Posts Tagged ‘Loons’

Monday, July 13, 2015

Volunteers Sought For Saturday’s Loon Census

Loon in Adirondacks.JLM. (1)The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Program is looking for volunteers to help with its annual Adirondack Loon Census, which takes place on Saturday, July 18.

Volunteers are asked to visit ponds and lakes on that Saturday from 8 to 9 am and count the number of adult and immature loons they see.

Loons generally arrive for the summer breeding season in May. Their young birds hatch from eggs in late June and early July during the first round of breeding. Loons can also lay eggs later in the summer during a second round.   » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Adirondack Loon Celebration On Sunday

Loon CostumeBiodiversity Research Institute’s (BRI’s) Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation will host the 2014 Adirondack Loon Celebration on Sunday, October 12th (Columbus Day weekend) at Riverside Park and Harrietstown Hall in Saranac Lake.

The celebration will include a Loon calling and Loon costume contests; presentations about loon natural history and Adirondack loon conservation programs; live concerts by Adirondack folksingers Jamie Savage and Roy Hurd; a field trip to observe loon behavior first-hand (9a.m., pre-registration and fee required); performances by ventriloquist Sylvia Fletcher and Merriloons the Clown; the 2014 Adirondack Loon Quilt Raffle; and a special appetizer/dessert reception and silent auction. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, September 18, 2014

New Studies Put Focus On Adirondack Loons

Loons Jlarsenmaher 2Biodiversity Research Institute’s (BRI’s) Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation and the Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS’s) Adirondack Program have announced that three new articles summarizing research on Adirondack loons have been published in a special issue of the journal Waterbirds that is dedicated to loon research and conservation in North America. Research was conducted on the Common Loon (Gavia immer), which breeds on Adirondack lakes,  by BRI and WCS in collaboration with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, SUNY ESF’s Adirondack Ecological Center, Paul Smiths Watershed Stewardship Program, and other partners.

“We are pleased to have our loon research in the Adirondack Park included in this unique publication,” Dr. Nina Schoch, Coordinator of BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation, said in a statement to the press. “The special issue includes fifteen scientific papers highlighting loon behavior, life history and population ecology, movements and migration, habitat and landscape requirements, and the risk contaminants pose to loon populations. The publication will be a valuable resource to help guide the conservation of loon populations throughout North America.” » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Campaign Seeks To Help Protect Nesting Adirondack Loons

2013-BRI-ACLC Limekiln Camera -Don't disturb nesting loonsBiodiversity Research Institute’s (BRI’s) Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation has announced a new campaign on Adirondack Gives, www.adirondackgives.org, the crowdfunding site for Adirondack region nonprofits.

The campaign will provide support for the placement of trail cameras near approximately 30 Common Loon nest sites in the Adirondack Park to document nesting behaviors, clutch size, and hatch dates for Adirondack loons, and to assess the primary factors (e.g., predation, human disturbance) impacting the birds during incubation.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) provided the cameras for this project. Support from this campaign, which is seeking to raise $1,100 over the next two months, will cover the cost of the lithium-ion batteries and high capacity SD cards used in the cameras. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Learning To Keep Our Distance From Nesting Loons

2003-WFS Turtle Pd loon-7+t300There is a loon on Lake Placid’s Mirror Lake that seems almost tame. Sometimes when my family and I are out canoeing it seems to follow us. It is that very familiarity and comfortableness with nature that causes a conflict between humans and nesting loons.

Though Dr. Nina Schoch, Wildlife Veterinarian with the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) assures me that particular loon isn’t nesting if it’s in the center of the lake and not issue warning signs. According to Schoch there are specific ways for humans to tell if they are distressing loons. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

WCS Calls for Volunteers to Survey Adirondack Loons

Loons Jlarsenmaher 2The Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Adirondack Program is seeking volunteers to help census loons on Adirondack lakes as part of the fourteenth Annual Adirondack Loon Census taking place from 8:00–9:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 19.

With the help of local Adirondack residents and visitor volunteers, the census enables WCS to collect important data on the status of the breeding loon population in and around the Adirondack Park and across New York State. The results help guide management decisions and policies affecting loons. » Continue Reading.


Monday, May 19, 2014

Loons and Logs Celebration Set for Newcomb

AIC LoonHundreds of rubber loons, believed to be the first and only ones in the world, will return this month for the third annual Loons and Logs event at the Adirondack Interpretive Center (AIC).

The event will be 9 am to 5 pm, May 24th. Loons and Logs celebrates the human and natural history of the Adirondacks by using the spring traditions of bird migration and logging drives as touchstones for educational programming. It is held at the AIC, which is part of the Newcomb Campus of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF). » Continue Reading.


Sunday, May 18, 2014

New Book: Journey with the Loon

Journey with the LoonThe Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) has announced the publication of Journey with the Loon. Authors David Evers and Kate Taylor detail the story of the Common Loon, told from the perspective of first-hand, in-depth study.

Images by nature photographers Ginger and Daniel Poleschook capture the loon’s cycle of life through the seasons. In his Foreword, award-winning author and field biologist Jeff Fair recounts tales of “the simple joy in understanding such a wild spirit.” Published by Willow Creek Press, the 144-page hardcover book includes a companion DVD. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, April 27, 2014

Frank Morehouse: The Return of Common Loons

SONY DSCLeft the farm at 11:15 am; reached Kibby Pond at 12:30.  There were some reroutes since the last time I was here, but I can’t blame my hiking time on those.  I blame winter and junk food.

