HOME IS WHERE THE NEST IS—NATURAL OR ARTIFICIAL

HOME IS WHERE THE NEST IS—NATURAL OR ARTIFICIAL

Nesting Platforms on the Manitowish River chain of lakes

By: David Foster

Photo by Dennis Dorow

If you’re a loon, finding a place to raise a family isn't easy.  It needs to be just right: a nice spot on a shoreline, not in a flood zone, safe from marauders, located in a quiet neighborhood.  The process usually entails coming back to the same lake and hoping to meet up with the same partner (loon pairs winter separately but tend to hook up again in the old neighborhood if they make it back).  Then the search begins-- looking at the choices, talking it over with your partner, and beating the competition to the right place. 

          This lifestyle has worked well for Wisconsin loons in the last twenty years. The estimated adult loon population is above 4000 in the 2010 statewide census, taken every five years by Project LoonWatch of Northland College.  However, while the adult loon number is up, the estimated number of chicks in 2010 is down from 2005, and it is not clear why.  Researchers think that since larger numbers of loons are competing for nesting sites, there is more loon-on-loon aggression, and many pairs settle for lower-quality nesting places—ones more subject to flooding, human disturbance, or predation by raccoons, mink, snapping turtles, and eagles.

After careful study of conditions on the Manitowish River chain of lakes, the Wisconsin DNR approved several lakes on the chain for artificial platforms.  As Heather Lumpkin, Research and Monitoring Coordinator of the North Lakeland Discovery Center, says, “This project will install, maintain, and monitor 8 new artificial loon nesting platforms on the Manitowish Chain,” in partnership with the DNR, USGS, and Project LoonWatch.  Mike Meyer, a DNR scientist with long experience studying loons in Wisconsin, provided years of loon research data crucial to selecting lakes for this project.  

The Loon Platform 

A loon housing project—aka an artificial nesting platform-- begins as a three-foot square Styrofoam pad with cedar frames, netting and “chick slides” giving young ones easier access.  Then the frame and other components are loaded into a pickup truck and ferried to the nest site.  The photos below show the nest being constructed on Alder Lake near Manitowish Waters. 

Adding Dirt to Platform 

Making the Platform More Natural

                                                                                                          

After packing soil into the bottom of the frame, vegetation is added—mostly leatherleaf and sphagnum moss, with white pine and small boggy shrubs added.  

Making a new home

  The Finished Platform Floating

Lengths of cord are stretched between the slim wooden poles at each corner to protect the nest from eagles, while the open water between the nest and the shore provide protection from raccoon's and other predators.

The final stage of the program is to monitor the nesting platform weekly to see if a loon nests on it, whether eggs are incubated and hatched, and whether chicks are raised successfully. The North Lakeland Discovery Center hopes to monitor the platforms for at least 5 years during the nesting season, with the help of volunteers.  It may take a few years for the loons to start using them.  Loon nesting productivity with platforms will be compared to baseline nesting productivity data collected by Mike Myers for loons on the chain.  If more loon chicks are hatched and fledged with the platforms, the project will be considered a success.  

[1] W.H. Piper et al. Biological Conservation 104 (2002) 199–203 201, p. 202.