The Loon Preservation Committee (LPC) has a newsletter that you can sign up for at
https://loon.org/newsletter/
A newsletter came out recently about the rescue. Here is the text, without the great pics that went along with it.
In our January E-newsletter, we reported on a slew of iced-in loon rescues that kept us busy all December long. January brought a bit of a respite from the ice rescue business. With warm temperatures keeping many lakes open, we did not have any January ice rescues this year. That kept LPC staff free to attend to our normal January work, including catching up on necropsies of deceased loons collected in 2022, wrapping up our 2022 Lead Tackle Buyback program, preparing a set of loon eggs for contaminant testing, and working on reporting our 2022 data.
You've probably noticed that this E-Newsletter is coming to you a bit later in the month than usual. That's because unlike January, February is already keeping us busy with iced-in loon rescues! Extreme cold temperatures at the start of the month caused New Hampshire's lakes to finally ice over. Knowing that these cold temperatures were coming, and that warm early winter temperatures may have caused some loons to remain on lakes longer than they should have and put them at risk of becoming iced-in, LPC staff spent weeks at the end of January and beginning of February monitoring for loon presence and ice conditions on New Hampshire lakes using bird watchers' reports, public webcams, and in-person surveys. We even worked with a drone operator to survey parts of Lake Winnipesaukee!
We were therefore not surprised when, on the evening of Sunday, February 5th, we received a report of a young loon in trouble on Newfound Lake. The loon had been forced up on top of the ice, and there were two eagles watching it from close by. By the time we received the report, it was too late to get to the lake before dark. We hoped that the loon would survive the night, and we headed out first thing in the morning to check. Thankfully, the loon was still present and completely unharmed by the eagles, and LPC Senior Biologist, John Cooley, was able to quickly capture it. The loon was brought for blood work and an x-ray at VCA Capital Area Veterinary Emergency and Specialty (CAVES), where we met with wildlife rehabilitator Maria Colby of Wings of the Dawn Wildlife Rehabilitation. The loon's exam revealed no major problems, but because it was underweight, it went with Maria for feeding and observation.
Knowing that other large lakes had also recently iced-over, LPC staff spent Monday afternoon proactively checking Lake Winnipesaukee and Winnisquam Lake for loons in distress and located an additional 6 loons on Lake Winnipesaukee. One of the loons was relatively close to shore and was surrounded by eagles. John once again donned his cold water rescue suit and headed out to catch it. While this loon was able to be captured and was unharmed, the carcass of a second loon that unfortunately had not been quite as lucky was found near the opening in the ice.
Though the first loon on Winnipesaukee was close enough to shore and on thick enough ice to be safely rescued, the remaining five were much further out and on much thinner ice, and we knew that it would not be safe to try to rescue them without additional help. We called the Tuftonboro Fire Department, and they sent their airboat along with three firefighters to help rescue the loons safely. Together, the team caught three more loons that night. All four of these Winnipesaukee loons were brought to VCA CAVES that night for x-rays and sent to Maria Colby for feeding and observation.
By Tuesday, the ice on Winnipesaukee had set up a bit more, and we determined that it was safe for LPC staff to head out to try to capture the remaining two loons without additional assistance. LPC Senior Biologist, John Cooley, and Senior Biologist/Executive Director, Harry Vogel, headed out with cold water rescue suits, gill nets and long-handled capture nets. Over the course of three hours, during which they maintained constant contact via cell phone with other LPC staff who were keeping an eye on them from shore, they traveled miles across the ice to rescue the remaining two loons, which had separated overnight and were in two different holes in the ice about a half-mile apart. They succeeded in capturing both and headed back to shore. The loons were taken to VCA CAVES and then spent the night with the previously rescued loons at Wings of the Dawn.
The loons must have been very hungry because over the course of their time with Maria, they consumed a total of 16 dozen (192) bait fish! By Wednesday morning, all of the loons were fed, rested, and ready to go. LPC staff met with Maria at Odiorne Point, where we banded the loons and released them on the ocean (well within the wintering range for New England loons). Because they are now banded, we will be able to tell if any of these loons return to New Hampshire lakes in the future.
In recent years, winter rescues like the ones conducted this week have become a natural extension of LPC's traditional breeding season management. They help us to address a new problem that seems to be emerging in response to a warming climate keeping lakes open further and further into the winter. Loons can live for 30 years or longer. As such, the loss of a single breeding loon can impact many years of potential nesting and chick production. Rescues like this one have already had a positive impact on New Hampshire’s loon population. In January 2022, LPC biologists rescued ten loons that had become iced-in on Lake Winnipesaukee. This past summer, six of those ten loons were resighted on New Hampshire lakes. Four of the six were members of breeding pairs, and two added to New Hampshire’s loon population by raising chicks. In addition to contributing to the continued growth of New Hampshire's loon population, rescuing individual loons provides valuable insight into the health and behavior of loons in the winter.