Loon Magic/Loon Magic - Wayzata Technology (8011) (1993).iso/mac/mac text/12 Winter Vacation 4

Text File | 1993-07-20 | 3KB | 58 lines

   The function of evening rafting is anyone's guess. It is unlikely that
safety in numbers is the answer. On coastal waters loons have few
enemies, except possibly the thresher shark. McIntyre suggests the
rafting could simply be a behavior which keeps the birds offshore
and prevents possible strandings on the beaches in storms. Another
possibility she suggests is more subtle. If the loons stay together the
probability of roughly synchronous spring departure and subsequent
arrival on the breeding grounds increases. This would force all birds
to play by the same rules and give none an advantage of early
nesting site selection. But since the actual arrival on northern lakes is
usually preceded (at least for midwestern and Canadian loons) by a
series of stagings on any available open water, the necessity to leave
together is questionable.

   Even when defending their winter feeding territories, loons seldom
call. During her research at Assateague, McIntyre heard the yodel
occasionally and the tremolo only twice. The melancholy wail
apparently is reserved for the solitude of the summer lakes.

   Other researchers have noted that loons can be found well offshore.
Observing from merchant ships several miles offshore, Chris Haney, a
University of Georgia researcher, noted that loons and other seabirds
were most abundant near upwellings where two currents meet to
provide abundant food.

   The population of wintering birds reaches all the way to Nova
Scotia and Newfoundland. Along the Maine coast a winter survey is
conducted annually by the Maine Audubon Society. About 300 loons
are sighted annually. Since some areas of the coast were not covered,
the total coastal population is probably in the range of 500 birds. The
majority of Maine's approximately 3,000 summering loons decide,
like many other Maine residents, to spend the winter in a slightly
warmer clime. According to Maine Audubon's Jane Arbuckle, Maine's
wintering loons do spend the entire season off the Maine coast
braving the famous, bitter nor'easters. Paul Strong, one of the
cooperators in the winter census, reports that the Maine winter
population is composed primarily of single birds and small groups of
from two to six loons. He also reports that, at least in Maine, the
wintering loons are silent. Over several years of monthly coastal
observations, he has yet to hear a loon calling. It may well be that
the calling reported by McIntyre occurs only where large
concentrations of loons are present. Or it could be that Maine loons
are like the stereotypical Maine residentsmstrong and silent.

   Clearly, loon numbers on the wintering grounds are not what they
were in 1907 when Frank Chapman, author of <Handbook of Birds in
Eastern North America,> noted in his journal: "They winter in large
numbers some distance off the coast. I have seen several thousand in
a day east of Hatteras when sailing from New York to Florida."

   Loons on their wintering waters will get plenty of attention in the
future. Winter studies are a high priority for the North American
Loon Fund's research grant program. Winter studies are important in
determining the mysterious link between summer and winter
populations as well as identifying action that may have to be taken
to protect loons in winter, the most stressful and hazardous season
for loons.