Loon Rescue on White Lake: It Takes a Village
On February 20, 2025, ACLC staff and volunteers were notified of a grounded loon in White Lake in Oneida County. While this loon was spotted on the ice, it was not an iced-in loon, but rather a grounded loon that happened to come down on the frozen landscape. Initial thoughts are that this loon had been blown off course by a storm while on its way to somewhere else.
Loons can’t walk or take off from land. This is why a grounded loon is always a loon in distress. Once this loon came down on the ice, it was trapped: unable to take off again and unable to get through the ice to the water below, where it could regulate its body temperature and feed.
First spotted by snowmobilers on February 19, the loon spent a full night on the ice before ACLC rescue volunteers Don Andrew and Kurt Gardner were able to arrive on February 20. As they walked out onto the ice and approached the loon, the loon tried to run across the ice to take flight. It never made it far above the ice, however, and ended up circling back and landing close to where it had originally been spotted. By this time, the loon was exhausted from its ordeal, and Don and Kurt were able to walk right up to it and place the net over it to keep it in one place. They covered the loon’s head to minimize stress and gently placed the loon in a crate. Don and Kurt’s total time on the ice: 20 minutes. You can see them load the loon up for transport in the video above.
A close-up view of the rescued loons plumage and coloring. Photo by Dr. Nina Schoch 2025
From there, the loon went on a journey: Don and Kurt drove the loon to Long Lake, where ACLC research biologist Griffin Archambault picked it up. He drove the loon back to Saranac Lake where Dr. Nina Schoch, ACLC Director of Science and Conservation, administered fluids and stabilized it so that Griffin could then drive the loon to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) in Quechee, VT. At VINS, Griffin handed the loon off to Grae O’Toole, Director of the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation & Ambassador Care, who gave the bird a brief exam and settled it in for a night at the rehab facility.
The next day, the loon received a full physical exam, including x-rays. Dr. Mark Pokras, an expert in loon rehabilitation, diagnostics and pathology, was consulted and the loon was given a clean bill of health and deemed fit for release.
That same afternoon, Loon Preservation Committee (LPC) volunteer Sharon Grader picked up the loon and met Caroline Hughes, LPC’s Biologist and Outreach Coordinator, and LPC volunteer Sydney Pine in the town of Rye, on the coast of New Hampshire, where the loon was banded and released it with enough daylight left to get accustomed to its new surroundings and find a well-earned meal.
Loon Preservation Committee (LPC) volunteer Sydney Pine examines the rescued loon’s legs and new bands. If this bird is spotted again, researchers will be able to identify it. Photo courtesy of LPC 2025.
Loon Preservation Committee (LPC) volunteer Sharon Grader holds the rescued loon before it is successfully released. Photo courtesy of LPC 2025.
For this grounded loon, it took a whole village to get it to safety. ACLC thanks all of the individuals who made phone calls, sent text messages, drove long miles, volunteered their time and stayed after work late to help this loon. Many thanks to our partners at Vermont Institute of Natural Science and Loon Preservation Committee in NH.
If you spot a loon in a spot it doesn’t belong - on land, or on the ice - call the ACLC office at 518-354-8636 or email rescue@adkloon.org to report the loon in distress. Please be prepared to share the loon’s location and any observations you can make about the situation. Photographs or videos are also helpful for assessing the situation.