Summer/Fall 2013

 BRI’S ADIRONDACK CENTER FOR LOON CONSERVATION The Adirondack Tremolo 2013 Summer—Fall Newsletter – Volume 12, Issue 1
JOIN US FOR THE FIRST ADIRONDACK LOON CELEBRATION! IN THIS ISSUE: Adirondack Loon Celebration! About BRI and ACLC Fishing Line Recycling Loon Quilt Raffle and Tickets! Adirondack Life Article Geolocators 2012 Loon Census Science on the Fly! Loon Mercury Research Your Support Makes a Difference! Tremolo by E­mail Like us on Facebook! SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13, PAUL SMITH’S VIC, 9­5PM We are excited to partner with the Paul Smith’s VIC to present the 2013 Adirondack Loon Celebration! This unique event will be held on Sunday, October 13 (Columbus Day weekend) from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. We promise a fun‐filled “loony” day for both adults and children, complete with: Loon Quilt Raffle! Win this fabulous quilt, and keep the loon­
lover in your life warm this winter! Loon Calling Contest — let’s hear your best yodels, tremolos, and wails! Loon Field Trip— observe loon behavior first­hand at a local Adirondack lake— sign up by emailing [email protected] Merriloons the Clown, face painting, scavenger hunt, and more! Loon Presentation— providing an overview of natural history and BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation’s own loon research Rubber Loons! The Adirondack Interpretive Center’s humorous little loons will be on hand for purchase — these comical birds make a great gift!
Music generously provided by Jamie Savage, one of our exceptional Adirondack singer‐songwriters (www.jamiesavage.com)!
Delicious loon­
related food — YUM! A silent auction and reception The Celebration is FREE! Please join us & bring your friends! The extensive rain in June meant a lot of renests for Adirondack loons, but fortunately, many birds still successfully hatched chicks by early August. Although limited funding prevented us from sending out our newsletter earlier, we are continuing to work to secure long­term funding for our loon conservation efforts in the Adirondacks. Please join us in this endeavor by sending in your quilt raffle tickets and support form now! — We hope to see you on October 13th at the VIC! Dr. Nina Schoch, BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation LEARN MORE AT WWW.ADKLOON.ORG DOWNLOAD RAFFLE TICKETS AT WWW.BRILOON.ORG/ADKLOON Do you have an item for the silent auction? Want to reserve your spot in the field trip? Contact [email protected] or 888­749­5666 ext.145 HELP PROTECT LOONS! ABOUT BRI AND ITS ADIRONDACK CENTER FOR LOON CONSERVATION RECYCLE FISHING LINE AND LEAD TACKLE! Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) is a 501(c)3 non‐profit organization located in Gorham, Maine. Founded in 1998, BRI’s mission is to assess emerging threats to wildlife and ecosystems through collaborative research, and to use scientific findings to advance environmental awareness and inform decision makers. In 1998, as part of a larger regional study, BRI initiated research in New York’s Adirondack Park on the impact of airborne mercury pollution to Common Loons (Gavia immer) and aquatic ecosystems. Loons, Lead, and Line Don’t Mix! Fishing line entanglement and lead toxicity continue to be significant problems for our Adirondack loons. When a loon swallows a fish with fishing line still attached, it will fling the line around its head and bill in a futile attempt to get free, but only entangles itself even more. With time, the line will cut into the loon’s mouth, causing an infection, and the bird may be unable to eat because of the line wrapped around its mouth. Unless it is rescued, a loon that is tangled in BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon fishing line can suffer a prolonged and Conservation was launched in 2009, debilitating death. evolving from this research and the This summer, we again had many calls former Adirondack Cooperative about loons entangled in fishing line or otherwise needing rescue. While Loon Program. BRI’s Adirondack we’ve been able to rescue some of these birds, others were not so Center for Loon Conservation is dedicated to improving the overall fortunate, and have succumbed as a result of their predicament. health of the environment, To help increase awareness about this problem, and hopefully decrease the especially air and water quality, amount of abandoned fishing line and lead fishing tackle in Adirondack through collaborative research and lakes, we’ve initiated a fishing line recycling program throughout the Park. outreach focusing on the natural If you find abandoned fishing history of the common loon and Sponsor a fishing line line or fishing tackle, please conservation issues affecting loon recycle it in one of these recycling container at your populations and their aquatic lake, fish and game club, or habitats. Through the ACLC, BRI containers. provides greater regional, national, Want to sponsor a recycling fishing tackle shop! and global exposure for loon