ML190378501
Contributor
Date
Location
- Age
- Not specified
- Sex
- Not specified
Observation details
Spotted in a canola field, maybe 15 meters to the west of a completely ice-covered gravel grid road. First thought was a cormorant, due to it's dark body, slender neck and up-tilted head. However, lack of any colour in the lores made us think loon. It's bill was smaller and daintier than a COLO, it's back very dark, and it had a faint black chin strap. Pacific Loon? We are very familiar with PALO in breeding plumage, but not so much in winter plumage. We snapped a few quick ID photos then drove off because the bird started to move off through the canola stubble and we didn't want to disturb it unnecessarily. Given where it was, we thought it might be injured. We volunteer for a wildlife rescue organization in Saskatchewan, and knew this species couldn't take off from land, so decided to attempt a rescue. If we didn't, it would freeze and certainly be coyote bait after the ravens harassed and picked at it. We drove to Smeaton to get a box from a very kind lady at the Co-op there and returned to the field where we had seen it. Once we tried to capture it, we were surprised at how quickly the loon was able to run and how vigorously it was able to flap its wings -- all good signs that it was just grounded, not injured, but stressful for all of us. Warren was able to catch up, toss a light blanket over it, and carefully put it in the box. Next stop was Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Saskatoon, two hours away. Jan Shadick gave it a careful physical assessment and, after a few circuits around her tub to give the bird an opportunity to rehydrate, was able to determine it's waterproofing was intact. Jan felt it was uninjured and fit for release. The bird was statistically under-weight, but on physical exam in decent shape. Next decision was where to release it. Saskatoon has open water in the river all year, but not a large population of diving ducks. After some consideration, Jan agreed on Gardiner Dam, which has a greater variety of over-wintering species, and guaranteed open water all year. Her husband, Stan Shadick joined us for the trip to Gardiner Dam where the bird was released near the tail race. It was observed on and off over the next 20 minutes, while we birded other areas of the dam. It was drifting downstream, swimming and diving, very actively. There had been snow overnight near Smeaton and the grid roads were thick, and shiny ice-covered. Our theories are that a) the bird simply ran out of gas in bad weather and landed in a bad spot; b) the bird saw the glazed ice on the roadbed and thought it was open water, then maybe managed to stumble over to the field or c) the visibility was bad enough in show flurries that it just landed when visibility ran out.
Technical information
- Dimensions
- 2466 pixels x 1646 pixels
- Original file size
- 2.9 MB