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Wildlife & Natural Areas
Kezar Lake and its surrounding lands draw many birds, fish, reptiles & mammals such as loons, trout, otters, eagles, ducks, turtles, weasels, deer, moose, bear, coyote, bobcat, osprey, herons, cormorant, bittern, turkeys, grouse, many wildflowers, trees, ferns. Some are year-round creatures, others migrate here to breed and raise their young, then return to their second homes.
Open & Protected Lands to Enjoy
Near Kezar Lake
Various wildlife habitats make up these properties in North Sutton, and at any time of year you can come across something exciting:
Bean Quarry, King Hill Reservation, Maple Leaf Reservation, Mildred Leffort/Enroth Gift, Enroth Natural Areas, Muster Field Farm, Town Wetlands, Wadleigh State Park, Horse Beach, Town Common, Kezar Lake Natural Area, Walden and Loys Sundell Natural Area, Chadwick Meadows, Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway Trails, Cascade Marsh
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Organizations Offering
Nature Events and Information
Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust
Blaisdell Lake Protective Association
Kezar Lake Protective Association
Knights Hill Nature Park
The Nature Discovery Center
Lake Sunapee Protective Association
Loon Preservation Committee
Muster Field Farm
The Nature Conservancy, NH
NH Audubon
Society for the Protection of NH Forests
Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway (SRKG)
Sutton Conservation Commission
The Fells
UNH Cooperative Extension/
Fish & Game/Wildlife Action Plan
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Photo by Bill Chen
Loons
Kezar Lake has had nesting loons for many years. To help protect them and other species from the threat of lead toxicity, KLPA offers fishermen nontoxic fishing tackle alternatives to the lead-based sinkers used in the past (which may still linger in tackle boxes.) The Loon Preservation Committee found an increase in deaths from lead poisoning during 2017. KLPA encourages you to bring your old lead tackle to NH Fish & Game, Hazen Drive in Concord, or to KLPA lake hosts at Horse Beach for disposal. Read about Fishing Lead-Free.
A bobcat in the snow.
Two hooded mergansers on a lake.
A duck in a lake.
A bobcat in the snow.
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​​​Wildlife Species Occurring in NH
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NH Fish and Game: "New Hampshire is home to more than 500 species of vertebrate animals. About 75 percent are nongame wildlife species not hunted, fished or trapped. Twenty-seven species are endangered and fourteen are threatened in the state. With your help we are able to maintain New Hampshire's rich diversity of wildlife through research, management and education projects outlined in ...the Wildlife Action Plan."
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NH Wildlife Rehabilitators
Wildlife Habitat Land Cover in Sutton
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Native Plants
Surrounding Kezar's shore and nearby you can find wild azaelias, blueberries, button bush, ground nut, trillium, water lillies, bunchberry, winterberry and many more native species, in addition to our iconic red and white pines, birches, oaks, maples, witch hazel, beech, hemlock, alder, and many other trees, including a black locust in Wadleigh State Park.
A 50-foot natural buffer along the shore or planting with species native to New Hampshire is best for good lake-water quality and for attracting wildlife. The older and more extensive their root systems, the better structure these plants provide for shoreland stability.
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Native & Exotic NH Lake Plants
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Bring Birds to Your Yard with Native Plants!
Life Cycle Phases & Climate Change: NH Audubon's Phenological Monitoring Project
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American Bittern near the stone bench on Keyser Street. If you hear this bird around Kezar, you understand its nicknames, such as "thunder-pumper" and "water-belcher."
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