The rescued loon’s first seconds of freedom in the Gulf of Mexico. |
Rescue, care of loon may spark a family Christmas Dec. 24, 2009 Christmas is a time for family, and due to a rescue effort that included the Pickerel Fire Department and Antigo’s raptor education center, a loon may be spending the holiday with his missing mate.
Earlier this month, the Pickerel Fire and Rescue Squad braved the thin ice on Duck Lake to an emaciated and injured adult male Common Loon. Lake residents had been growing increasingly concerned. The bird was quickly being iced in, and his mate had been forced to leave him weeks earlier on migration.
The odyssey that began on Dec. 8, ended successfully on Dec. 17 when the bird, christened "Duckie" by rescuers, put his feet in the warm blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
“What a difference nine days made in the life of this loon and those who care about him,” Marge Gibson of Antigo’s Raptor Education Center said.
The wildlife rehabilitator explained that generally, loons rescued by REGI are usually unable to migrate due to lead poisoning. Once the lead is chelated from their blood the loons just need good food and open water to finish their migration. Then, they are flown to southern locations by a generous company located in Wausau via corporate jet.
“Duckie” was different.
“He suffered a wing fracture in September that kept him from migrating earlier,” Gibson explained. “He may fly again, but we could not be 100 percent certain. Given those parameters he had to be in a place where he could survive well for the remainder of his life if he was not able to fly back to Wisconsin. The only place that would work for his long term survival and being able to interact with other loons was the Gulf of Mexico. Young loons live in the Gulf of Mexico for the first four years of their life before returning to the lakes of the north as adults. "Duckie" would know this body of water well.”
So Gibson and her husband, Don, traveled 1,200 miles to transport the loon to the Gulf as soon at it was able to travel.
“ He rode amazingly well in a padded container, covered only with a sheet to assure ample air exchange and climate control,” Gibson said. “Our first night was challenging. I filled the tub and put him in along with the first bag of active minnows. All went well except he called that resonant ‘loon wail’ whenever he saw us. We turned on the nature channel loud and stayed out of the bathroom until he was done eating and bathing. In the morning he had tub time again to eat and swim before we hit the road again.”
Forty-eight hours exactly from the time the Gibsons left Antigo they and the loon arrived in Pensacola, Fla., chosen in part because it is one of the world's longest barrier islands and is also the site of the federally protected Gulf Islands National Seashore.
After some initial hesitation and a bit of prodding, “Duckie” left his container.
“Duckie preened and bathed, dove and fished for about 15 minutes. He rarely stopped moving or preening the entire time. He was the picture of a happy loon,” Gibson said. “As we watched he began to move toward the open Gulf of Mexico. He called once and another Common Loon appeared. Then another appeared and together they moved quickly toward the Gulf and out of sight. It was amazing to us how our loon swam so quickly, keeping up with the other loons as he continued to roll and preen.”
Gibson said the rescue could not have had better results.
“During the time he was with us at REGI he gained two pounds. When released he weighed nearly 10 pounds which is closer to his normal weight range. And the biggest news is he can fly. He did fly but not far. I have great hope that with exercise he will fly again,” she said. “We will be waiting to see if "Duckie" returns to Duck Lake in the spring. The residents of the lake will keep us informed. We wish him the best of luck on this newest phase of his life.”
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