Why are there so many loons in Minnesota?
Minnesota has more loons (roughly 12,000) than any other state except Alaska. Threats to loons include human disturbance and pollutants such as lead and mercury. The DNR monitors loon populations with the help of volunteers to improve understanding of what our state bird needs to maintain a strong, healthy presence here.
Which US state has the largest population of loons?
In the continental U.S., surveys indicate Minnesota has the largest population of common loons with more than 10,000 adults. Wisconsin has an estimated summer population of about 4,000 adults.
Is the Loon the state bird of Minnesota?
In Minnesota the loon was officially designated the state bird in 1961 and was designated a Species in Greatest Conservation Need by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources ( 2015 ). Regionally, it is recognized as a Stewardship Priority by the Upper Mississippi River & Great Lakes Region Joint Venture.
How many common loons are there in New Hampshire?
Additionally, states with breeding populations include Maine with approximately 4,100 adults, New York with more than 800 adults, and New Hampshire with about 500 adult common loons. How long each year do common loons stay within their summer (breeding) range?
How many common loons are in Minnesota?
roughly 12,000Population and management Minnesota has more loons (roughly 12,000) than any other state except Alaska.
How many common loons are there?
In the continental U.S., surveys indicate Minnesota has the largest population of common loons with more than 10,000 adults. Wisconsin has an estimated summer population of about 4,000 adults.
Are loons endangered in Minnesota?
Minnesota's loon population, second only to Alaska's, has remained at about 12,000 for several decades. They're not considered endangered, threatened, or a species of special concern in Minnesota.
Are common loon protected in Minnesota?
“This is incredibly concerning news for Minnesota's birds,” said Rob Schultz, executive director of Audubon Minnesota. “Common Loons are just one of the hundreds of species of birds that are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).
Do loons come back to the same lake every year?
Loons are long-lived (20-30 years!) and territorial, returning annually to the same lake to breed. They are usually six to seven years old before they establish a breeding territory with their first mate. In the spring, males migrate back to their breeding lakes to establish a territory for nesting.
What is a flock of loons called?
A group of loons can go by many names, including a raft, a waterdance, a cry and an asylum.
Where do loons sleep at night?
Because they are not well built for life on land, loons typically sleep in the water. They take short naps (15 minutes in duration, on average). To sleep, a loon turns its neck and folds its head down to rest on its back. During the nesting period, loons may sleep while incubating.
Do people eat loons?
Native Americans killed loons with bows and arrows, spears, and later rifles, according to the Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment at McGill University. They hunted yellow-billed and red-throated loons as well as common loons.
Do loons pair for life?
No, loons do not mate for life. Far from it! Marking of individual adults with leg bands and study of marked breeding pairs has shown that loons commonly live for 20 years or more and often get evicted from territories.
What eats common loon?
Adult loons are rarely prey for other species, with the possible exception of sea otters and large raptors such as bald eagles and ospreys. However, their eggs and chicks are eaten by raccoons, ravens, bald eagles, minks, gulls, crows, snapping turtles, skunks, foxes, northern pike, and muskies.
Can you keep a loon as a pet?
No, loons do not make good pets. Whether we say it once or a thousand times, animals that eat fish usually have incredibly smelly poop! For this reason, they make poor pets. Additionally, in most places it is illegal to own a loon as a pet.
Where do loons go in the winter from Minnesota?
Turns out the common loon is a total snowbird: In September, Minnesota's adult loons travel to their winter home along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina south to Florida, or on the Gulf of Mexico. Younger loons follow a month or so later. On their trip south, loons can fly more than 75 miles per hour.
How many loons are left in the world?
Common loon population The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates as many as 640,000 common loons exist worldwide. Most of these loons are located in North America, particularly in Canada.
Are common loons endangered?
Least Concern (Population decreasing)Common loon / Conservation status
Why is the common loon endangered?
Loon populations have been declining significantly throughout their core range—mostly Canada and the northern tier of the United States—over the past 20 years, due in large part to mercury poisoning, acid rain, lead, and the rise of botulism in the Great Lakes region.
Are loons endangered?
Not extinctLoons / Extinction status
Where are common loons found in Minnesota?
Sites with the highest suitability are located in the Laurentian Mixed Forest Province and the northern region of the Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province. Nevertheless, scattered sites are also predicted to occur throughout south-central and southwestern Minnesota and along the Mississippi River valley.
When do loons migrate to Minnesota?
A regular breeding resident and migrant; an increasing number of loons appear to be late migrants lingering in Minnesota through early- to mid-December. There are a few reports of overwintering birds as well. The Common Loon was a common species during the Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas (MNBBA).
How do loons die?
Although sport hunting was considered a major mortality factor for the Common Loon in the United States nearly a century ago, largely because of the species’ perceived threat to sport fishing, today’s threats to the Common Loon are complex and wide-ranging. Mortality from botulism and other diseases, particularly in areas where large numbers of birds congregate during migration or in the winter, pose an ongoing risk. As recently as 2012 an estimated 3,000 loons died from botulism poisoning on Lake Michigan, where the species congregates each fall before migrating to its wintering grounds along the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico ( Taylor 2013 ). This was not a rare one-time occurrence. Between 1999 and 2009, a total of 24,000 loons died from botulism on Lake Michigan ( Porter 2013 ).
How big are loon lakes?
