Give recovering loons lots of space, wildlife advocates say
August 5, 2023 | By Olivia Conti | Community News Service Loons on the Waterbury Reservoir in June. Photo by Gordon Miller
It’s been a stressful summer for the loons on the Waterbury Reservoir and local wildlife advocates continue to ask people spending time on and along the water to give the popular birds some space.
It’s not uncommon on the reservoir to encounter loons, the large, once-threatened waterbirds whose eyes turn bright red in the summer.
Loons can be an exciting sight for nature lovers: The animals have howl-like calls, and they zip underwater when diving for food. But with the birds’ nesting season in full gear, conservationists warn that anyone who comes across a loon in the reservoir should give them 150 feet of space – that’s about three school bus lengths – as they will view humans as predators.
In early spring, Friends of the Waterbury Reservoir member Francine Chittenden helps put out signs asking people to stay away from loons. Photo by Sheila Goss
“If people ever encounter something like this, we just want people to be aware, stay away,” said Sheila Goss, vice president of the Friends of the Waterbury Reservoir, a volunteer group to help improve and protect the natural environment at the reservoir.
Goss said that this year was only the second time ever that loons have been observed nesting on the reservoir. Early in the summer, her group received reports of people paddling up close to the nest despite signs telling people to stay away.
A post on its Facebook page explained.
If a nesting loon feels threatened, it will leave its nest, meaning any eggs will be unprotected and could lose heat — or be snatched by predators. If a canoe or kayak stays near a nest too long, the loon could altogether abandon the nest, and the eggs would die. In Waterbury, volunteers put up warning signs around the loons’ habitat, but that’s not always the case elsewhere.
Despite those efforts, the loon egg and nest that the volunteers were monitoring have not survived, but the July 10-11 storms are not to blame. “The catastrophic floods that overwhelmed the state earlier this month didn't disturb the reservoir's nest — because a different episode of flooding washed it away in June,” Goss said.
After that loss, the July storm filled the reservoir well beyond its usual capacity, flooding the shorelines where loons might nest.
Today, water levels have receded and birds on and around the reservoir are active, including its resident loons. “The loons are still around, and their haunting cries can be heard on the reservoir,” Goss said in an email this week.
However, she noted that the window for breeding and raising chicks this season has passed.
“Once the nest was flooded in June, it was technically possible for the pair to re-nest, but it never happened…and by the time the floods arrived, any realistic opportunity for nesting has passed,” she said. “The loon chicks need enough time to grow strong enough to fly off the lakes before ice out, and late-hatching loon chicks may not survive.”
Despite the lack of young loons this year, the advice to humans swimming or paddling around the reservoir remains the same to avoid stressing wildlife that have survived a challenging summer so far.
“If you see a loon, watch them from a distance,” said Eric Hanson, a loon biologist at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies who runs the Vermont Loon Conservation Project. He also works with the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife.
You can recognize a loon in distress by its body language. If a loon stretches out flat on the ground, it is in a defensive position and feels threatened, according to the Loon Preservation Committee, a New Hampshire nonprofit conservation and advocacy organization.
To stay safe from perceived threats such as predators or humans, loons will flatten their bodies on their nests in what's called the 'hangover position.' Photo by Sheila Goss
In the low hangover position, a loon minimizes their appearance and prepares to dive to escape a threat. Photo by Sheila Goss
Loon nests can be found near the shore as their bodies are not designed for walking on land.
As seen this summer, another struggle loons face is rising water levels that can wash nests away. The Friends of the Waterbury Reservoir built rafts in the hope that loons would nest on them and not be harmed by changing water levels.
“(The rafts are) built with all-natural vegetation on it all because the idea is the loons like to nest on islands because they're kind of protected … (The rafts are) held to the floor of the water with loose cables and cinder blocks,” Goss explained. “It can move up and down with the fluctuating water level. So places in Vermont where this is an issue have had real success with the rafts.”
The loon raft on the Waterbury Reservoir is seen floating on July 15, four days after the recent flood. Photo by Duncan Goss
For reasons only known to the loons, the rafts placed along the reservoir shoreline this summer went unused by the birds, Goss said.
“They may just prefer the more solid ground of the islet, which is the same area they first nested in 2019, and where I saw them mating in 2021,” Goss recounted. “Next year we hope to position the raft, with enough flexibility to deal with normal water rises, adjacent to their apparently favored spot. We will give them more support next year, and hope for success!”
Other hazards to loons
Loons are also vulnerable to getting entangled in fishing line, so conservationists say it’s important for fishers to not leave any line behind on the shore. It’s also important for anglers to not use sinkers or equipment with lead in it, or old gear that likely contains lead. If loons or other animals eat lead sinkers, it can kill them.
Hanson said he has noticed an uptick in loon deaths due to lead in the past five years and that people need to get lead out of their tackle boxes.
There’s progress, however, as the friends group has installed collection spots for used fishing line. “They have at least four or five of these containers around the reservoir now for people to get rid of old fishing line,” Hanson said. “And we're going to add lead to that next.”
In general, protection efforts for Vermont’s loons have been very successful — the common loon has been off the state’s endangered species list since 2005 — but advocates say it’s important to remain vigilant.
An untimely death illustrates the mission
A recent headline that put loons and loon protection in the news was the discovery in June of the death of what was believed to be Vermont’s oldest loon. “We are saddened to announce that Vermont's oldest loon has passed away at the estimated age of 31,” the Vermont Center for Ecostudies said in a June 15 social media post that accompanied a news release. “VCE loon biologist Eric Hanson originally banded this bird in August 1998 (!!) on Newark Pond.”
Vermont Center for Ecostudies loon biologist Eric Hanson holds the deceased Newark Pond Male. Photo by Eloise Girard
VTDigger published a full story about the loon and its history.
On July 24, the center shared an update: “Although we initially thought lead poisoning was the likely cause of death, the autopsy showed this loon died due to blunt trauma, possibly caused by a motorboat hit.”
The bird otherwise showed signs of being in excellent health at the time of its injury, according to Hanson. The autopsy was done by Dr. Mark Pokras from Tufts Veterinary School of Medicine.
The center noted that boat collisions with loons are rare, with only nine cases documented in the past 25 years. Like deer darting in front of car, most boat strikes of loons are unintentional. “I’m sure there have been hundreds of close calls, but loons can usually dive out of the way,” Hanson said. “However, as loons become more habituated to boat traffic, they might be less likely to dive.”
The center stresses that boaters play an essential role in loon protection by keeping a distance from the birds that – like boaters – often use a whole lake. “For people, lakes are a playground. For animals, lakes are habitat they depend on for survival.”
The center noted that the Newark Pond Male's advanced age was a testament to how far loon conservation has come in Vermont. “When this loon was tagged in 1998, the species was state listed as endangered. Now, loons occupy many lakes in the state and recently had their most productive nesting year (since we started the Vermont Loon Conservation Project) in 2021.”
In mid-July, the Vermont Center for Ecostudies conducted its annual LoonWatch, a daylong event in which people count how many loons they see. According to state officials, there are just over 100 breeding pairs in Vermont, and during the summer there are anywhere from 300 to 500 adult loons in the state.
The center pointed out how the senior loon’s death illustrates its ongoing mission. “The Newark Pond Male's story reminds us that, in conservation, there is always more work that can be done. We all play a vital role in ensuring this species' continued success.”
See a list of loon-safety tips for boaters on VCE’s website.
Photo by Gordon Miller
Community News Service is a collaboration with the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.