NH Birds-Common Loon Traditional Cache
JonInNH1: I thought I had already archived this cache a while ago, cache kept disappering. I apologize for not double checking.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This is the first of my NH Bird series caches and is located on
conservation land off New Boston Rd in Candia. Parking not
available at waypoint during winter months but the cache is winter
friendly. Terrain is higher due to cache location. 
The Common Loon is a large member of the loon, or diver, family.
Adults can range from 24-40 inches in length with a 4-5-foot
wingspan. The weight can vary from 3.6 to 17.6 lbs. The Common Loon
breeds in Canada, parts of the northern United States, Greenland,
and Alaska. There is a smaller population (ca. 3000 pairs) in
Iceland. On isolated occasions they have bred in the far north of
Scotland.
The female lays 1 to 3 eggs on a hollowed-out mound of dirt and
vegetation very close to water. Both parents build the nest, sit on
the egg or eggs, and feed the young. This species winters on sea
coasts or on large lakes over a much wider range in Northern Europe
and the British Isles as well as in North America. Breeding adults
have a black head, white underparts, and a checkered
black-and-white mantle. Non-breeding plumage is brownish, with the
chin and foreneck white. The bill is grey or whitish and held
horizontally.
This species, like all divers, is a specialist fish-eater,
catching its prey underwater, diving as deep as 200 feet (60 m).
Freshwater diets consist of pike, perch, sunfish, trout, and bass;
salt-water diets consist of rock fish, flounder, sea trout, and
herring.
The bird needs a long distance to gain momentum for take-off, and
is ungainly on landing. Its clumsiness on land is due to the legs
being positioned at the rear of the body: this is ideal for diving
but not well-suited for walking. When the birds land on water, they
skim along on their bellies to slow down - rather than on their
feet, as these are set too far back. The loon swims gracefully on
the surface, dives as well as any flying bird, and flies
competently for hundreds of miles in migration. It flies with its
neck outstretched, usually calling a particular tremolo that can be
used to identify a flying loon.
These birds have disappeared from some lakes in eastern North
America due to the effects of acid rain and pollution, as well as
lead poisoning from fishing sinkers and mercury contamination from
industrial waste. Artificial floating nesting platforms have been
provided for loons in some lakes to reduce the impact of changing
water levels due to dams and other human activities.
FTF goes to CandiaSven!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Qba'g snyy va!
5 Srrg hc.