Out West, Again
I’ll be wicked brief this month.
Sometimes field research is not physically arduous. It’s fun. And relaxing. A writer can absorb a lot of information necessary for future content, but not get injured or ill! Last month I detailed how my trip to Yellowstone to support the loon book left me with a case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. But this trip to Montana to also complement data for the loon book was a piece of cake. No long drives. No long hikes in tall grasses.
My first full day there found me on a Sunday morning at 3,500 feet above sea level in northwest Montana, driving a rented car up a steep and winding mountain road in the Town of Kalispell. I was headed to Ashley Lake, some two miles wide and four miles long. I’d seen many waterways in my day, but Ashley Lake is gorgeous, one of the most beautiful I’d ever visited. The water in its shallower areas resembled polished turquoise. It’s clear, as are most mountaintop lakes, with visibility to the benthic or sandy lake floor. Filled with rainbow trout, perch, and smallmouth bass, the lake boasts abundant food and undeveloped shorelines for loons.
This glorious patch of watery earth is where Common Loons nest for the summer. I’m here to help survey for them, a must-visit for my forthcoming book on the national movement to conserve these water birds, key indicators of ecosystem health. It ain’t rocket science by any means. But it’s necessary to paint a full picture of national loon work. One essentially tries to spot a loon on a body of water using the naked eye or binocular, mostly to determine if eggs have hatched. July is a key month for surveys since chicks break out of their eggs around the Fourth of July. They swim straightaway, so later in July is a perfect time to observe them.
Common Loons (Gavia immer) are waterbirds which nest on northern freshwater lakes, and winter in southern marine saltwater environments sticking close to shore, and on Lake Jocassee in South Carolina, a huge freshwater system in the state’s northwest corner. These birds are studied wherever they breed and winter, from Washington State to Maine and all northern states in between and up into Canada. Loons are critical indicators of ecosystem health. The research isn’t just for loons, it intersects with conservation medicine, that juncture between human and wildlife health.
My host for the Sunday survey—merely counting the number of loons we’d seen, their location, and making note of their behaviors and lake conditions—was Tony Dawson, a local businessman. Tony and his lovely wife, Lisa, own several adjoining properties on Ashley Lake—they live there full-time—and he’s a longtime member of the Montana Loon Society. We casually surveyed for a few hours on a crisp morning—Tony has formally surveyed the day before.
The next day, my guide and host for two other lake tours was Jess Swanson, a biologist with the USDA. Jess works out of the National Parks Ranger Station in Hungry Horse, Montana. Part of her job, like Tony’s volunteer work, is to survey Common Loons, and she agreed to let me tag along. Joining were Rachel Manley, a longtime volunteer, like Tony, with the Montana Loon Society, and Katie Kegley who works with Jess. We four ladies piled into Jess’ work truck for a short ride to Cedar Creek Reservoir and nearby Spoon Lake. Surveying is important, providing loon researchers with a physical perspective of how many loons are nesting where, if they’re in good health, and what general lake conditions are. The weather was raw—mists of rain with cool air to match—at both Cedar Creek and Spoon Lake. We snacked on cherries Jess had packed while we surveyed.
Unlike Yellowstone, with its large expanse that required intensive and arduous physicality, this Montana trip was a breeze! The common denominator was the good people I was with, committed to loons and collegiate relationships. I’m working on the Montana chapter now. I can’t wait to share it with you all once the book is finished.
My only regret on this trip was not to have tried any huckleberry ice cream, a local delicacy.
Best,
Theresa
