Biologist David Evers is ready and waiting for your questions about loons. Please send them by May 5th to:
David Evers is regarded as perhaps the person with the deepest understanding of loon behvior. He has lived in the wild with loons and studied them closely for years.
Very little is known about loon migration because it's been so difficult to capture loons for banding. Just imagine how hard it would be to catch a bird that can escape by diving under water or by simply flying away!
Recently, Evers and colleagues discoverd a method, as you'll read below. Since 1989 he has banded 700 loons and is now beginning to piece together some fascinating information about their life history.
Here's a message from David for you:
"Hi Students! "My name is David Evers. I've been working with Common Loons since 1987. Much of my work is now being applied toward my finishing graduate school at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul.
"Since 1989 I've been spending my summers catching loons. I do this by waiting for nightfall and then boating out on lakes where I know there are loon families. With strong spotlights, recordings of loon calls, and a little bit of luck, I then carefully capture the loon family and bring them to shore. I always have a lot of help to minimize the amount of time the loons are handled. While on shore I put colored bands on their legs and take samples of the feathers and blood. These samples show how much mercury is stored in their bodies. Mercury is a nasty contaminant that humans produce through factories and other places. Mercury affects the reproduction and survival of loons. Since loons are so high up in the food chain they may also be a very good indicator of how mercury could affect us.
"After the loons are banded I then follow them throughout their life. Each spring I stop in at all the lakes that we had visited in previous years and search for the banded loons. Sometimes these banded loons are found by other people. It's very exciting to find out that someone has found one of these loons during the winter. This is one of the only ways that I can understand where our loons from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan overwinter.
"There are many different topics that I'm studying to better understand the loon. I hope that eventually some of this information will then be used for its conservation. The loon in not an endangered species, but it is rare in many states. Sometimes thousands of loons die from oil spills or by chemicals. This is a very serious concern and should be stopped.
"I'm looking forward to answering your questions. Loons are migrating through much of the United States until late May. So visit a nearby lake and look for a large bird that has a lot of white spots on its back or listen for their beautiful calls."
Journey North 125 North First Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401 Phone: (612)339-6959