container on Contact [email protected] conservation, while increasing our your lake or or 888­749­5666 x 145 capacity in and around the in your town? Adirondacks. We provide fishing line recycling containers and our new “Loons, Lead, and Line Don’t Mix!” brochure free For more information: of charge to lake associations, fish and game clubs, BRI’s Adirondack Center for fishing tackle stores and other interested groups. Loon Conservation As an added incentive, we are offering an annual prize P.O. Box 195 Ray Brook, NY to the organization that recycles the most line each year! 12977 888­749­5666 x145 Find out more by signing up for your container! [email protected] We are very grateful to the Freed Foundation and the www.briloon.org/adkloon Blake Nuttall Fund for their generous support of this project. Biodiversity Research Institute 652 Main St. Please help prevent needless wildlife injuries and Gorham, ME 04038 888­749­5666 deaths by picking up and recycling abandoned www.briloon.org fishing line and tackle! KEEP YOUR LOON­LOVER WARM THIS WINTER! WIN A FABULOUS LOON QUILT! We are very pleased to announce our first
‐ever Loon Quilt Raffle! The beautiful hand‐made quilt depicts a pair of loons raising two chicks on an Adirondack lake. This unique queen‐sized quilt is based on a McKenna Ryan design, and created by Dr. Nina Schoch, Coordinator of BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation, and quilted by Susan Ochs of Saranac Lake. The proceeds from the loon quilt raffle will help support our loon research and outreach initiatives over the coming year. We hope the support it provides will enable us to continue to address numerous threats to Adirondack loons and the lakes and ponds where they live. ~ SEND IN YOUR RAFFLE TICKETS NOW! ~ AVAILABLE IN THIS NEWSLETTER, AND AT WWW.BRILOON.ORG/ADKLOON DRAWING ON OCTOBER 13, AT THE ADIRONDACK LOON CELEBRATION! Quilters! If you want to help with next year’s quilt raffle, please contact [email protected] or 888­749­5666 x 145 WHAT’S ON THAT BAND?
GEOLOCATORS AND LOON MIGRATION “Where do Adirondack loons spend the winter? “ That’s a question the staff at BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation gets asked regularly. A new technology, called geolocators , will help us learn more about Adirondack loon migratory paths and wintering areas. This year, we started attaching these little devices to the bands of Adirondack loons to record their movements throughout the year. In subsequent summers, we will recapture the same loons to retrieve the geolocators and learn where our loons have traveled when they leave the Park. This project was generously supported by a grant from the Freed Foundation and by donations from our private donors—Thank You! ~ 2012 NEW YORK ANNUAL LOON CENSUS RESULTS ~ The twelfth Annual New York Loon Census was held on Saturday, July 21, 2012. More than 570 observers sent in reports from 206 lakes, 189 (92%) of which were in the Adirondack Park. A total of 741 loons were observed on 158 (77%) of the Census lakes, including 626 (84%) adults, 92 (12%) chicks, and 23 (3%) immature loons. The graph to the right shows that the proportion of adult and young loons on the New York Census lakes continues to remain relatively constant over time, indicating that New York’s loon population has a stable rate of reproduction. The graph below shows the percentage of lakes where loons have been observed each year of the Census. In 2012, adult loons without chicks were observed on 85 (41%) of the 206 Census lakes; chicks or immatures were seen on 72 (35%) lakes; and no loons were observed on 48 (23%) of the Census lakes. Although the number of Census lakes has varied annually, an average of 74% of the lakes have had loons observed on them each summer. In recent years, there appears to be a positive trend in the percentage of lakes with loons and also lakes with juvenile loons (and a correspondingly decreasing trend in the percentage of lakes without loons). This data supports the anecdotal reports that the range of breeding loons in New York has expanded over the last few decades. The Annual Loon Census is coordinated by the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Program in collaboration with BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation. THANK YOU to ALL WHO PARTICIPATE in the NY ANNUAL LOON CENSUS! Your observations provide critical data for assessing trends in the summer loon population, which enables the Dept. of Environmental Conservation to better manage and address conservation concerns affecting New York’s Common Loons. Note: we are still receiving forms from the 2013 Annual Loon Census—Results will be posted on our websites and newsletters in the spring of 2014. LIKE TO WATCH LOONS?
Visit our websites to view the full 2012 Annual Loon Census results! JOIN US FOR THE
2014 ANNUAL LOON CENSUS!
Invite your friends to look for loons on a new Census lake! www.briloon.org/adkloon and www.wcsadirondacks.org SATURDAY, JULY 19, FROM 8-9A.M.
