One of the many triumphs of the 2013 research season was the capture and banding of the male from Mildred Lake. Although unmarked, the Mildred male was unique behaviorally. Since he took over in 2009, he was an aggressive presence in his territory. While most males get lackadaisical — or perhaps fearful — about approaching and engaging intruders, the Mildred male always did so without hesitation. He was a big, intimidating bird. Once, in 2009, he even took to the air to express himself; I will never forget him giving a ringing rendition of the territorial yodel while chasing 9 intruders in the sky far above my canoe. (This is the only time that I have ever witnessed a loon yodeling in flight.) In 2013, when, after years of fruitless incubation, he and his mate finally hatched chicks, they both tirelessly defended and fed their young until they were full grown. So he had just had a big year.

Alas, while foraging nearby on Crescent Lake, the Mildred male ran afoul of an angler.  On 17 October, the male was found there with a swallowed hook and bait inside him, still attached to a long fishing line and the fishing rod. Apparently someone left their bait and rod unattended, and the male swallowed the bait and could not free himself. As my posts from earlier this year have shown, we have a decent chance of saving a bird — even one that has swallowed a hook — if we learn about the incident quickly and can capture it soon after the event. So it is a real shame that no one was present or had the courage to report this incident and allow us to help the bird.

Our only consolation is that the Mildred male left two big strapping chicks behind, both of which are fending for themselves and not impacted by his demise. We know from genetic tests that one of these chicks is a male and the other is a female. Perhaps we will see one or both of these offspring back in three or four years’ time. That might take some of the sting out of the horrible loss of their father.