Attempt to save lead-poisoned loon a haunting experience

I had never been as close to a loon as I was last fall. The bird still retained its striking black and white breeding plumage, and as I looked into the otherworldly red eyes, I could sense its wildness and fierceness. The memory of it will forever haunt me, because this loon was a doomed loon.

Instead of swimming freely in a pristine lake or cruising the offshore waters of Maine’s coastline, it was stranded at the high tide line of the Deer Isle causeway beach.

We called Ann Rivers of the Acadia Wildlife Foundation, a rehabilitation center on Mount Desert Island. She advised us to try to get the loon into a secure, well-ventilated box for transportation to her clinic.

Putting the bird back into the water was out of the question, since a beached loon meant an injured or very sick loon, Rivers said.

We got the bird into the box with some trouble, since the loon put up a little fight. We believed, then, there was some hope yet for the bird, but it was not to be. It died despite the care and attention given to it, another victim of lead poisoning.

Lead poisoning has been determined to be a significant cause of mortality in loons and other birds. They often ingest lead sinkers, mistaking them for pebbles they swallow to help grind up food in their gizzards.

Shoreline development, water pollution and boating also have adverse effects. In regards to boating, even well-meaning people just wishing to get a closer look from their kayaks or canoes can cause havoc for a loon family. In this way, baby loons become easily separated from their parents, and are more at risk for predation and exposure.

The wakes from passing speedboats and water skiers will completely swamp a loon’s nest, destroying eggs and any young still in it.

Loons need to build their nests on a sloping bank close to the shoreline because of their unique physical structure. They are diving birds, so their legs are set well back on their bodies, giving them excellent propulsion underwater. However, this means they are unable to use their legs to walk on land the way other waterfowl do; the best they can do is slide along on their chests as they push themselves forward with their feet.

To learn more about loon life cycles, how they construct their nests, and how you can become involved in monitoring their populations on a lake or pond near you, come to the Fields Pond Nature Center at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 5. A slide show and talk about loons will be followed by instructions on how to participate in the Maine Audubon Society’s statewide loon count, to be held on July 21.

Also, don’t forget my bluebird walks on the afternoons of July 11-12.

Chris Corio, a volunteer at Fields Pond Nature Center, can be reached at fieldspond@juno.com.