Each year, Bridge Lake is home to families of Gavia immer, the common loon. There is nothing quite as evocative of the spirit of the northern lakes as the call of the loon.

      Loon on nest

The survival of loons has always been tenuous. Typically only two eggs are laid in a nest that is vulnerable to natural predators (dogs, fox, mink, gulls, eagles ...) and wave action (storms, motor boats ...). Chicks that successfully hatch from the eggs often fall victim to predators or their own aggressive siblings. Loss of suitable shoreline habitat adds to the challenge for nesting pairs.

To help preserve the loon as a ‘seasonal resident’, the Friends of Bridge Lake have installed four loon nesting platform on Bridge Lake and one on Henley Lake. Click here to find out about this pilot project.

We are encouraging all users of our lakes to boat responsible and protect the shoreline. To learn how you can help to protect our loons see the following short information sheets:

• Loon Friendly Lakes
• Michigan Loon Preservation Association’s brochure.

The Canadian Lakes Loon Survey began in Ontario in 1981. The intent is to track trends in loon populations and learn more about human impact on those populations. Over 1000 volunteers across Canada contribute to the survey database by filing reports once a month over the summer indicating the number of loons on the lake, the number of breeding pairs and the number of successful hatchings and the number of surviving young.

Lac Des Roches has participated in the survey for over 12 years. For the first time there are five volunteers conducting the survey on Bridge Lake, Henley Lake and Muddy Lake. If you would like to take on this role on another lake in the area (Roe Lake, Sheridan Lake, Webb Lake ...) then let us know and we will help to get you started.

For the year 2009, we counted 15 loon pairs on Bridge Lake. Only half of the 14 chicks reported in early summer survived until migration in the fall, so we have an average of one successfully raised chick for every two loon pairs. Let’s see if 2010 will be any better.

Information about the survey can be obtained from Canadian Lakes Loon Survey.

To learn more about the common loon and its relatives the yellow-billed loon, arctic loon, pacific loon and red-throated loon see

• Hinterland Who's Who
• Common Loon Dictionary
• Loon Images and Sounds

Have you seen any chicks this year? Apparently, one loon pair initially had succeeded in raising two chicks in Paradise Bay this year, however the chicks haven’t been seen after the first week, so we have to assume that they are lost. Another nest was washed out, most likely by a speeding boater. Share your loon stories with us.

As far as loons go, we had a nesting pair with 2 eggs this season. We think it was the same pair that had one successful chick hatching last year and we watched Junior grow to a sub-adult. My neighbor had built a floating log nest, complete with branches sticking up last year after a fox had gotten into a nest on the shore.

      Man-made Loon platform

This year we had high hopes for 2 chicks and we even had a “Crack Out” party this past Friday afternoon. One chick was seen about half way out and the next thing they saw was the body floating in the lake. The next morning a similar happening in that the egg was being opened and then everything was gone. Very sad.

Just 4-5 days prior to the “crack out”, an intruder male loon entered the bay. The resident male and this new one got into a horrible fight and we are pretty sure the resident was either killed or driven away. Internet searches indicate that this is fairly common and that the resident male almost always gets killed. This has caused the girls to be mad at the intruder male.

Here is a picture of the man made loon nest.

(Ford Wilson, Bridge Lake, June 22, 2008)

I was kayaking around Long Island this week and saw my first baby loon of the year on Bridge Lake. It was at the East end of the lake near Gull Rock. It was probably too big to call it a baby – about half the size of the parent and with the grey / white colouring of the pre-adult. I am concerned that I haven’t seen more this year. There are usually 3 to 5 families producing chicks in the areas that I frequent.

(Shirley Rattray, Bridge Lake, August 15, 2008)