Large clear-water lakes that average between 20 and 80 hectares (ha) in size and that provide an abundance of small fish, suitable nesting sites, and a shallow, protected location to serve as a nursery for young chicks were deemed critical ( McIntyre 1986 ). Large lakes in particular seemed to be a prerequisite; the large-bodied Common Loon needs a long runway for its labored takeoff from the water’s surface before gaining enough altitude to clear the shoreline’s trees. Because the species is dependent on its eyesight to capture and dive after prey, water clarity was considered equally important. Many biologists also believed minimal human disturbance to be critical to the Common Loon’s reproductive success. Yet as the years passed and more field studies were conducted, biologists learned that the species’ habitat requirements are far more complex and variable than was once thought.
What are the dangers of loons?
Present in all levels of the aquatic food chain, the Common Loon’s fish-based diet can, over time, result in deadly levels of mercury that impact the bird’s behavior and survival. Birds with high blood-mercury levels, for example, spend less time incubating their eggs ( Evers et al. 2010 ). Equally dangerous is the direct ingestion of lead fishing sinkers, consumed when birds are searching lake bottoms for small pebbles to aid their digestion. One study in New England documented that lead poisoning was responsible for 44% of the dead loons collected over a 14-year period ( Sidor et al. 2003 ).
What are the threats to the Common Loon?
Climate change also poses a threat to this water-dependent species. Warmer temperatures , for example, could negatively impact the coastal fish resources that the Common Loon depends on during the nonbreeding season ( Evers et al. 2010 ). Indeed, a comprehensive modeling exercise conducted by the National Audubon Society recently predicted that the species could lose nearly 56% of its current summer range and 75% of its winter range by the year 2080, potentially forcing the species even farther north ( Langham et al. 2015 ; National Audubon Society 2016 ). As a result of the analysis, the species was classified as “climate endangered”.
Where are loons found?
Historically, the Common Loon in the United States’ portion of the Great Lakes has experienced the greatest declines in both abundance and distribution ( Evers et al. 2010 ). Indeed, the species has been extirpated in several states where it formerly occurred (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Ohio), and its breeding ranges have receded northward since the late 1800s and early 1900s in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Nevertheless, the Great Lakes region now supports over 50% of the U.S. breeding population of the Common Loon. As noted earlier, Michigan, Ontario, and Minnesota have recently documented small southern range expansions. Focused conservation efforts by resource agencies and local lake associations are surely one of the principal factors responsible for the population increases that have been observed across much of the species’ range.
The Minnesota Loon Monitoring Program
Begun in 1994, the Minnesota Loon Monitoring Program relies upon volunteers to count loons within six regions in the state and produces a summary report every five years. A second project, the Volunteer LoonWatcher Survey, also run by the DNR, began in 1979.
What Do the MLMP Data Show?
Of course, using volunteers — some without boats and binoculars — to measure loon numbers increases uncertainty in measurement. But despite inevitable fluctuations in measurements from individual regions and years, the MLMP survey seems to be an effective tool for estimating loon populations.
What Do the Data Show for the Past Ten Years?
In light of the brevity of the DNR’s summary, it seems worthwhile to take a deeper dive into the MLMP. One oddity of the 2020 DNR report is that it uses 1994 to anchor the trend line. Why 1994? Simply because this was the inaugural year of data collection.
What is the Real Take-Home about Minnesota Loons?
We cannot reach any firm conclusion about the status of Minnesota loons based on the Minnesota Loon Monitoring Report. There is simply too much scatter in the data for that. However, careful inspection of recent findings reveals worrisome downward trends in two vital loon population hubs. I take these troubling signs seriously.
How far away do loons live in Minnesota?
The distance between breeding and wintering grounds of the loons we monitored in Minnesota and Wisconsin ranged from 1,170 to 1,570 miles.
How many species of loons are there?
There are five recognized species of loons (family Gaviidae):
How old are loons when they start breeding?
Extensive banding and observation of marked loons in northern Wisconsin has shown that loons first return to the breeding grounds at age 2-5 years, with males tending to return nearer to their natal territory than females. Both sexes tend to wander and use many different lakes as "floaters" for 2 to 3 years before settling. Males and females both show a striking age-dependent pattern in the means they use to gain a territory: when 4-5 years old, they usually settle in a vacant territory with a mate and thus found a new territory. If they have not acquired a territory by 6-8 years of age, however, they usually attept to seize a territory from an established owner after a violent and prolonged territorial battle. Such battles can be dangerous. In fact, about one-third of all territorial takeovers among males result in the death of the displaced male owner.
What do loons eat?
Common loons feed primarily on fish, but also consume aquatic invertebrates (including crayfish and aquatic insects).
How far did a loon travel?
In one documented case, a loon traveled 670 miles within a 24-hr period. In another case, a loon traveled distances of 360 and 505 miles during two consecutive days . All of these flights were likely single movements.
When do loons return to the wild?
Loons return to northern forested lakes and rivers in the springtime, usually in April or early May. The breeding range includes Alaska and much of Canada south to portions of Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
When do loons leave the nest?
Breeding loons, like those radiomarked in this study, leave breeding areas in late October to early November.
How old are loons when they settle?
They have a white chest and their black wings are covered with white spots. NESTING. Loons seldom settle on a territory until they are five to seven years old. In most cases, a young loon must evict an older individual of its sex in order to claim a territory for itself.
How fast can a loon fly?
Loons can fly more than 75 miles per hour and migrate at altitudes of 3,000-5,000 feet. Loons swallow small pebbles which helps grind up the hard parts of the food they eat. Threats to loon habitats include water quality, contamination and shoreline development.
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Do loons nest in lakes?
Some lakes have nesting rafts specifically for loons set up by the DNR. I don't know if there's a list of where they are but if you can find one then it's really easy to see a loon depending on whether or not that nest has been "claimed".