Ice is not out.  And it’s a good thing because I am not prepared to fish.  I didn’t expect the ice to be out.  I came here for reconnaissance.  Of course I got myself worked up on the hike in.  What if the ice is out?  I’m not ready.  Then, as I crested the hill and saw the outline of the pond below, my heart stopped.  It is out.  I stood there in disbelief for half a second.  Through the trees, ice looks the same as the reflection of an overcast sky on open water.  But the sky isn’t overcast enough.  Ice.  I started down the hill and could make out a darker outline along the shoreline.  That’s what open water looks like today.  My heart slowed with my relief and my decent.

I came here on a whim.  I was hemmin’ and hawin’ this morning over whether and where to hike.  I’m farm-sitting for my cousin in Sodom.  Do I leave the animals for a little while?  There’s a lot going on at work right now, too.  I should stay and get some stuff done.  But I heard and saw my first loons of the season this morning, a pair of them, and that made my decision easy. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, March 13, 2014

NYS Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame Honors Dr. Nina Schoch

2013-NS RTLO Rls-9412-tThe New York State Outdoorsmen Hall of Fame has announced that its class of inductees for 2014 will include Dr. Nina Schoch of Ray Brook, NY.  Schoch will be honored at the annual banquet April 26 in Canastota, NY.

Nina Schoch is best known for her role in conservation of the Adirondack loon.  Under her leadership the Biodiversity Research Institute’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation (ACLP) has involved hundreds of volunteers, school children, and government agencies in protecting the iconic symbol of the Adirondack wilderness.  The loon census, banding, research on health issues, and public awareness programs of the ACLP have contributed to the dramatic increase in the loon population in the past three decades. » Continue Reading.


Monday, February 24, 2014

Center for Loon Conservation Project Seeks Funding

Loon BookThe Biodiversity Research Institute’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation has announced a campaign on Adirondack Gives, the crowdfunding site for Adirondack region nonprofits, which seeks support to digitize historical slides and film footage produced by Adirondack nature photographer Kip Taylor.

In the 1970s and 1980s, when loons were rarely observed on Adirondack waterways, and prior to the age of digital photography, Kip Taylor extensively documented the natural history and behavior of Common Loons on Adirondack lakes, including some very unique underwater footage and photographs of feeding and swimming loons. Prior to his passing in 1997 Taylor published Loon, which chronicled his excursions to photograph these distinctive birds. His widow has donated his film and slides for use in BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation’s outreach programs. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Loons Blown Down in Recent Windstorm

2013-NS RTLO Rls-9412-tAt least one Common Loon and four Red-throated Loons were blown down in a windstorm on Sunday, November 24th. The Biodiversity Research Institute’s (BRI) Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation received its first call Sunday afternoon concerning a Red-throated Loon that was in the Catamount Mountain parking lot, which was brought to the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge & Rehab Center. A second Red-throated Loon was found at Mt. Van Hoevenberg the following morning. Then a third loon was found up by Mountain View Lake and a fourth in the Old Forge area. And finally, a Common Loon was found on a road in the Glens Falls area.

Red-throated Loons breed in Canada and Alaska. They are much smaller birds than the Common Loons that summer here in the Adirondack Park. They must have been migrating to the coast for the winter when they encountered the strong winds on Sunday and got blown down. » Continue Reading.


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Celebrate Loons at the Paul Smith’s VIC

There is something quite mystical about hearing a loon. Whether it’s the haunting wail that echoes across lakes or the territorial male yodel, the loon’s calls can silence everyone around it as people search for the source of the sound.

I was recently paddling a nearby Adirondack pond and was followed by a common loon.  It gave that shrill laughing sound called tremolo that is used to signal alarm. I can only assume that we were too close to its chicks. It seemed that no matter where we went, it didn’t want to share the waterway with us. We finally just sat and drifted and the loon dove underwater, reappearing on a far shore.

There are many things to understand about the loon and the Biodiversity Research Institute’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation and the Paul Smith’s College Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) have joined forces for a full day of loon related activities to educate and inform all of us about this iconic bird. This free event will be held from 9 am – 5 pm on Sunday, October 13 at the VIC. » Continue Reading.


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Loon Quilt Raffle to Benefit Loon Conservation

Loon QuiltThe Biodiversity Research Institute’s (BRI) Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation will be holding its first-ever Loon Quilt Raffle. The hand-made quilt depicts a pair of loons raising two chicks on an Adirondack lake. The queen-sized quilt was created by Dr. Nina Schoch, Coordinator of BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation, based on a McKenna Ryan design, and quilted by Susan Ochs of Saranac Lake.

“The proceeds from the loon quilt raffle will help support our loon research and outreach initiatives over the coming year. It was a lot of fun making this unusual quilt,” said Dr. Schoch, “and I hope the support it provides will enable us to continue to address numerous threats to Adirondack loons and the lakes and ponds where they live.” » Continue Reading.


Friday, July 19, 2013

Annual Loon Census Seeks Volunteers Saturday

Loon in AdirondacksThe Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Program is seeking volunteers to help census loons on Adirondack lakes as part of the thirteenth Annual Adirondack Loon Census taking place from 8:00–9:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 20.

With the help of local Adirondack residents and visitor volunteers, the census enables WCS to collect important data on the status of the breeding loon population in and around the Adirondack Park and across New York State. The results help guide management decisions and policies affecting loons. » Continue Reading.



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