More loons than ever - 240 pairs - nested in New Hampshire this year. But biologists aren't cheering. That's because those pairs are having a hard time reproducing. Of the 125 loon chicks born this season, 95 survived, according to monitoring by the Loon Preservation Committee.

That means the rate of reproduction was about 0.4 chicks per pair, too low to maintain a stable population. Even more worrying is that a total of seven chicks survived on the state's largest lakes: Umbagog, Winnipesaukee and Squam.

"That's really bad news," said Harry Vogel, executive director of the Loon Preservation Committee.

Flooding, predation and human interference all are factors in poor reproduction. But Vogel and his staff think there is something else at work on New Hampshire lakes.

Last winter, the group tested four eggs found on Squam Lake in the summer of 2007. All of them contained relatively new contaminants, chemicals used as flame retardant and stain repellents, that have worried toxicologists in recent years. One egg had extremely high levels, with 10 times the amount of some chemicals than the other eggs, Vogel said.

He cautioned that while the egg is enough to raise serious concern, it's not enough to make a scientific conclusion. For that reason, he didn't release the numbers on contamination levels.

Four more eggs found this summer have been sent for testing. The Loon Preservation Committee hopes to obtain grants and raise private money to analyze more eggs - at $2,000 each - along with the livers of adult loons found dead. Vogel said he hopes to have a formal report on the findings by next spring.

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