Loons – Don’t Take Their Gift for Granted
A title in the most recent issue of Cottage Life magazine is “Death of an icon?” This article discusses the urgency to protect the amazing Common Loons that grace our lakes. Can you even imagine the absence of the loons, loon families and loon calls on our waterways. Please find the time to read the updated information in the report. As members of the Canadian Lakes Loon Survey we are contributing to the research.
There was also a recent documentary on the Cottage Life television channel “Loons: A Cry From The Mist” which reflects the wonder of their existence and the amazing lives of our loons but points out that their numbers are declining due to a variety of reasons from Mercury poisoning, human interactions, climate change to acid rain. To view the video – click here.
We must do all we can to safeguard the loons on our lakes. Some steps mentioned in the article are:
- Naturalize your shoreline
- Don’t attract raccoons to your yard, keep it litter free
- When out on the water stay away from the shore and possible nesting area. Give them space when you see them, perhaps about 100 m.
- Use a spotter in your boat to watch for loon families, chicks and dangers in the water.
- Use non toxic or non lead tackle if you fish.
To end on a more optimistic note we did have 3 chicks on Drag/Spruce Lakes last summer that survived to maturity due to the 24 hour care of their parents and our respect for them. We still had 6 to 7 resident adults but one pair seems to be beyond chick bearing age. Its so good to see them return each year and we’ll be looking and listening for them soon.
Thank you to the neighbours who contacted me with information on “our” loons especially when you first saw the chicks appear. Please continue to do so!
Barb Bohlin babohlin@gmail.com
