Following Loons by Satellite

We have a lot to learn about loon migration and wintering locations. This past summer, biologists from US Geological Survey Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (USMEC), caught 10 loons in Minnesota and Wisconsin and surgically implanted satellite telemetry units. These loons have been followed throughout the fall and winter with the movements posted at the UMESC website (http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/terrestrial/migratory_birds/loons/migrations.html). You can follow the movements of individual birds since they were banded or jump to their current locations (live). Most of the loons congregated on the Great Lakes for awhile in the fall before moving south to the ocean. The loons are currently found from the Gulf of Mexico to the North Carolina coast, with one loon staying on water somewhere in southern Indiana. This study was planned prior to the BP oil spill but it's urgency became all the more clear after the accident. Several birds are overwintering in the Gulf, thus following their movements now and in the spring will be of great interest. I'm guessing that attempts might be made next summer to re-capture them and assess their overall health. Eric Hanson, VLRP Coordinator