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 Stories A wildlife rescue and follow up A common loon which had fishing line wrapped around its head, beak and tongue in Fundy National Park was rescued August 14, 1995 by two Canadian Wildlife Service biologists (Neil Burgess and Michael Duggan) assisted by staff from the Park (Edouard Daigle, George Sinclair & Doug Clay). The fishing line which was removed had cut deeply into the bird's tongue and had prevented it from feeding effectively for 10 days. Everyone hoped that the female bird would recover and finish raising its two chicks, which had hatched in early July. The loon was captured at night using a boat, spotlights and tape-recorded loon calls. Coloured bands were placed on the bird's legs so it could be identified in the future. The loon's mate and one of the chicks were also captured and banded, so their progress could also be followed in future years. There is only one pair of loons breeding in Fundy National Park. Anticipation grew strong in the spring of 1996 to see if this adult female had survived the winter and would return to Wolfe Lake in Fundy Park. Sure enough in late April 1996 the female returned and appeared healthy. The same crew which captured the bird in 1995 attempted it again in 1996 and were successful. The female had gained 1.2 kilograms in body weight from the previous summer, and reared two more healthy chicks in 1996. It was also noted that there was no tongue left in the bird’s mouth. It appears that this has not caused any serious ill-effects to the bird except that some of its calls sound a little unusual. Captured again in 1997, the female gained more weight and reared two more chicks with the same mate as the previous two years. |
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