The Annual Loon Count on Lake Vermilion

Counting Loons for 28 Years !

Lake Vermilion has always been known for its large population of loons. To lake residents and frequent visitors, the loon has been something special. One never tires of the haunting cries in the early morning or late evening hours, the sight of a loon cruising the open waters of the lake with his head below water looking for a meal, or the special scene of a loon chick --- or maybe two --- riding on a parent's back to keep warm.

Photo by Steve Foss / Timberjay

In the early 1980s, news of large loon die-offs off the coast of Florida had the Club worried. They could have been "our" loons. So in 1983 the Sportsmen's Club began keeping count of the loons on Lake Vermilion every summer.

The task was quite large: thousands of acres of water, many bays and islands, and a bird that wouldn't sit still long enough to be counted only once. But if enough volunteers could be on the water on the same day, at the same time, an accurate count could be taken. Today, the Lake Vermilion Loon Count is the longest running, single lake count of common loons anywhere in the United States.

For Info on the Loon Count Process or to Volunteer  

To learn more about the process of counting loons on Lake Vermilion, including a map of the territories, click here.

Thanks to the volunteers who currently traverse their territories so carefully each July. Since the beginning, 139 volunteers have participated. Of those, 61 have earned their 5-year patch. Quite a few have been involved for 25 years!  

If you'd like to join this team, please contact west-end coordinator Claire Zwieg [contact info] or east-end coordinator Ellen Hintz [contact info]. Alternate counters are often needed. And a territory opens up periodically.

Loon Survey Report for 2010      by Mardy Jackson

You couldn't fault the day for the drop in numbers in our search for the loons today. It was a regular Shangri-La this Monday, July 12th when the 22 boats started the count at 9 a.m.

Dick Johnson and I finished up about 11:30 a.m. and had three more loons in our territory than we had last year. So I was caught off guard when the reports started coming in with drops in the counts from last year. Three of my territories at the East End of the lake had a drop of 10 loons each. One of Clare's territories on the west end dropped seven from last year and Wolf Bay had none, when they had four loons last year.

Our total count for the whole lake is 221— last year we had 281! The Tower end was down by 40 loons and the Cook end down 20, the ratio being constant with previous counts so all total we are down 60 loons from last year.

Why? I can only speculate. The lake levels were down when the loons arrived (they nest next to the shore) and the lake level rose 10 inches so maybe some nests got washed out. But the chick count was only down by six. Last year the total chick count was 29, this year it was 23. Our loons migrated from the Gulf before the oil spill so that wasn't the reason for the drop in the count. I wonder, could the increase in the Cormorant population have anything to do with it? Interestingly, the territories that were down by 10 loons all were around Potato Island, the primary nesting place for the Cormorants.

Juveniles when leaving our lake stay in the Gulf for three years before they are mature enough to return. In the last three years the total young ones we contributed from Lake Vermilion to the Gulf was 92. They are the promise for the future on our lake if the oil spill doesn't do its damage to them.

In 2005, the count was down to 228 and in 2002 it was down to 208. So perhaps, the drop is just the normal fluctuation of Mother Nature that has kept our count down this year. Your guess is as good as mine.

This will be my last loon report to you, I am passing the baton to Claire Zwieg, who has been the coordinator for the west end of the lake for many years. Because of my macular degeneration, I will soon resign from the board of directors of the Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion and as the "Loon Lady of the Lake.” I have loved doing the loon count and will miss it terribly and hope you will all give Claire the great cooperation you all have given me.

Claire and I thank all loon volunteers. You are the ones who make the loon count on Lake Vermilion possible.