82 degrees F Clear Wind Calm
Sunrise 5:28 am CDT Sunset 9:05 pm CDT
15 hours 37 minutes of daylight
Summer in loon country has arrived with a vengeance!
High temperatures in the 90s. High humidity. High heat indexes.. But that seems to be the rule all across the country right now.
However the one thing that most of you are more interested in than temperatures is our little loon “Resurrection”.
As most of you know I have never been much on naming the loons since I can’t tell one adult from the other without seeing the bands. I don’t mind if anyone else names them but I have never been big on trying to name them and keep track of who is who.
But when on the spur of the moment, the name “Resurrection” came to mind because we thought we had lost him on Friday and then early Sunday morning he was back. Several people have told me they liked the name and thought it was appropriate.
At the end of this post is a picture of little “Resurrection” on the afternoon that I brought him in to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. The picture is from the WRC. (I hope that the picture comes through … I have been trying to figure out how to post the picture for some time and not sure if I have got it right yet. But hopefully you will be able to see it.)
The WRC said “This is why we have the phrase ‘Awww fer cute!’” And with that I agree.
Looking at the picture even now I cannot believe how great he looks compared to when I found him after midnight on that Sunday morning.
The most damage was to the right eye and the right wing and both legs after being trapped for over 30 hours. In this picture you cannot see either one. But the legs and the wing had improved markedly by the time I brought him in. And from what they told me, with treatment the eye seemed to be recovering well also. Encouraging news.
He is an amazing little fighter.
I think I mentioned to you that he was not looking good when I first found him. He could move both legs slightly by mostly they just ‘hung there’. But by Sunday morning that had already improved markedly.
I really was somewhat expecting to see that he had not made it through the night when I checked on him early Sunday morning. And he continued to improve until I was able to bring him in that afternoon.
I also received an email from the WRC a few days ago.
They said,
“Thank you so much for helping loons, what an amazing story. The loon is doing really well so far. At admit it did have a slight issue with one eye, possibly injured during the fall. At its vet check on a few days ago the eye issue was noted as resolved and no other issues were noted. According to volunteer notes the loon is devouring its minnows. The loon is on preventative medications to prevent aspergillosis which is a common in the environment and for loons to be affected by but can be accelerated when in captivity due to stress. The vets have not noted any other plan than raising the loon to releasable age. We have in some cases used other rehabilitation facilities or independent rehabilitators to help with these more sensitive species, but as of now they have not indicated sending the loon elsewhere.
Thank you for looking out for this little loon.”
Just GREAT news all around!
I will try to let you know if I get any other updates. I would like to get down there to see him but with the number of animals they have, that is understandably difficult to do at best.
They mention “aspergillosis”. That is a MAJOR concern for any loon in captivity.
It is caused by a fungus and loons under the stress of captivity are especially susceptible to it. So our little guy is not home free yet. Of adult loons that I have been involved with that have gone in for treatment, they usually do not try to keep them for more than 3 days or so if they can be released. Because even a healthy loon can succumb to aspergillosis very rapidly.
Loons are not meant for captivity at all and do not do well in captivity.
So hopefully we can successfully get out little guy to an age and size where he can be successfully released back into the wild. But that will probably still be another 8 to 10 weeks.
I want to talk to them about release plans when the time is appropriate. Hopefully we might even be able to release him here on the lake where he was born. But that all is a little way in the future yet.
Some of you have asked about donating to help offset some of the expenses and effort of doing the LoonCam. I have never asked for anything but your concern and help is always appreciated. You can email me at LarryBacklund@yahoo.com
And if you would like to donate to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center for their help with “Resurrection” you can go to their website at https://wrcmn.org/
Thank you for all your concern and help with caring for our wonderful and beautiful loons.
And especially an “Awwwwww fer cute” little loon chick!
Copyright 2019 Larry R Backlund
“Resurrection” “Awwww fer cute!!”