
BARNSTEAD — A Massachusetts man was transported to Concord Hospital Monday after injuring himself while water skiing on Lower Suncook Lake.
According to information released Tuesday morning, the state Marine Patrol Bureau received a call from Belknap County Dispatch at approximately 12:15 p.m. Monday afternoon reporting an unconscious individual in the area of Narrows Road. A Marine Patrol unit responded to the scene, along with Barnstead police and fire/rescue personnel,where they found that 20-year-old William Stuart of Newburyport, Mass. had fallen while water skiing, striking his head and lacerating his elbow. Stuart was treated at the
hospital and later released. Marine Patrol is currently investigating the accident.

From the Baysider 9/17
BARNSTEAD — Having conquered the milfoil infestation along the Suncook
River, Barnstead’s Milfoil Control Committee now plans to shift its focus to Upper Suncook Lake. Chairman Ed Neister announced during the committee’s
Sept. 10 meeting that he was surprised at the recent discovery of roughly 1,500 gallons of the invasive aquatic plant in Upper Suncook, where milfoil had previously never been known to exist. The plan of attack, he
said, is to clear the lake using the committee’s new suction harvester, a powerful vacuum mounted on a pontoon boat and equipped with a four-inch-wide hose into which divers feed milfoil plants they have pulled out by the roots. Plans are also under way, Neister said, to follow up on
this summer’s herbicide treatment on the Suncook River by hitting two patches of re-growth with another dose of the herbicide 2,4-D later this month. All the committee will need to do at that point, he said, is send in divers to mop up a few remaining patches of milfoil, “and we’ll be sitting pretty.” With the river nearly clear, and the lake already on
purthe committee’s agenda, Neister has set his sights on a treatment of the infestation in Brindle Pond next year. “If we can do that,we’ll be
on our way to clearing the entire Suncook watershed,” he said, adding that the light at the end of the tunnel is finally visible after a fiveyear
battle against the “wicked weed” that once choked off the river to such an extent that it was possible to walk from one shore to the other without touching water. Representatives from the Half Moon Lake Association attended last week’s meeting to ask how they should go about handling their
own milfoil infestation given the fact that most professional divers charge
an average of $150 per hour for weed-pulling. Neister said he is in the
process of setting up a Web site for local lake associations with information about some of the divers who have been trained by the committee, and who hire themselves out at a much less expensive hourly ate. Agreeing to provide the Association with contact information for some local divers, Neister explained that the costliest aspect of hiring professional divers is the price of air tanks, which normally go for around $10 apiece. Barnstead Fire-Rescue,he said, helped the committee
avoid that expense by filling tanks with its' in house air compressor for free, and might be willing to offer its services to other local organizations, as well. Next meeting The Milfoil Control Committee
normally meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. in the conference room at the Oscar Foss Memorial Library. Its next meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 8.
Brendan Berube

From the Baysider 9/17
LAKE DRAWDOWNS SET TO BEGIN
CONCORD — The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services announced
today that the annual fall drawdown of the lakes and ponds controlled
by dams owned by DES will be initiated according to the schedule below.
The Suncook River in Barnstead will begin lowering on Oct. 13 and will be lowered 1.5 feet from full. Suncook Lake in Barnstead will be lowered two feet from full beginning on Oct. 3. Sunset Lake in Alton will be lowered seven feet from full beginning on Oct. 13. The depth of drawdown listed above is not from the current level, but is from the normal full pond level. Since the hydrologic conditions and recreational uses of these water bodies vary, the degree and date of the start of drawdown for each lake vary and could be affected by the amount of rainfall during the period. In addition, the actual date at which the drawdown will begin could
vary by a few days based on operational constraints. However, at three dams, the drawdowns will be initiated on a specific Saturday in October
to provide recreational opportunities for canoeists and kayakers in the rivers below these dams. The schedule for these recreational opportunities
includes the Suncook River in Barnstead. On Oct. 3, approximately 250 cubic feet per second (cfs) will be released into the Suncook River from the Suncook Lake Dam in Barnstead. This special release will start at or near 8 a.m. for the dates specified above, and will be reduced to near normal levels by 4 p.m. that same day. DES reminds people that canoeing and kayaking have inherent risks, and paddling the state’s lakes and rivers is at the paddler’s own risk. Lake drawdowns are conducted
each fall to reduce winter ice damage to shoreline properties and to reduce
spring flooding. Drawdowns also give property owners an opportunity to conduct any necessary repairs to their waterfront property, provided
they first secure a permit from the DES Wetlands Bureau at (603) 271-2147.
Generally, lake levels are allowed to return to the normal full pond level in the spring

Old Marina and Snack Bar circa 1972 - contributed by P. Cimon

That was the Channel Marina. You could also buy gasoline there.

we are looking to rent several houses on Suncook for July 17 weekend. We are hosting a wedding for over 100 people on our family land nearby, and would rather rent a house than cart everyone to and from a hotel in Concord. Any takers?

it might be nice if I gave you an email to respond to. it's jcarberg@verizon.net. If you know Warren, he's the father of the bride.