BANGOR DAILY NEWS • August 7, 2021
I live on a lake. Therefore, I have summer guests. They love the water. They love the scenery. They love the loons calling at night. All night. Geesh, sometimes the loons won’t shut up. I know I should be grateful. A lot of tourists long for this experience. In fact, Mainers should be universally proud of their loons. The population has nearly doubled over the southern half of the state. Half of Maine’s loon population had disappeared. It didn’t take long to identify mercury and acid rain as the chief culprits. Additional threats: Lakeshore development reduces nesting habitat. Harassment by watercraft disrupts breeding. Boat wakes from speeding watercraft swamp nests. Many adult loons are poisoned by ingesting lead sinkers. Bald eagle predation. Maine is doing its part to restore the species, so I guess I’ll have to live with occasionally interrupted sleep. ~ Bob Duchesne