WEST HARBOR POND
WATERSHED ASSOCIATION
PRESERVING AND PROTECTING WATER AND WILDLIFE
IN THE HEART OF THE BOOTHBAY PENINSULA
WEST HARBOR POND NEWS
The CMP Osprey Box
Recently Central Maine Power (CMP), at the suggestion of the WHPWA leadership, installed an Osprey box on a power pole on the Route 27 Causeway. For more information and photos, see: CMP installs osprey perch near West Harbor Pond | Boothbay Register.
Loons on the Pond
The summer of 2022 brought a loon couple to West Harbor Pond. They mated and produced a chick that spent the summer cruising the Pond with "mom and dad". They might be spotted in any area of the Pond, and often could be heard making themselves known at any hour of day--or night. By late summer the chick had grown to a teenager. We look forward to seeing how the family leaves the Pond in the fall, and to see if they return next year!
WHPWA member Lois Glaser took a number of wonderful photos of the family escorting the chick around the Pond. These can be viewed in gallery form on the page "Loon Family 2022". As many people know, most loons avoid the proximity of humans, and tend to keep their distance. These close up photos were possible for several reasons: Because WHP is small and boating activity is quiet (mostly kayaks and canoes) the loons seemed to gradually habituate to human presence. As a result, respectful paddlers could sometimes get a bit closer than expected, or the loons would show up nearby, to the surprise of the kayaker or canoeist! The photographer has a good DSLR camera with a 400mm telephoto lens, enabling her to zoom in on the loons from afar. Many images were also cropped, making the loons appear much closer than they were in reality.
In giving the loons the space they need, we are hopeful that the breeding pair will return again in 2023. We hope that all loons spotted on any body of water will be given this same respect.
For more information about loons, you might also want to look at the website About Loons – Loon Preservation Committee
Resumption of Water Quality Testing
The WHPWA suspended its monthly water quality testing in August 2021 while waiting to obtain a new dissolved oxygen meter ("DO meter") capable of testing to the deepest part of the pond – about 37 feet deep. This spring, an anonymous donor made a generous contribution that allowed us to purchase a new, state-of-the-art YSI ProSolo meter. The new meter, which we used for the first time in April, measures all the parameters that we test for – temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and salinity – and displays the measurements on a single screen. Previously, we needed two meters to take these measurements. The new YSI meter also has a 30-meter (98 ft.) cable that allows us to take measurements in the deepest part of the Pond. The new meter not only saves time and effort but allows us for the first time to monitor that part of the Pond of greatest concern: the deep hole, where the water quality remains degraded.
Remembering Pat Farrin
When Pat Farrin passed away on Saturday May 14, 2022, West Harbor Pond and its residents lost a friend and a benefactor. Pat’s generosity and good works went far beyond our tiny Pond to touch the larger Boothbay community in many ways, and others are better suited to paint the full picture of Pat’s kindheartedness. His obituary in the Boothbay Register may be viewed here.
WHPWA BOD President Merritt Blakeslee prepared a photo remembrance of the many ways in which Pat impacted West Harbor Pond. It can be found here.
Pat Farrin working on the West Harbor Pond siphon project (Photo courtesy Merritt Blakeslee)
Loon Photo by Lois Glaser
© 2023 by West Harbor Pond Watershed Association.