Official Volunteer Researcher!

This weekend I had the opportunity to take part in the 15th annual Loon Watch at Kejimkujik National Park. Each year, in June and September, volunteers gather for an afternoon to paddle the lakes of Keji and count the pairs of loons they find, along with any young.

This year my Dad and I drove an hour into the backcountry of the park and paddled on Pebbleloggitch and Beaverskin lakes looking for loons. As expected, we saw none on Pebbleloggitch but once we got to Beaverskin, we hit the jackpot! I snuck down the portage with the binoculars and spotted an adult loon with a large juvenile! We sat and watched them for a while while we ate our lunch, and they put their heads down and had a nap! After a while the adult awoke and called, and suddenly there was a second adult! It must have been around the corner, fishing.

After lunch we climbed into the canoe and tried to get a bit closer to the birds for a better look. Immediately, the adult called to the baby and it scooted closer. The other adult went off to the other side of us, calling and trying to lure us away from its young. We promised we wouldn't get too close, took some pictures and left them alone to go explore the other end of the lake. By the time we returned, they had disappeared, melting into the background at the edge of the lake.

It was a great day, with beautiful skies, calm lakes, and a nice dose of fauna (in addition to the loons, we saw a hawk, a bald eagle, two ducks, several frogs, and a deer!). It's a pretty neat feeling to help out with some of the great research that goes on at the park. (And I got a cool hat that denotes me as an official volunteer researcher!)