You’ve heard that eerie and winsome call at dusk on an Alaska lake—the wail of a loon, checking for its mate. Then, you hear the response back. It can send chills down your spine. Once you’ve heard it, you never forget.
On the next Hometown Alaska, Alaska loon lovers who volunteer to track and monitor loons at local lakes will share their stories and passion for the birds.
With their help, and information from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, we’ll share where to view loons, and safe ways to see but not disturb the birds.
This idea came to us from a listener. Jean Tam is a passionate loon lover who has helped place an island at Connor’s Bog to support Pacific loons. She proposed the idea for the show, and we accepted! Jean will join us, along with Linda White, another loon watcher who who has volunteered to monitor lakes on JBER. She says she has seen loons on four of the 10 lakes she checks.
Are you a loon lover? Do you have stories about hearing their calls? Where were you? When did it happen? How did it make you feel?
If you are a volunteer loon monitor, tell us about your work. And before you leave, give a listen here to a Common loon here, from the Macaulay Library Website at Cornell University:
HOSTS:
GUESTS:
- Jean Tam, Conner’s Bog loon cam volunteer
- Linda White, JBER-area loon monitor volunteer
- Jeff Fair, independent wildlife biologist, author
LINKS:
- Wildlife viewing at Conner’s Bog, Alaska Department of Fish & Game website
- Citizen Science Loon and Grebe Watch, Alaska Department of Fish & Game
- Conner’s Bog loon cam, Anchorage Audubon Society website
- Alaska Loon Cam (2012 story and photos), Alaska Dispatch News
- Loon cam images, lots of ’em!
- Loon natural history, Center for Biological Diversity website
- Common Loon-cool facts (scroll down), Cornell Ornithology Lab
- Loon: Wildlife Notebook Series, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
- Pacific Loon, SE Alaska, wiki
- Loon calls (tremelo, wail, yodel, hoot) Cornell Ornithology Lab
- Bird TLC, website and contact information
- Lake Locations, Lakes observed by loon volunteers, 1985-2015, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
- Jeff Fair, bio, Biodiversity Research Institute
CONTACTS:
- Marian Snively, Alaska Department of Fish & Game
(907) 3267-2893
marian.snively@alaska.gov
PARTICIPATE:
Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752 (statewide) during the live broadcast (2:00 – 3:00pm)
- Send email to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast (e-mails may be read on air)
- Post your comment or question below (comments may be read on air)
LIVE BROADCAST: Wednesday, April 27, 2016, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. (Alaska time)
REPEAT BROADCAST: Wednesday, April 27, 2016, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. (Alaska time)
SUBSCRIBE: Get Hometown, Alaska updates automatically — via email, RSS or podcasts.
