In most cases, loons die when they are hooked by fishing lures or snarled in monofilament line. Cases in which birds are able to free themselves and recover — or we catch them, nurse them back to health, and they put their lives back together — are the exceptions. So we are thrilled to report that the 9 week-old chick that was hooked in the leg, captured by our team, and placed on antibiotics by Wild Instincts to rid it of the resulting infection, was released on its natal lake last week and is now behaving normally. Indeed, Gabby saw it circle its lake three times in flight shortly after release.

Juvenile loons have a relatively short window during which they must: 1) learn to capture fish and invertebrates underwater, 2) learn to fly, and 3) develop large enough fat stores to migrate south to Florida for the winter. It seems remarkable that this youngster has bounced back from its dangerous encounter with humans to the point that it might be able to make the journey with its cohort.