As my former neighbors Jim and Donna moved away last year, they bequeathed their year-old loon nesting platform to me.\u00a0 During its brief stint on the lake last year, a few loons looked it over but didn’t use it.\u00a0 The platform did play frequent host to a pair of ducks that simply used it as a sunning platform.<\/p>\n
After a bit of research, I learned that the platform needed to be positioned in a different part of the lake.\u00a0 It needed to be in 4 to 5 feet of water, and at least 50 feet from shore, preferably near a marshy area.\u00a0 Furthermore, it needed some shelter from winds and waves.\u00a0 The only place on Thayer Lake that fit the bill was 1\/4 mile directly across from the house, in a little naturally sheltered cove.<\/p>\n
With a new destination selected, I prepared the nesting platform as instructed.\u00a0 I picked shoreline reeds to build up the central area of the nest, and connected a pair of concrete anchors to opposite corners of the frame.\u00a0 I then launched the platform from the front of the pontoon boat.\u00a0 Now, it’s up to the loons.\u00a0 Time will tell.<\/p>\n
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