For weeks we have been working with a group of great folks on the Red Cedar Lake near Rice Lake. They became aware that the young loon on their lake was caught up with fishing line around one leg. A large hook was embedded in his wing. Loons that can dive are nearly impossible to capture without a team of skilled researchers and even then it is not an easy or fast process. The youngster was finally caught up a week ago by a group of people who have been watching him and with instruction on what to do, how to handle and what to hold him in until he was transported to REGI. We are always grateful to DNR biologists and wardens that help as well as the great research teams, but when it comes down to it…it is the public that finds the birds with problems and often are the ones that rescue them and transport the several hours to our clinic in Antigo. The residents of the lake had taken the fishing line off the leg to prevent any further circulation problems with the leg and the REGI staff worked to get the embedded hook out of the wing as well as the additional line. X-rays look great…no lead sinkers in this youngster’s digestive system and that is a great thing. He is very thin and when he arrived was tube fed to get a jumpstart on getting easily digestible nutrition to his needy body, but is now eating well on his own. We have some concerns about the wing healing in time for migration. So far it is doing well but we are well aware that migration time is coming up quickly here in Northern WI and he will need to use that wing to fly to the Gulf of Mexico. He will spend four years in the Gulf of Mexico before returning to Northern WI as a breeding age loon. We are currently evaluating him. It is possible he will be returned to Red Cedar Lake or he may get a plane trip to the Gulf where he can continue to heal and recover without the pressure of migration to stress his body. The public makes such a difference for wildlife as it has in the case of this young loon. Our thanks to everyone that helped from the residents, to the local State of WI DNR staff and research consultants and our own Steve and Evie Fisher for transporting. If the residents of Red Cedar Lake would like to share any photos of the rescue or the fishing line around the little ones leg please do on this page. We appreciate your help so much. Without your care he would not have had a second chance.
Posted on: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 15:13:38 +0000
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