Camping on Crown Land

Why travel hours to go camping when we have wonderful spots on our lake! This would be true camping with no luxury amenities. There are several islands which are designated Crown land where camp sites have been set up. The nice thing about these sites is that they are free but on a first come, first served basis. To check out Camping on Crown Land before you go.

The most common sites are in the east basin starting with Whitefish Island in the channel. Continuing eastward, there is Goat Island (3 camp sites), Papoose, Sheep and Porcupine Islands and farther in the east basin Snake Island, just to name a few. There are no docks but boats can tie up easily. Most have a picnic table and a fire pit, plus the all important privy. The picnic tables on Goat Island as well as the privies (complete with plaques saying, ‘For more privacy, close your eyes.’) were donated years ago by the Father and Son Ministry. They return each May long weekend to clean the sites and make appropriate repairs while enjoying island camping. A few years ago, the Lake Association built and placed privies on several islands that needed them. Just load your boat, canoe or kayak and have a beautiful outdoor experience!

Spring 2018 Newsletter

NEWSLETTER

What a strange winter we have had this year! The lake has been lower than normal over the winter and the ice has finally gone out. I hope all docks are fine after the wild winds we had not long ago and that cottage openings have gone well for those of you who spend your summers on the lake. For those of us who are year-round residents, I am sure we are all ready for summer to be here and for it to be warm. Before long, we will all be on the water and enjoying barbeques and the company who visit us.

Your Lake Association has been active in the ongoing discussions over the Johnston Point development. Members of the Board have attended a number of municipal meetings and supported presentations by concerned individuals. We are still waiting to hear from the MNRF on a variety of items.

We are continuing our ongoing water testing program this year and thank those who have volunteered their time in that endeavour. We are always looking for volunteers, particularly to join the Board of Directors. This year we will be losing some of our Directors, so we will be seeking replacements for them. If you are interested, please contact any of our current Board members and let us know. The list of those presently on the board is on page two of this newsletter along with their contact information.

In May, we had our annual Trout Stocking event. On behalf of all of us, many thanks go to Nada for her organization of this event. Thanks also to those who helped out with the actual stocking.

The NCC is trying to acquire more land on Loughborough Lake. See the information on how you can be involved and help this worthwhile group keep wilderness areas for future generations.

Be sure to mark your calendars now with our AGM. This year it will be held on August 11th at the United Church in Battersea. Look for more information on this event later in this newsletter.

The Board has a flyer to encourage new Lake Association members. If you know anyone who is not yet a member, please let one of the Board members know, and we will drop off a brochure to them.

You may not be aware of all the benefits we gain individually as our association is a member of FOCA (Federation of Cottage Association).

I look forward to seeing all of you on the lake during the summer.

Barbara Canton

The Hooded Merganser

Every spring, as the ice starts to break up, flocks of migratory waterfowl gather in the small ponds that slowly open up the ice flow on our lake. The first cracks often appear near bridges and creeks, and that's where the waterfowl gather, exhausted after often flying several thousands of kilometers. Gradually these ponds grow larger, eventually returning to us the lake that we lost to winter. One species in particular, is dear to my heart: the Hooded Merganser, or Hooded for short. First described by Linnaeus in 1758, it is not classified as a merganser, but as the only extant species of Lophodytes. Its male is perhaps the most beautiful duck in all of North America, with its white on black crest after which it was named, its serrated beak and bronzed pectorals. A sexually dimorphic species, the female looks rather drab by comparison. Her priority is, after all, not to dress to impress, but to brood on her small clutch of eggs undetectably.

Back in the eighties, my father kept Hooded Mergansers in a small pond behind the house. He was one of the few people in Europe that knew their secret to breeding: their insectivore diet. Unlike regular ducklings, Hoodeds do not enjoy starter feed. In fact, they refuse anything strictly vegetarian, and anything not alive. After much trial and error, and many a dead duckling, we settled on a rather more wiggly food source: mealworms. The duckling mortality rate dropped to zero almost immediately. From then on, I found mason jars full of worms and stale bread wiggling all around the house. Sometimes a mealworm would escape, only to metamorphose into a small black beetle, which often needed forceful persuasion to enjoy the outdoors instead. Few people know that ducklings, when separated from their mother, should never be kept in water. This is because they almost immediately sink and die of exposure. There is a very good reason for this: the oil glands on the bottom of their tail are not yet functional, and the mother duck uses her glands instead to rub the ducklings in oil, thereby making their feathers completely waterproof. There is, however, one exception: Hooded hatchlings seem not overly concerned about drowning, and swim gallantly right after hatching. No prodding around in a small bowl of water for them: Like humans, they much prefer a bath tub. Happiest when allowed to dive around for food, we would fill our bathtub with luke-warm water, put in a half dozen ducklings, and sprinkle some mealworms as a topping for good measure. The ducklings would splash to their hearts content and dive until wet, at which point we rescued them, placing them under the comfort of an infrared lamp to dry.

It was much to my delight then, after moving continents to this very special part of the natural world, to be welcomed by Hoodeds in the pond right behind my house on Loughborough Lake. While they stay here all summer, spring is when the males proudly display. Their mating ritual involves a strange purring sound, almost like a cat, while they whip up their breast and crest to impress the female. It is not entirely clear why they are so desperate to attract attention of the other sex, since male and female are inseparable their entire lives. Indeed, Hoodeds are often spotted in pairs, and are rarely found in large flocks. Shy birds, any sign of danger will lead them to take wing. Fast fliers, they speed to a covered area, often a swamp, where they make their nest in a hollow tree stump. While these swamps are often maligned for their mosquito population, we need to recognize that they very much are what keeps this lake alive: Filtering the water and serving as nurseries for most species of insect, fish, bird and mammal found on this very lake.

The ducklings hatch after about 5 weeks of brooding. As a precocial species, they jump in the water within 24 hours to start feeding on aquatic insect larvae, such as mosquito, that are so plentiful in these locales. Both adults and ducklings stay in the swamps for most of the summer: You are indeed more likely to catch one flying over a beaver pond in South Frontenac Park then on our lake in mid-summer. After fattening up on crawfish, the ducklings grow adult feathers and practice taking wing, eventually joining their parents on a trip to overwinter in the wetlands of the Southern United States. Unlike other birds, they do not fly the distance in one go. Instead, they like to follow unfrozen waterways lurking with danger. For it is here that duck hunters lie in wait, shooting and killing reportedly one hundred thousand of these beautiful birds every year. While there were times this species was in severe decline, recently, their numbers have somewhat bounced back. For them to thrive, it is important for us to consider not paving over those mosquito-laden bogs with gravel roadways. It is important to not uproot those dead tree stumps rotting on the water's edge. And it is important not to develop your lawn near wetlands, as this fills them with pesticides and lawn fertilizer runoff that kills these crucial nurseries. Only by respecting the existing natural habitat will our children and grandchildren continue to be able to enjoy the cottage and its natural wonders, including the Hooded, our most beautiful crawfisher.