Visit www.wcsadirondacks.org and www.briloon.org/adkloon to learn how to sign up for a lake. TEACHERS! BRING SCIENCE ON THE FLY! TO YOUR CLASS! Science on the Fly! is an excellent interactive way to introduce your middle and high school students to the process of conducting scientific research and environmental conservation. This innovative curriculum employs our loon migration studies to teach middle‐school students about scientific inquiry. Our loon mercury research is used as an example to educate older students about the ecological impacts of environmental pollution. A variety of classroom activities engage the students, leading to them becoming directly involved in conservation in their own community by developing and implementing an environmental service learning project. LOON MERCURY RESEARCH UPDATE Our Adirondack loon mercury research was initiated in 1998, and is now one of the longer‐term studies in the Northeast monitoring the effect of mercury pollution to wildlife and their habitats. The Science on the Fly! Teacher’s Manual gives an overview of the full curriculum, including information on reference materials and learning standards, as well as supplemental resources. Science on the Fly! meets New York State Learning Standards and National Science Standards. The curriculum can be taught in sequence or integrated into existing scientific process modules. Learn more, and download the Science on the Fly! Teacher’s Manual at www.scienceonthefly.org! We are very honored to learn that the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will continue supporting our research over the next five years, as part of a state‐wide monitoring program to assess the impact of airborne pollutants to New York’s ecosystems. This funding will provide partial support for our loon sampling and banding efforts, as well as our seasonal field staff to monitor our study loons each summer to determine their reproductive success. Over the coming years, stringent national mercury emission regulations will take effect, in addition to the state and regional emission regulations that were recently implemented. The continuation of our loon mercury research will provide policy‐makers with evidence documenting the effectiveness of these regulations to wildlife, hopefully by showing that fewer Adirondack loons are impacted by elevated mercury levels. LOONSCAPE:
“A NIGHT WITH THE LOONCATCHERS”
ADIRONDACK LIFE ARTICLE
Elementary Teachers! We will soon be updating our former Loon Scientists Program to be web‐accessible, so stay tuned! This fun interactive curriculum is a great way to teach your younger students about wildlife, natural history, and conservation, through the unique and intriguing lives of Adirondack loons! We are honored to have an article highlighting our loon research in the September/October issue of Adirondack Life (www.adirondacklife.com)! We hope you enjoy reading about the interesting evening last fall when David Sommerstein and Nancie Battaglia joined us in the field. SEND IN YOUR LOON QUILT RAFFLE TICKETS! Tickets are $5 each or 6 for $25—Please make checks payable to BRI. Clip and send your tickets by October 10, 2013 to BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation, PO Box 195, Ray Brook, NY 12977. Need not be present to win. Good luck in the Raffle! BRI’S ACLC LOON QUILT RAFFLE TICKET
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YOUR SUPPORT MAKES A DIFFERENCE! THANK YOU! Many people and foundations kindly provide financial and volunteer support to Biodiversity Research Institute for our Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation. The generous support of our private donors is absolutely essential to our long‐term loon monitoring research and conservation efforts in the Adirondacks. Your thoughtful contributions really DO make a difference! We are MOST grateful to our donors who generously responded to our special appeal this summer to meet our goal of $35,000—we are pleased to announce that we are almost there! Please help us meet this goal to enable us to keep our limited and very dedicated staff through the year, and to purchase much needed supplies for our Adirondack loon conservation and research projects. Although we are unable to acknowledge each of you individually in this newsletter, please know that your considerate donations and time are most appreciated! Thank you again for all your interest and support!
Dr. Nina Schoch and Amy Sauer
YES! I WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT BRI’S ADIRONDACK CENTER FOR LOON CONSERVATION’S SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION PROJECTS! Enclosed is my donation of: $25 $50 $100 $500 $1000 Other: $__________ I have enclosed a check payable to Biodiversity Research Institute I would like to charge my donation to my credit card. I will visit www.briloon.org/adkloon/
support to charge my credit card online. I would like to make a contribution to the WCS Loon Conservation Fund at the Adirondack Community Trust to support both BRI’s and WCS’ loon conservation efforts in the Adirondacks. Enclosed is my check in the amount of $_________, payable to the “WCS Loon Conservation Fund at ACT” YES! I want to do MORE to help BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation! Please accept my additional gift of $ to help support the ACLC’s research and outreach work. I would like to be an ACLC Field Staff Sponsor! Enclosed is my additional gift of $ . Name: Street Address: Phone: City, State, Zip: E­Mail: PLEASE CLIP THIS FORM AND RETURN IT TO: BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation P.O. Box 195, Ray Brook, NY 12977 Your tax­deductible donation payable to Biodiversity Research Institute supports our Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation’s exciting and innovative research and education endeavors. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! E­MAIL THE TREMOLO! LIKE US ON FACEBOOK! BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation Do you receive a paper copy of The Adirondack Tremolo? is now on Facebook! If so... please help us go green, and send your e­mail address to [email protected] to get an electronic We’ll be updating our Facebook page with events and version instead. interesting facts about loons—so stay in touch and help us spread the word about our loon conservation efforts As an e‐mail subscriber, you will receive: in the Adirondacks! A color version of The Tremolo that can easily be shared with friends and family; Like us, and follow our activities through the year! Reminders about upcoming events and updates about our research; and Biodiversity’s periodic updates about our extensive wildlife conservation work and future events.
Note: Because of increasing costs and a limited budget, we will be reducing the number of printed copies we send out. If you would like to continue to receive a printed Tremolo, please confirm this by sending us a note, or calling 888­749­5666 x 145. Also, if you move, or change your e‐mail address, please remember to update us with your new address or email, so that you will continue to receive The Tremolo. Thank you for helping us save paper and expenses! BRI’S ADIRONDACK CENTER FOR LOON CONSERVATION P.O. Box 195 Ray Brook, NY 12977 NONPROFIT ORG.
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