Where Do Loon Nest Platforms Take a Vacation?

The Vermilion Lake Association’s two loon nest platforms will move to shore to rest up during the “off-season” after 4 months in the sun and waves. Both will get some additional mud and wetland plants and retire to a quiet garden to rest up for next year’s May-to-August deployment.

Neither platform was used to raise chicks in its first year. One got frequent attention by a pair of loons … but no cigar. The other was largely ignored.

But 2018 is another year. Both platforms will again be placed close to shore in areas with low boat traffic where natural nest locations seem inadequate. They will soon be surrounded by lily pads and emergent vegetation. Common loons generally build nests at the water’s edge, making those nests vulnerable to wave action and changes in water level.

Vermilion Lake Association volunteers have been counting common loons lake-wide for 35 years. In 2017, volunteers documented 202 loons during the annual mid-July count.