[opening music] One thing about a Yellow-bill is that they're
definitely a majestic bird, large and once you've heard their calls why you'll never
forget it. [loons calling]
We know that there probably weren't very many of them to begin with
That they breed in a very restricted area pretty much north of 60 degrees latitude in
big lakes on the tundra. The type of habitat that they use the
other loons don't utilize. They nest in deep water lakes where the other loons that nest
in smaller ponds have to bring food in to the young while the Yellow-bills normally
are able to get enough food for their young out of the lake that they're nesting on.
Currently the Yellow-billed Loon is being considered for listing under the
Endangered Species Act because of its low global population size, its low reproductive
rate, and concerns about over-harvest. And that decision will be made in September
of this year, 2014. We've had a yellow-billed loon - at least
one pair - on our lake, on our property here every single year since the family has ever
lived here, since the mid-1950s. In our immediate area it really hasn't made a difference. They've
Some of the reasons that we are considering Yellow-billed Loons as a species
of concern are because they have a very small
small global population size - there's only 16,000 - 21,000 birds - and that's a very rough estimate
- worldwide. The analysis under the Endangered Species
Act takes all that into account What do we know about them in the past, what
do we know about them right now, what kind of threats or pressures do we think that species
is facing and what can we say and how much certainty
can we say it with about what's going to happen in the future.
We don't have a lot of information about the birds when they're off the breeding
grounds. So when there are birds that are failed nesters, or too young to compete for
ideal nest sites, we don't know very much about them. So if there was something like
an oil spill, or some catastrophic event that happened, we wouldn't have a lot of information
about how those birds would respond or be affected.
And so my role is to examine that. We do that by taking samples, and looking at those
samples for the contaminants or chemicals of concern that are in them. They are toxic,
they can cause damage, particularly to developing young, like bird embryos.
In terms of effects on the local people, we will have to be really proactive
working with folks who are subsistence users or recreational users who are in the area
about the additional protections and considerations that we need to give the birds.
The climate is changing and we've got some critters that we might not see anymore if the climate continues
to change. They're definitely a species of concern and probably will continue to be a
species of concern. Those big arctic lakes on top of permafrost that they nest on and
the whole tundra might be changing. We know that they're not very common now,
we know that they probably were never very common. In the future - we kind of don't know
what's going to happen. [closing music]