Preparing for Summer Loon Rescues
ACLC Research Biologist Griffin Archambault demonstrates how to use a spotlight to find loons at night during a loon rescue training at Rich Lake. Photo by Denise Silfee.
The first summer loon rescue training was held on Sunday, June 15 at Rich Lake on the SUNY ESF campus in Newcomb, NY. Twelve volunteers attended the training, including three Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation (ACLC) interns, several lake monitors, Loon Friendly Lakes participants and other interested community members who traveled up to two hours to attend.
Rescue training for summertime loons is different than rescue training for wintertime loons. In the summer, the primary reasons for rescue are fishing line entanglement and grounding, when loons land on roadways or other open areas far from open water. In the winter, the number one reason for rescue is that loons get trapped on iced-in lakes and need help getting to open water so that they can hopefully take off and migrate.
ACLC Research Biologist Griffin Archambault describes netting a loon like “shoveling a pile of dirt.” Photo by Denise Silfee.
The training started with ACLC Research Biologist Griffin Archambault discussing safety. All volunteers are required to wear a PDF any time they are on the water, and should always carry extra dry, warm clothes in their cars in case of a boat flip.
For loons spotted tangled in fishing line, rescue efforts take place at night. This is because at night, rescuers can use spotlights to temporarily blind the loon and allow the boat to approach them to be captured. Loons tangled in fishing line risk serious injury and also often cannot feed properly, so tend to get weaker over time. Even so, a loon that can see people approaching will dive and vigorously avoid capture, making it impossible to catch in the daylight.
Griffin spent about one hour on the shore of Rich Lake demonstrating proper rescue techniques. Each rescue crew consists of three people: a spotter who leans over the front of the boat to get as low to the water as possible to scan for the loon with a spotlight, a netter who sits in the middle of the boat and is in charge of giving hand signals to the driver and for netting the loon, and the driver who sits in the back and steers the boat. Once the loon is spotted, all communication must be non-verbal to avoid alerting the loon to the rescuers’ presence.
Griffin, using a duck decoy as a loon stand-in, demonstrated the best way for the netter to scoop the loon out of the water - “like shoveling a pile of dirt,” he said. Once the loon is netted, the loon must be brought into the boat, where Griffin explained that one person will need to secure the bird’s head and then the spotter, who now should turn around to assist the netter, to secure the body and begin untangling the loon from the net.
Volunteers practice using the spotlight and properly netting a distressed loon, which in this case, was a duck decoy. Photo by Denise Silfee.
“There are a lot of variables,” one volunteer remarked, to which Griffin replied, “Yes, yes there are, but we try to prepare for as many of them as we can.”
When it was time for volunteers to practice, they got into teams of three and decided who would fill which role: spotter, netter, driver. Using a three-person canoe, they took to the water.
“So, we’re going to pretend our duck is a loon,” Griffin said holding up the duck decoy. “And that our loon is tangled in fishing line, and that it is nighttime.”
Volunteers took their practice time seriously, using the spotlight to search for the “loon” in distress, and going through all of the steps of a rescue while Griffin provided guidance from a kayak.
“If the netter doesn’t feel like they have a good angle,” Griffin reminded everyone, “it’s better to wait and get the boat in a better position than to try and miss. Once you miss, the loon knows you’re there and it can become impossible to catch them.”
Everyone at the loon rescue training had a chance to practice “rescuing” a “loon” in distress, and even to practice several different roles. Photo by Denise Silfee.
Volunteers practiced using the spotlight and non-verbal communication to tell the boat driver which way to go. Photo by Denise Silfee.
Rich Lake does not allow motorized boats, so the three-person canoe was the best boat for the job, but Griffin pointed out that there are times that a motorized boat or a canoe with a trolling motor can be used just as a effectively.
Glen Smith is a retired firefighter who also owns a video production company and who splits his time between Florida and Mountain View, NY. He said this is his first time getting involved with ACLC programs and that since he retired, he’s become “obsessed with the loons and chicks” on his local lake. He read Loon Lessons by James D. Paruk and has been diligently capturing his local loons on video and in photographs.
Untangling a decoy versus a struggling and injured loon are very different things, but practice helps everyone feel more prepared during a real rescue. Photo by Denise Silfee.
Now, he’s “hoping to rescue loons instead of people,” he said.
“I don’t expect anyone to walk away from this training an expert,” Griffin said. “I’m not that good of a trainer! But when we call you up you’ll be working with more experienced rescuers and you’ll be able to keep learning and maybe one day lead your own rescue team.”
If you are interested in being trained as a summertime loon rescue volunteer, there is another training coming up in July. To learn more, and to find out how to sign up, email research@adkloon.org.
Words & Images by Denise Silfee, ACLC Director of Education and Communication