Today's News
A/CPB
Common Loon Migration Update: May 15, 1997
Dr. F.G. Irwin
This is our final loon migration update of the season. You'll find 84 new loon sightings below. We've also included a summary of all loon sightings collected this season, so that you can conduct a year-end migration analysis. (See suggestions below for analyzing data.)
- Link to Today's Migration Data
We thank Terry Daulton of the Loon Watch Program for the incredible job she did coordinating migration data this spring. Terry's Loon Watch volunteer network is responsible for 99% of the Wisconsin sightings you'll find below. These data provide an excellent opportunity for you to analyze loon migration in one region. Therefore, you may want to do a focused analysis for Wisconsin.
Dr. F.G. Irwin
Loon Migration and Ice-Out
We know loons eat fish and can hardly walk on land, so open water is central to their lives. How soon do loons arrive after the ice melts from lakes and ponds in the spring? Here's an answer from New Hampshire, thanks to the New Hampshire Loon Preservation Committee. How do they do you think loons time their migration so closely?
| Ice Out | 1st Loon | Lake/Pond | Nearest Town |
| 04/22/97 | 04/22/97 | Lake Coniston | Croydon, NH |
| 04/22/97 | 04/23/97 | Lake Waukewan | Meredith, NH |
| 04/21/97 | 04/21/97 | Walker Pond | Boscawen, NH |
| 04/21/97 | 04/22/97 | Danbury | Danbury, NH |
| 04/20/97 | 04/23/97 | Pout Pond | Lyme, NH |
| 04/20/97 | 04/23/97 | Kezar Pond | Sutton, NH |
| 04/19/97 | 04/20/97 | Crystal Lake | Lebanon, NH |
| 04/16/97 | 04/21/97 | Lake Wentworth | Wolfeboro, NH |
| 04/15/97 | 04/21/97 | Highland Lake | Stoddard, NH |
| 04/10/97 | 04/11/97 | Gilmore Pond | Jaffrey, NH |
| 04/10/97 | 04/14/97 | Contoocook | Jaffrey, NH |
| 04/10/97 | 04/16/97 | Kanasataa | Moultonborough, NH |
| 04/07/97 | 04/07/97 | Glen Lake | Goffstown, NH |
| 04/07/97 | 04/13/97 | Swanzey Lake | Keene, NH |
| 04/06/97 | 04/06/97 | Massabesic | Manchester, NH |
Year-End Migration Analysis
Now that the season is drawing to a close, how would you summarize loon migration based on this year's data?
Here are some suggestions:
- Count the number of loon sightings reported during each time interval and record the number on the chart below.
- During which time interval were the most loons reported?
- How do you interpret this?
- Can you correlate these trends with any weather patterns?
- Consider how the data were collected. What factors might influence the number of loons reported?
- What other conclusions can you draw based on these data?
Next year, you will be able to use GIS mapping software with Journey North data. All our data will include latitude and longitude readings so you will be able to import the data sets into your software. (For those of us using wall maps, plotting lat/long data will be much easier than finding towns in an atlas!)
| Dates | # Loons Reported |
| 3/14-3/20 | |
| 3/21-3/27 | |
| 3/28-4/3 | |
| 4/4-4/10 | |
| 4/11-4/17 | |
| 4/18-4/24 | |
| 4/25-5/1 | |
| 5/2-5/8 |
This is the FINAL Loon Migration Update. See You Next Year!