Moose Lake Loon Watch
Loon Update from Sarah Unz
Here is a summary of Moose Lake loon data
- Loons stayed on the lake all summer, but no territorial behavior was seen
- There were one or more territorial pairs present on the lake
- 22 observations of adult loons
- 1 observation of a parent with 2 chicks
- There appears to be two territories on the lake, in general terms, one west of Folsum Island and one east of Folsum Island.
- There appears to be a total of 4 floaters or single adults
- There appears to be 2 pairs
- The two chicks fledged, (survived to 8 weeks)
- The chicks and parent were spotted west of Folsum Island, west of Moose Lake Club Rd.
Tremendous thanks to all Moose Lake residents who reported sightings. This is incredibly helpful as the more eyes and ears on the lake help improve our data to the LoonWatch program.
To report a sighting please send Sarah Unz (sarahunz@gmail.com) the following:
· Date
· Location
· What you saw: Single adult (floater), pair, chicks and if you can, how many weeks old they are, and loon behavior. Are they calling? Have you seen a nest?
With chicks spotted on Moose Lake, it is important for us to keep our eyes open come Spring. Locating nesting sites is critical so we can communicate across the Moose Lake community to ensure the chicks and parents stay safe and migrate successfully in Fall. Banding records show that loons often return to the same lake each year. However, mates probably don’t winter or migrate together and return to the same lake independently. Loons do occasionally switch mates and are more attached to their lake than to each other. (I feel like there is a good joke in here)
A very special thank you to Sarah for all of the work this entails.
For some personal research:
LoonWatch website from Northland College
https://www.northland.edu/centers/soei/loonwatch/ (Lots of great pictures!)
Main area of the website to highlight is the "About Loons"
https://www.northland.edu/centers/soei/loonwatch/about-loons/