Answers From the Loon Expert Special thanks to Ted Gostomski for providing his time and expertise in responding to your questions! From: Connecticut pacj44@msn.com Photo: Dr. F.G. Irwin Q. I saw what appeared to be a loon. We were sure of the silhouette, the head was unmistakeable, the way they swam low, peered into the water, spent a long time under the water, and even flapped their wings as they stood on the water. My question is, have you ever seen a loon with a body that is mostly all white? Three loons, one was normal, one was immature, and one had a normal head, but most of the body was white. What are your thoughts? A. What do you mean by a normal head? What color was its head (green or black)? If it was bright green, you probably saw a Common Merganser, which is a diving duck that looks and can act a lot like a loon. Common Mergansers are not all white but are mostly white on the body and can be easily confused with a loon. Take a look at the Common Merganser in your bird field guide to see if it might be the one you saw. From: TEXAS Episcopal High School kfoster@ehshouston.org Q. I know that loons do not migrate until they are like 3 or 4 years old. Do juvenile loons molt even if they don't migrate? If they don't, do they just use the same feathers for 3 years? A. Juvenile loons molt their feathers each year just like adult loons. Q. Is the increase of human populations around their habitats threatening loons? A. Loons are pretty tough birds. They can tolerate people being around them, but if there are too many people using the lake they nest or raise their chicks on, they can be forced off. This is especially a problem if people are harassing the loons or their chicks. Q. Are loons threatened by fishing boats? A. Only if the fishing boats chase them or if they sit and fish in a spot near the loon's nest. If they stay too close for too long, the loon will leave its nest, which makes the eggs vulnerable to heat, cold, or predators like crows. Photo: Dr. F.G. Irwin From: WASHINGTON Tonasket Middle School pbaumgardner@fs.fed.us Q. Loons nest in our highlands, and of course leave before the lakes freeze. We were surprised to see the common loon on the Audubon Christmas Bird count list for Lake Osoyoos, a large lake that spans the Washington Canadian border in the Okanogan Valley. Recently a bird in summer plumage was sighted with a bird in either juvenile or winter plumage on this lake. Osoyoos often freezes in the winter. It must have had open water somewhere on it this year, though it appeared to be frozen from several different shoreline vantages. How opportunistic are loons about their winter habitat? A. A loon in summer plumage was seen on the lake in winter? That would be a little surprising, but loons have occasionally been reported on northern lakes in winter if there is open water somewhere. A bird in juvenile plumage, though, would likely be a young-of-the-year that has not yet gained the strength to migrate south. Q. What triggers a bird to molt even as a lake is freezing over? A. Molting is triggered by changes in hormone levels, not weather, so a loon starts molting when its body "tells it to." Q. Is there an estimated number of loons lost for misjudging how open a large inland lake will stay? A. I have never seen a number reported for this sort of mortality, but there are usually a few reports of loons being rescued from icy lakes in early winter every year. But well-intentioned loon enthusiasts should know that rescuing loons trapped on a lake that is icing over is risky... for both the loon and the person hoping to rescue it. This is especially true if a loon is on a small circle of open water. A human coming out to save a loon could frighten it. Of course, the loon will do what it always does to avoid danger... dive. There are stories of rescuers watching a loon dive below the ice from their little circle of open water, never to be seen again. From: VIRGINIA Jouett Elementary School gdsj3@aol.com Q. I have found a bird that I believe is a pied-billed grebe. I found it in a bird field guide and the distinguishing mark is a band around the beak. It was dropped from the air by a small flock of crows. It is about 9 inches long and appears to be a young bird. It came on Friday, April 13th, and has not eaten since then. I wonder if you can tell me what I can do to help this bird. Palmyra, Virginia. A. Your best bet is to take the bird to a wildlife rehabilitation specialist. If you have a pet dog or cat, the veterinarian you take them to may be able to help you find the right person. Good luck! Ted Gostomski Executive Director North American Loon Fund Copyright 2001 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form