Fern Lake Loon Rescue
A loon behaving lethargically was spotted on Fern Lake in Clinton County, NY, in June 2025. Later, the same loon beached itself. Photo by Tracy Tender
On June 17th, a call came into the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation (ACLC) of a lethargic loon on Fern Lake in Clinton County. The loon was described as floating in very shallow water along a beach for hours and seemed to have no reaction to people approaching.
While loons do rest, often called “loafing,” for many hours, it’s highly unusual for a loon to do so in shallow water or along a beach shoreline. Loons prefer to rest and preen in deep water where they can dive away at a moment’s notice. Some loons are also highly habituated to humans and will tolerate them in close spaces, but this is typically when the loon approaches or surfaces near a person rather than when being approached. Additionally, approached loons will at least look at and appear to acknowledge that a person is close to them, rather than giving no reaction. Spending time in shallow water and not responding to humans are both red flags for abnormal loon behavior, and a lethargic loon is almost always one that ACLC will step in and try to capture and evaluate.
Community members were unable to find this loon the next day. On June 19th, the ACLC office received another call from a Fern Lake resident that they had spotted a loon on the beach, describing the same concerning behaviors.
Since July 19th was a Saturday, several staff members were out of cell service for various Adirondack activities, so Wildlife Tech Leah Boget headed to the lake for her first solo rescue attempt. Leah met with both of the Fern Lake residents who had reported the loon to ACLC, and together they headed to the beach and approached the loon, which was now truly beached on the sand. The loon gave little reaction, even when a small towel was placed over its head and it was picked up to place in a bin for safe transport. An easy rescue, but one that did not bode well for the loon’s health.
Leah transported the loon back to Saranac Lake and put it in a cool garage to rest and recover for the night. It seemed clear that this loon would need to be taken to a wildlife vet facility for further evaluation.
Once safely placed in a bin for transport, the ailing loon did not have energy to struggle. Photo by Tracy Tender
The next morning, Leah helped do a brief assessment of the loon, including cataloguing its bands and administering fluids and antibiotics. Even without looking at the banding database, researchers could see that this was a well-lived loon, as one of its bands was cracked and aged.
The loon was then transported to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS), where the results of a blood test for lead levels came back higher than the machine could read. While VINS provided the support they could, the loon died overnight on June 20th. Mark Pokras, one of the top loon experts in the country, was available to assist with a swift necropsy at the facility.
The necropsy findings confirmed that this loon had indeed died from lead poisoning; along with its sky-high blood lead levels, there was a 16.8mm lead jig head found in its first stomach, called the proventriculus. The loon was not severely emaciated, but had none of its regular fat deposits and had no organic matter in its gizzard, where food is digested.
An x-ray provided by Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) shows a lead jig head hook in the loon’s digestive system.
From its band combination, we do know some of this loon’s history. It was a male that was first banded as a juvenile on Lake Umbagog in New Hampshire and Maine. It was recaptured and re-banded on Fern Lake in New York in 2022. Juveniles have the same immature feathers for one to three years, so we know this loon was 22 to 24 years old when it died. Loons can live for 30 - 40 years, so while this loon lived a long life, lead poisoning cut it short.
Death by lead poisoning is 100 percent preventable.
Making the switch to lead-free fishing tackle ensures that loons and other wildlife will not inadvertently ingest lead tackle and die a slow, painful death from lead poisoning. While a sinker weighing less than a half-ounce is all it takes to kill an adult loon, jig head hooks with the lead weight soldered to the top of the hook are the most common form of lead tackle found in the bodies of lead-poisoned loons. This indicates that loons are ingesting lead tackle that is still attached to fish that have broken the line or been cut loose.
ACLC is sponsoring the Lead Tackle Buy Back Program through 2025 to help anglers make the switch to lead-free tackle. Simply take your lead tackle to a participating tackle shop, turn it in, and receive a $10 voucher to use on lead-free alternatives. Check out the Lead Tackle Buy Back page on our website to find a participating tackle shop near you.
Thank you to community members in Fern Lake for reporting this loon in distress. If you see a loon in distress, call the ACLC office at 518-354-8636 or email rescue@adkloon.org. Please be prepared to describe the loon in question and to share your name and location of the loon. Photographs or video are always helpful to assess the situation.
Words by Leah Boget, ACLC Wildlife Technician