2025 Lake Vermilion Loon Camera Live Stream

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Minnesota loons become “Snowbirds” in winter months, but it’s not always a relaxing getaway on the Gulf Coast
By Noel Sederstrom, VLA Volunteer

Soaking up the sun, diving in the waves of the Gulf off Florida—it’s a snowbird’s dream. The warm waters are a winter destination for a lot of us, and also, for thousands of our northern Minnesota loons.

“My first Florida loon!” said Steve Liffmann, a professional bird photographer from New Hampshire, posting January 5th on Facebook. He was vacationing in Sarasota when he spotted this young one hunting for food. “I was on the beach one morning when this bird was fishing for sardines right up against the shore.”

Liffmann is the Loon monitor for Arlington Pond in Salem, New Hampshire, and supports the efforts of the Loon Preservation Committee. He said he spotted 15 loons swimming in a flotilla out in ocean waters off New England in early March. New Hampshire’s loons just fly a little east to get away from the ice and snow. But Minnesota loons love flying south to Florida.

“I have seen them on Lido several times,” said Doreen Steinhauser. Lido Key is a barrier island just off Sarasota.

The whole Florida coastline is a birdwatcher’s paradise—on December 27 at Escribano Point Wildlife Management Area near Navarre, Maggie Paxson noted three loons among the 37 different bird species there that day.

Vacationers and residents all up and down Florida’s coast report having had closeup encounters with “our” loons. It’s not always a happy experience.

Stephen Slaton reached out to the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge near Navarre, not knowing if he should have tried to help two loons, struggling on the beach in front of his condo. Both of them died, and Slaton wondered “should I have put them in the ocean?”

The experts at Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge had this advice for Slaton, and it’s worth remembering for any of us encountering a loon in distress on Lake Vermilion in the summer months.

“Trying to determine whether or not an animal should be captured for rehab can sometimes be a very difficult thing. Of course if we see something with obvious injuries we know it needs help, but we do often hear from people about situations like this – where they saw a fine looking animal nearby one day and then soon after it had passed.

“We can’t always know what the best choice is, many loons come to our shores to rest when they are exhausted by stormy weather and strong currents, so it makes sense if they are suffering from other issues we might see them ashore as well. It is possible the ones you saw passed from something unseen like old age, toxicity, or fishing line and hook ingestion.

“However, with no way to possibly know it can be a TOUGH choice to make, because with loons being incredibly high stress animals, even healthier ones may pass away in captivity just due to the intensity of the situation.

“For this species, we do usually err more on the side of leaving them be unless you see something obvious. We likely would have just asked you to observe the animals for us if you had called, so please know you did nothing wrong by simply witnessing the situation and not interfering.”

They told Slaton even in a perfect scenario, wildlife rehabbers can’t always help birds and other animals the way they want to, and that’s what makes the field truly “difficult to navigate.” But many people don’t realize that—and they can’t seem to leave a loon in distress without trying to seek out an expert to help.

“We love the loons!” said Summer Hignite, the Development & Content Creator for Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge. “They are frequent patients here as their inability to walk on land often leads to them being ‘kidnapped’ and brought in for treatment.”

“With loons, their anatomy is very unique and adapted for a nearly fully aquatic lifestyle,” said Hignite. “Loons are more comfortable and agile in the water than on land, with their legs being positioned at the tail end of the body and sticking straight out, functioning almost like rudders on a boat. This means the loon can dive and swim at shocking speeds, but literally can’t take a full step on land! Instead, they must use their legs to push and scoot themselves across the sand. This can be quite exhausting for them and lead them to look in a very sorry state on land.”

“They need to be in the water before they can take flight, so this means that they may not fly away when approached like other wildlife,” she noted. “This is due to the unique density of their bodies compared to most birds, which makes it easier for them to dive after prey. So, there are a lot of reasons a normal loon can look like it needs help!”

Hignite suggests it’s always best to observe first and call a rehabber if possible before capturing a loon due to the high stress these birds experience in captivity.

Being new to the Gulf Coast can also be a nightmarish experience for a loon.  Hignite shared on a FaceTime call that loons sometimes mistake a dark highway near the refuge to be a body of water, and come gliding in for a water landing.  It results in a stranded loon with road “brush-burn” on its belly.

Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge (ECWR) has produced a video for its fans to help them understand why it’s so hard for loons to walk on the beach (they can’t) and why they need to be in the water most of the time.

Walter Piper, a professor who leads The Loon Project, harnessed data in 2023 from the Bird Banding Laboratory in Maryland. One of his graphics shows clearly that Minnesota’s loons choose to fly to Florida the most, but the Atlantic Ocean’s coastline has drawn some of them over the years.
This data is from loons banded in Minnesota.

The Loon Project’s teams of field researchers have been studying 105-110 loon pairs in Crow Wing and Cass Counties since 2021. They have a longer-term study that has been going on in northern Wisconsin since 1993.

“Most of these lines connect winter spots and breeding spots, and in most cases the winter spots came from recoveries of dead loons in Florida,” said Piper.

The loons who did have an enjoyable winter getaway “down South” are already on the move heading back to Lake Vermilion and other summer homes.

In late April or early May, those of us on the Vermilion Lake Association’s Live LoonCam team will power up our surveillance camera on a post in the water, along with our parabolic dish mic so we can also listen to the lake. The images will get out to the world thanks to our internet partner, Access Broadband of Virginia. Watch for it!

To see all of our archived LoonCam coverage from Summer, 2024 or earlier years just click on the links below—there you’ll find articles, photos and video clips about our loon pair’s determined effort to hatch new chicks on Lake Vermilion.

 

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2024 Lake Vermilion Loon Camera Live Stream – ARCHIVE

2023 Lake Vermilion Loon Camera Live Stream – ARCHIVE

2022 Lake Vermilion Loon Camera Live Stream – ARCHIVE

2021 Lake Vermilion Loon Camera Live Stream – ARCHIVE

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In March, 2021, the Vermilion Lake Association launched a team to design and build a live camera system that could stream a live view of a loon’s nest during the summer months to our website and to YouTube, also creating content for our Facebook friends.  Thanks to our members whose annual dues paid for the equipment, and to Access Broadband of Virginia, MN, for the WiFi service that makes this possible.  It’s our intent to keep the location of the live LoonCam unidentified to protect the privacy of the loon family and their human neighbors.

For more information on our loon population and loon stewardship, please visit https://www.vermilionlakeassociation.org/other-programs/loon-information/.