Leg bands confirm that translocated chicks return to the area. Left inset: Bands taken when chick released in 2015. Right inset: Close-up of leg bands on adult loon.
© Biodiversity Research Institute
Monitoring for Returning Adults
A total of 24 Common Loon chicks were successfully moved from New York and Maine to southeastern Massachusetts as part of BRI’s Massachusetts loon translocation project conducted from 2015-2017 --
- 15 were reared in aquatic enclosures before being released onto Pocksha, Assawompset, or Little Quittacas Ponds (APC).
- 9 older chicks were directly released after being transported.
In 2017, an immature loon chick translocated the previous year was re-confirmed on the APC, marking the first record of a loon chick returning to the release site after its release year.
As of spring 2020, nine adult loons returned to the lakes in Massachusetts to which they were translocated and captive-reared, and then from which they fledged. Their return marks a major milestone in the efforts to translocate Common Loons.
Translocation involves multiple teams conducting source population surveys, capture and transport, and the difficult task of safely rearing the chicks, with numerous steps and processes in between.
This is a long-term study and needs careful thought and planning throughout the process. The most important factor is the health of the wildlife.