Feature Article July 24, 202
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Water availability - as loons see itby Gray Merriam Loon chicks must survive well enough to be able to hatch chicks of their own and continue doing it for several years, or the adults that die will not be replaced. Its that simple. It is not easy for loons to replace themselves. They do not reproduce until their fourth summer, and then they lay only two eggs. Often they get only one chick out of the nest. And the evidence is that loons are not surviving well enough. Loons are becoming fewer on our lakes because the population is not replacing itself. Fewer lakes continue to have loons. Lakes that still have loons are producing fewer young loons that survive to migrate. The Canadian Lakes Loon Survey, together with Bird Studies Canada, have initiated a conservation project to address this issue.
Several factors are giving loons trouble. Acid rain has caused many lakes on the Canadian Shield, where many of us live, to become acid lakes, reducing and changing their fish populations. Loons trying to breed on acid lakes may not find enough food for their young. Acid water may also release toxins such as mercury, and put it in the loons food chain.
Shortage of good habitat for nests can prevent nesting or cause loss of whole clutches of eggs. Loss of nesting habitat often results from thoughtless development or use of shorelines by us.
Water level fluctuations, often caused by dams, can flood a nest and kill eggs. Failure of eggs to hatch is the prime cause of poor reproduction in loons. Water level fluctuation can cause loons to lose a whole years reproduction.
Lead sinkers and jigs lost by fishermen often are swallowed by loons, especially if attached to a baitfish. Digestive juices in the loon turn the lead into a lethal toxin.
Boats disturbing a loon on the nest may cause her to abandon it. Similarly, excessive wakes can wash over a nest and cause the death of the eggs. Boats approaching a mother with young chicks on her back can force them off into the water. Mothers carry chicks on their backs to keep them warmer than they would be in the water. Forcing young chicks off the mother can kill them.
Raccoons prey on loon nests. Feeding or attracting raccoons with poorly kept garbage increases their numbers and their predation on loon nests.
You can help the loons.Keep the wild parts of your lake wild.Keep all possible shoreline natural, with natural vegetation, and without hardening with pilings and walls.Watch your wake. Dont disturb the shoreline with it. Keep your distance from loons, especially mothers with chicks.Get the lead out of your tackle box. Encourage your neighbours and your lake association to buy tin and bismuth sinkers and jigs (see below*) and trade them to any fisherman who will trade in his lead tackle.Dont encourage raccoons or gulls which prey on loon nests. Manage your garbage properly.Lobby to reduce large water level changes during May to July when loons are nesting.Help to monitor the water quality in your lake. Volunteer with your lake association.Support the Canadian Lakes Loon Survey by helping and by a contribution.
Phone 1-888-448-2473 to join the loon survey. Visit the website http://www.bsc-eoc.org/cllsmain.html, or write to: Bird Studies Canada, The Canadian Lakes Loon Survey, Box 160, Port Rowan, ON, N0E 1M0, and get a kit to let you take part in the survey next May.*(Lead-free, tin and bismuth sinkers and jigs are available from your local outdoor stores. Some lake associations will trade for your lead tackle.)
