Loons will be headed to the gulf this fall

[MuskieRandy]

I hate to post bad news, but our summer loons migrate to the gulf, and they may be in for hard times:

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/dis.../05/henderson/

This link talks about MN loons, but the TFF loons migrate to the same locations.

[Tom502]

Randy,

As a follow-up to your post, I just rec'd the message shown below from a member of the TFF Property Owners group. She & her husband have been very active in studying Loons for the past 15-20years.

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"I wanted to let you all know that this week the US Geological Survey , in cooperation with the WI-DNR wildlife research group, fitted 7 of our TFF loons with satellite transmitters. This will allow them to track migration and see if our birds end up in the gulf oil spill area."

"Data for WI shows that about 25% of our migratory loons end up on the gulf. This is part of a larger migration study that is looking at routes, and also how many of our birds migrate through Lake Michigan where they have been having outbreaks of avian botulism. Jeff and I helped out with the captures and the birds look good."

"You might get a call from folks who see them as they have a small antennae sticking out from their back feathers."
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Tight Lines,

Tom502

[MuskieRandy]

I guess it's "good news" that your source says only 25% go to the gulf. This article says "up to 50% go to the gulf":

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/loc...cc4c002e0.html

7 is not a great sample size, but, hey, I suppose it's expensive to radio tag loons.

[Jim Kohl]

During the 4th of July weekend, I fished Rice Lake, The Sugarbush Chain, and the TFF. I saw Loon chicks everywhere except the TFF. Most of the traditional Loon nesting sights on the TFF were high and dry this spring. Is anyone seeing any young Loons on the flowage? Thanks! Jim Kohl

[BlueRanger]

The loon tracking study has also been mentioned by various Minnesota news sources recently, and the Minnesota DNR is also involved.

I found this link to an ongoing loon research project headquartered in the Rhinelander area. There are some fascinating behavioral discoveries summarized on the Findings page:

http://www1.chapman.edu/~wpiper/

[MuskieRandy]

Jim:
Actually, I've seen many loon chicks this summer. They are hard to spot sometimes, because they are solid brown, and they blend in really well with the water background. Seems like a successful breeding season to my untrained eye.

[Mark Benson]

Well they got the damned thing capped, Good Lord willing the cap will hold long enough to get the relief well(s) in, perhaps our migrating waterfowl will do ok.

Mark