Restoring the Common Loon’s former breeding range.
There are five species of loon in the world: Yellow-billed, Arctic, Pacific, Red-throated, and Common. While not endangered, many Common Loon populations are on the decline.
THE PROBLEM
A population at risk from human disturbance.
The Common Loon is Wyoming’s rarest breeding bird species with only 20-25 known pairs in the state. Our research — alongside the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department — revealed the greatest factor in nest failure is human disturbance.
People visiting a lake just once can keep the loons off their nest for a few hours, causing nesting failure
THE SOLUTION
Closing lakes to the public during a critical period.
In 2018 we partnered with Caribou-Targhee National Forest to close off a lake to the public during the loon incubation period. This resulted in the first successful Common Loon nesting attempt there in 15 years. In 2019 we worked together to close access to five lakes during the breeding season. Four of the pairs bred successfully. The trend is encouraging, but work needs to continue to maintain populations at the southern edge of the species’ range.
Common Loon – All About Birds 
