Raptor Education Group

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By any reasonable measure, 2014 has been a dreadful year for loon reproduction. Even if we capture every remaining loon chick that we know of, our total number banded will be almost exactly half of last year’s total. Clearly, the black flies hit the loons’ breeding efforts in the mouth, and they could not recover. Still, it is only one year. As my work has shown me over the past two decades, breeding success is a roller-coaster. In fact, if you combine last year’s bumper crop of chicks with the withered output of this year, the message is that loons are producing enough chicks to sustain the population. So all is not lost.

There have been a few bright spots this year. Though we were alarmed in early June when the Jersey City Flowage male ingested a fishing lure and became hopelessly entangled, the folks at REGI were able to save the bird, he was released near his old territory and recovered — except for possession of his territory! The REGI folks were brought an emaciated chick found by a roadside that they fed back to reasonable health and that we were able to foster successfully to a loon family that has raised it as their own. We recently banded both this fostered chick and its sibling, a true biological chick of the pair. Both chicks have become big healthy, strapping young birds, thanks to their parents’ tireless efforts.

In short, life goes on. I am confident that we will long remember 2014 and not wish to repeat the experience. But perhaps we should best remember 2014 as a year that, while dismal for chick production, was balanced out by strong reproductive years surrounding it and did not pass by without a few cheerful tidings.

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Good news has been scarce this year. Black flies snuffed out first nesting attempts by virtually all breeding pairs and will reduce chick production by about 40%, compared to last year. One of the few pairs to continue incubating in defiance of the flies hatched chicks, only to lose them to infanticide when a new young male evicted the male breeder. And one of our most consistent chick producers and well-loved birds, the 19 year-old male on Jersey City Flowage, barely survived severe entanglement in fishing line that caused him to lose 20% of his body weight.

A few days ago, we received a bit of good news. The Jersey City Flowage male, after surgery and rehab work done by the folks at REGI and release near his original territory, has not only shown the capacity to feed himself normally, but has re-paired with a female hatched on Fisher Lake in Vilas County in 2010. This May-December pair seems settled at the north end of Jersey City Flowage, according to Linda Grenzer. Now, whatever judgements we are tempted to make about the age disparity in this relationship, it is nice to see the old male get himself back in shape and ready to give life another try.

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Sorry for the posts on back to back days, but I wanted to report on the status of the Jersey City Flowage male, released four days ago. He is looking healthy and diving normally, it seems, as this photo by Linda Grenzer suggests. Thanks, Linda, for tracking him down!LMG_0964

He has moved about a mile in the large lake where he was released, and has skirted the territory of a pair that nests in the lake. So, while it is far too early to pronounce him out of the woods, things are looking promising. It is remarkable to observe the severe injuries from which loons can recover. Let us hope that this bird — who has both the brightest bands in the study area and the calmest disposition — can add to the short list of loons that have flirted with death following fishing entanglement, been captured and disentangled, and recovered to become territory owners again.

 

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Now…I am a long-time fisherman. Since I was a young boy, I have enjoyed throwing a line in the water and imagining the lunkers waiting to strike my lure. (I think it started with McElligot’s Pool, the fantastic Dr. Seuss book that my parents read to me and my sibs.) I have spent many fruitless hours fishing — and enjoyed every minute of it. But my lifelong love of fishing has taken some bruises lately, as it has become increasingly clear that many loons in northern Wisconsin die horribly each year after entanglement in fishing line. I discussed some such incidents last year, but we have already had a recurrence of the problem this summer.

The most recent casualty is the territorial male on Jersey City Flowage. We had become rather fond of this bird, whom we banded as a chick on Swamp Lake in 1995. Year after year he and his mates have reared chicks on the Flowage, taking advantage of the abundant marshy habitat and network of islands there. He is tame, permitting us to approach closely and identify him whenever we care to. I vividly recall an occasion in 2005, when I found him foraging with his big strapping chicks. Neither he nor his juveniles cared a whit when my canoe approached them. They all foraged peacefully, oblivious to me. Here is a photo — a rather poor one — that I took Image

of the foraging family on that day.

Our team noted a month ago that the male had not returned to his territory in 2014. We were disappointed at the loss of cherished individual, but accepted that he had died over the winter or on migration or, perhaps, been evicted by another male this spring. Such are the perils faced by loons. But Marge Gibson of Raptor Education Group, Inc. notified us last week that her group had picked up a badly injured and emaciated male from a lake near Tomahawk, Wisconsin which turned out to be this male. He had swallowed two lead sinkers and, as you see, had become irrevocably entangled in the attached monofilament line.  Image

Although this bird had lost 25% of his body weight (down to 3400 g from his normal 4500 g) and was in desperate shape, Marge reports that the REGI staff were able to disentangle him, remove the lead sinkers, and get his weight back up to 3800 g with vigorous feedings. They were also able to repair his bisected tongue and restore blood flow to it. Recently, he was released near his old territory. Although it is always tricky to rehab a bird in such a weakened condition, we are allowing ourselves to hope that he will recover and will let you know what we learn of his health and territorial status. (He has lost his territory, and the new male there and his mate are nesting, according to Linda Grenzer, our tireless citizen scientist. So it will be a long road back for the injured male, even if he does return to health.)

I think that I will always enjoy the unique mixture of natural beauty, solitude, and occasional surge of adrenaline that I have enjoyed while fishing. But I will never again use lead tackle, especially now that there are many appealing alternatives. Help me spread the word about them!