Loon Chick Count Low on Vermilion and Burntside

by Kevin Strauss

Recent loon counts on Lake Vermilion and Burntside Lake seem to show a drop in chick production this year. Counters on Lake Vermilion counted only 14 chicks this year, their second lowest chick count in the 22 years that they have counted loons on the lake. On Burntside Lake, volunteers counted seven chicks, which is a bit lower than average (8.2/year), but a lot better than their count of two chicks last year.

On Lake Vermilion, Coordinator of the Sportsman’s Club of Lake Vermilion Mardy Jackson thinks that a windy spring and early summer may have cut down on chick production.

“We had a lot of loon eggs washed out of the nests from all the waves on the east end of the lake,” said Jackson. “Some people think that the muskie population might also be having an impact on loon and duck chicks.”

In 2003, the 64 mated pairs of loons produced 32 chicks, this year the same number of pairs produced less than half that amount.
According to Jackson, a young mated pair won’t re-nest if their first nest gets washed away by waves.

On Burntside Lake, volunteer counter Tim Riley thought that the weather on the count day also affects results.

“When the weather conditions are better, there will be more chicks out,” said Riley. “Last year it was super windy during the count, so we might not have seen all the chicks that were out there.”

Despite the lower than average chick counts, the adult loon population on both lakes is doing well. Counters on Lake Vermilion tallied 286 loons, compared to 298 last year.

“We have a steady average of about 250 loons on the lake,” said Jackson. “Our highest count was 331 back in 1993 and our next highest years were last year and this year. We have a steady and stable loon population on the lake.”

On Burntside Lake, adult loon numbers seem to be on the rise. In 2001, volunteers counted 29 adults, in 2002-50 adults, in 2003-49 adults and this year 55 adults. The Burntside Lake Property Owners Association sponsors the loon count on the lake.

According to Jackson, low chick numbers might not show up in loon population numbers at northern lakes for 3-4 years, since young loons migrate south with their parents and then stay on the gulf coast 3-4 years before returning to their birth lake to find a mate.