Montana Loon Society loon watch

Right on time, true to the mystery of the migration cycle - the loons show up and without our bidding (but with the help of our floating signs), take over their territories, build nests, fight off intruders, lay eggs and raise chicks.

The average number of chicks in Montana (including Glacier National Park) has recently hovered between 40-50 chicks a year. But, our loons outdid themselves last year by raising an unheard of 75 chicks!!! (We didn't believe the reports at first and had to go back and make sure that number was correct). Last year produced perfect nesting conditions with cooler, rainy weather that reduced human presence on the lakes but didn't flood. So, in about three years, 7-14 three-year-old sub-adults will return to Montana from the west coast and begin their search for a lake and a partner.

While we are thrilled to have this success, as strange as it sounds, we really don't want this to happen every year. Loons are a "density-dependent" species. There are only so many territories and there only can be so many loon pairs. In a healthy loon population, about 40 percent should be sub-adult singles who spend about three years looking for the right lake and partner. In areas with huge numbers of suitable and available nesting lakes (like Saskatchewan), these singles find their place, but in Montana, where good loon lakes are more finite, a large number of singles disrupt nesting by picking fights with resident loons, to the point that chick numbers drop.

However, thanks to nature (and our floating signs), last year we had a banner year.

Does this mean that we are done...that we can all go home? Absolutely not!

We won't have a rainy, cool spring every year. We must maintain the placement of signs and monitoring of loons. This requires interns hired by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Forest Service. Interns require money.

For about 10 years MLS has benefitted greatly by monies generated from the sale of vehicle licenses plates featuring the beautiful "Loons of the Swan Valley" by Monte Dolack. In the face of declining government revenues, we have been able to pick up the financial slack to insure that the loon work continues.

However, the 2019 Montana Legislature enacted a law that each non-profit must sell a minimum of 400 plates per year to maintain their plate. MLS has done this in every year but one and we aren't that far over 400 that we feel completely confident we will sell 400 each year. One low year is all it takes to lose our beautiful plate with the initial investment of $4,000 and the essential monies required to maintain the wildlife interns. Further, if we lose the license plate we have to wait four years to reapply and pay a $5,000 application fee.

But, as we face the COVID-19 pandemic, it's difficult to encourage you to financially support Montana's loons. But if you need to replace your Montana vehicle license plate please obtain or renew the Montana Loon Society plate. Also, please talk to your local Montana politicians about modifying the license plate law to say something like "over a three-year period, each nonprofit must maintain an average of 400 plates sold," or that the state provide an adequate grace period each year.

In the meantime, be thankful that "sheltering in place" allows us to be outside, relishing the dependable seasonal cycles of Earth. Please be well, be safe, be healthy and spend some good social distancing time with the loons on your favorite loon lake and THANK YOU!

2019 Blackfoot/Clearwater Loon Ranger Report

Story Keely Benson, Blackfoot/Clearwater (Ovando/Seeley Lake) Loon Ranger

Thirteen lakes are watched for loons in this combined area. In the Blackfoot, Upsata Lake hatched two chicks. In the Clearwater, Seeley, Hidden and Summit Lakes had two chicks each. Rainy Lake had one. Clearwater Lake had no known nest attempt and Lake Alva nested on the island with signs put out, but no known chicks. Placid Lake also produced one chick but it was hatched after July Loon Day, so it didn't make the official count. The female on Placid Lake was originally banded in 1996, so she is now 28 – 30 years old. So it was a successful season with nine chicks counted on July Loon Day.

Swan Loon Ranger Report

Story Sage Staven/Mark Ruby, Swan Geographic Area

The Swan area had five nesting pairs of which four produced chicks. Pierce, Loon (Kraft Creek) and Loon (Ferndale) had two chicks each. Based on 20 years of records, Holland Lake is new nesting territory. The pair nested in a shallow bay on the north shore less than 20 yards from the Holland Falls trail. Despite the busy hiker activity through nesting season, the birds successfully nested and raised one chick. So, seven chicks were counted in this area on the July Loon Day survey.

To quickly see how our Blackfoot and Clearwater loon neighbors faired last year, take a look at the included chart. Bumps and dips naturally occur in loon numbers. Nationally, one in four nests fails naturally. In Montana, flood years are a major cause in the drop in chicks, but not all areas flood the same year. It is only cause for concern if numbers drop and drop without bounce-back. Even with these dips and rises on local lakes, chick numbers in Montana have remained roughly the same, with an average forty-one chicks per year, which is considered a viable loon population. 2019 was an above average year due to a cool, rainy spring that did not cause flooding, but helped the loons successfully nest and hatch chicks.