Iron County students study loon nests

MERCER, Wis. - Mercer eighth graders got the opportunity to visit three floating loon nest platforms Thursday as part of an Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department project.

The students canoed out to nesting platforms located on three lakes - Fox, Deer and Grand Portage - in the Mercer area as part of the Loon and Lake project.

In addition to observing the nests, some students took measurements of the lake's clarity, pH value, amount of oxygen and types of invertebrates.

While loons had made nests on all three platforms, only one remained viable when students visited Thursday. There is still a chance the loons could re-nest on the other two platforms.

"On Fox Lake, we had two loons present, one sitting on eggs on the platform," said conservation specialist Zach Wilson.

Deer Lake's nest had two abandoned eggs.

While it is unclear why the loons abandoned the nest, Wilson said it could be because of the number of black flies observed on the loons via a trail camera next to the nest.

It also remains unclear what happened at the Grand Portage Lake site. The remains of a turtle were found on the platform with cracked, rotten loon eggs floating in the water next to the platform. Wilson's hypothesis is some kind of predator, possibly an otter, used the platform to eat a turtle and knocked the eggs off in the process.

Wilson visited three other lakes - Pardee, Hewitt and the Gile impoundment - Wednesday with Hurley students.

He said Hewitt Lake has a successful nest, geese had taken over the Pardee Lake platform and the Gile Flowage - north of Knight Road - uses natural nesting sites, rather than the platforms.

Overall, Wilson said more than 40 loon chicks have been born off the platforms in the 16 years they have been in place. That includes two years of successful chick production on Hewitt Lake after decades of no loons being born prior to the platform's installation.

Despite Iron County being situated on the very southern border of the loon's natural territory, Wilson said Wisconsin's population is good.

"We have more loons than lake territories," he said.

Some of the big problems facing the loons are those seen this year, including predation, black flies and geese.

Other major issues are changing water levels flooding nests and too much shoreline development.

While platforms remove the last two threats, Wilson said they aren't a solution.

"The platform is a band-aid for providing habitat," he said. "But I always say, 'It's a heck of a lot of work being a loon mom.' I don't want to be the one responsible, every year, for putting out the platform, taking the platform in. It's a lot of work.

"I would rather have them do it on their own. So we have shoreline issues."

Another effort the department is working toward is getting landowners to use native plants to create a buffer between their lawns and the water.

"That does everything from stopping erosion and sediment (running) into the lake, plus it provides habitat," Wilson said.

"The buffers are something we have a long way to go with. Everybody wants to have that manicured lawn down to the shoreline. Everybody is scared to death of shrubs and losing their view of the lakeshore, and so that's a big, big issue," he said.

County Conservationist Heather Palmquist added, "I'm trying to get people educated and wanting to put that buffer back into place. It's way better for all the habitat. By having that lawn, you're getting rid of all of the natural habitat - so they are losing their butterflies, so they are losing their fish habitats."

Another way residents can help the loon population, according to Palmquist, is to avoid areas where loons are known to nest.

Wilson and Palmquist also said it is important to realize not every lake in the county is suitable for loons and the platforms were installed after obtaining a permit from the Department of Natural Resources and working with a biologist.

Wilson said if a second platform was installed in Grand Portage Lake, for example, the two loon families would be fighting constantly - leading to both nests being non-viable.

Much like other work Wilson and Palmquist do with the county's schools, the loons are simply the vehicle for their larger mission of educating kids about the county's natural resources and exposing them to careers in the outdoors.

"These kids ... they're getting sharp and we are starting to hire them," Wilson said. "What has this county been talking about for a long time? We want our young people to stay here. So what are our assets? Our natural resources."

In fact, Wilson said in the last two years, the department has hired graduates who had gone through programs while in school. He said they were hired on the strength of their resumes and interviews due, in part, to skills learned in the program.