Loons in Distress and Rescues

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From 2005 to 2008, the VLRP biologist spent over 250 hours assisting 35 loons in distress (e.g., ingested fishing line, landed on roads or ponds too small to fly from, injured, caught on frozen ponds in early and mid-winter) with volunteers contributing another 500 hours monitoring and assisting with capture efforts. 

The outcomes of these rescues vary widely.  Sometimes we can catch a bird who has snared a lure and remove it; other times the loon is too strong to catch until it’s too late.  Often times, the loons free themselves from the fishing line over time, but our monitoring keeps us ready to help if we can. 

Contact Eric Hanson, VLRP Biologist (802) 586-8064

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If you find a loon is distress, please follow these guidelines:

1) Watch the bird and make notes of its behavior.  Is it swimming? Diving? Feeding? Preening?  Does it swim in circles or float lopsided in the water? Does it beach itself?  Can you actually see fishing line around the bill or body or does the bird just act like its trying to remove something (see Extreme Preening below)?  Keep an eye on where the bird goes.  This information will be valuable in deciding what to do next.

2) If the distress continues and is clearly impacting the bird’s ability to function, call the VLRP biologist first (802) 586-8064.  If the bird is swimming calmly or is on shore in a safe area, wait for a return call from the VLRP biologist.  If the bird is in need of immediate attention (bird may drown, loon in high traffic area), call the state police to contact a game warden if you do not hear back from the VRLP biologist within 24 hours.  The VLRP biologist is often out on the lakes for several days in a row.

State Police Offices:
Derby 334-8881
St. Johnsbury 748-3111
Middlesex 229-9191
Williston 878-7111
Rutland 773-9101

Do not proceed with any rescue efforts until you have talked with wildlife officials, as handling loons is potentially harmful to both you and the bird in question.

Rescues are only one option.  Monitoring may be in the best interest of the bird, whether to let “nature take its course” on a diseased or naturally injured loon or to wait for a loon entangled in fishing gear to get weak enough to be able to catch it.  For a loon clearly in trouble (e.g., caught in fishing line), we often wait a few days to set up capture attempt with local volunteers.  Sometimes it takes several tries to catch the bird and unfortunately, we sometimes can never catch a free-swimming loon until it’s too late.  Poorly planned rescue attempts can cause more harm than good by stressing the animal, increasing the extent of injury or illness.  (some information taken from The Loon News, Maine Audubon Society)

Other Notes on Loons in Trouble
Loons are pretty tough and can go without food for over a week.

Extreme Preening – the number one call the VLRP receives about loons in trouble.  Is the loon frantically flapping about on the surface of the water, wing-rowing followed by splashing, rolling over, sticking one wing out and flapping it, reaching repeatedly with its bill to one part of its body?  These are all normal behaviors of a loon taking a really good, cleansing bath.  The loon is flushing its feathers with water to reduce the number of feather and skin parasites.  At some point the loon will calm down and start re-oiling its feathers by reaching back to the oil gland at the hind end of the bird.