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Bobby Weir

College English 12

Mr. Kirsten

28 October 2010

Loons Flying to an Oily Death

Thesis: Loons are a unique species to our area; paying to restore their habitat and get them back

on their wings, after the anticipated tragedy of the B.P. spill, is our obligation.

I. Introduction

A. Loons

B. B.P. Spill

C. Controversy

1. Loons not necessary

2. Different Place

D. Opinion

1. Responsibility

2. Voting

3. Wildlife friendly

E. Thesis

II. Background Information

A. Common Loons

1. Importance to People

2. Without Loons

3. Physical Description

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4. Environment

a) Food

b) Habitat

5. Life Cycle

a) Adolescents

b) Adults

c) Mating

d) Nesting Environment

6. Tracking

7. Migration-why is problem

B. B.P. Spill

1. Location

2. Statistics

III. Spill Effect

A. Dispersants

a) What are dispersants

b) Made of what

c) Problem with Dispersants

i. Effect on Loons

B. Contaminated Food Supply

C. Oil Saturation

1. Crude Oil

2. Drowning

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D. January No Fly Time

1. Molting

2. Starvation

C. Other Aquatic Species Affected

1. Crane

2. Seagull

IV. Alaska Spill

A. Compare

B. Contrast

1. 17 times…

C. Instant Effect

D. Long Term-Now

V. Anti-Environmentalists

A. Their Thought Process

B. Rebuttal

C. Proof

VI. Conclusion

A. Importance

B. Effect

C. What we can do to help

1. Voting

2. Care

3. Money

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Bobby Weir

College English 12

Mr. Kirsten

28 October 2010

Loons Flying to an Oily Death

Since April 20, 2010 two-hundred million gallons of oil have spilled into the Gulf

of Mexico (Weflen par 3). All this is the result of the British Petroleum’s deep sea oil

well head that sprung a leak and pumped crude oil into the Gulf. This oil is destroying

the habitats and lives of our matchless local loon population. “Loons are considered one

of the most primitive birds on earth. They have not changed from their current state for

the last one million years” (Sigurd, “About Loons” par 13). This priceless age old

population is already on the endangered species list and considered threatened in the

United States (Massachusetts par 4), to let this species die out now, after a million years

of existence would be a travesty. This is because common Loons migrate down to the

coast for the winter season. “Awaiting them are waters made deadly by the worst oil spill

in the nation’s history” said Seely. The loons are unable to identify that the oil is a

danger, and will continue to do just as they have done for the centuries and be killed as a

result of it. There are those who think that the loons and other wildlife are unimportant,

but without them our area would be a largely different place. We need to put the

resources we have to use, like our power of voting, to save the loons and keep our home a

wildlife-friendly place. Loons are a unique species to our area; paying to restore their

habitat by halting offshore drilling and get them back on their wings, after the anticipated

tragedy of the B.P. spill, is our obligation.

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The loon’s name comes from a Norwegian word meaning “wild, sad cry”

(“Minnesota State Bird” par 6). Loons communicate through these sad calls; with one for

aggression, one for filial contact, one for defending property, and a wailing cry for

greetings. This wailing cry allegedly brings peace, tranquility, and the reawakening of

old hopes, wishes, and dreams in Native American stories ("Native History" par 12).

Stacy Craig, the former LoonWatch coordinator said that in addition to being a peace

bearer “Loons . . . contribute to the fishery: they are taking the small, the weak, and the

plentiful fish which allows fewer fish to grow bigger faster. What that means is that there

are more resources for the fish that are there, and it allows the whole fishery to grow and

have natural selection.” Along with increasing the profit from our fisheries they provide

people with a connection to nature, “People have a real relationship with the north, they

have a relating ship with the lakes and watching loons is therapeutic. . . . Without the

loon there will be something missing and to a lot of people that will be depressing”

(Craig 6). The loons are an emblem of the north and their survival rests in our hands.

These water birds have a “thick neck and a long, black bill,” with a banded

neckline, their eyes are red and their legs are towards their rear end, making their gait on

land awkward (“Common Loon”). Their summer plumage contains black spots whereas

their winter plumage is gray, white, and spotless. During the summer months loons eat

freshwater “fish, frogs, leeches, crayfish, mollusks, salamanders, and insects” and in the

winter they eat similar things only they are saltwater creatures (“Common Loon” par 6).

The breeding season takes place in the spring with nest building beginning the day the ice

leaves the lakes. This is made possible by “reconnaissance missions” (Craig) to check if

the water is clear of ice as the loons fly from lake to lake on their 1000 mile migration

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north. Nests are composed of reeds and grasses near the water’s edge. Typically in May

two eggs are laid, usually on the same lake the parents were born on (Sigurd “Loon

Ecology” par 13), and the eggs hatch in June. Adult loons have little need for caution as

they have very few predators, though they protect their vulnerable offspring from

snapping turtles and muskies by carrying them on their backs. About three fourths of the

loons spend their winters in the Atlantic Ocean and the other fourth in the Pacific. At the

beginning of autumn, mature adult loons begin making their annual migration. “Chicks

stay on the nesting lakes, feeding and taking their first test flights, until nearly ice-over”

(Sigurd “Loon Ecology” par 7). Adults leave their chicks behind to find their own way to

the Gulf where they “typically do not return to their breeding ground (in the Great Lakes

region) until their third summer” (Sigurd “Loon Identification” par 8). This is cause for

extreme concern because a large percentage of the population, the developing adolescent

loons, spent the whole year, including the months of the oil spill, at the Gulf receiving a

larger dose of oil than the adults migrating in autumn. Those few extra months will

potentially cause more extreme long term effects.

In a ploy to understand more about the loons “researchers surgically inserted tiny

satellite transmitters into the abdomens of 10 loons from Minnesota and Northern

Wisconsin this summer and 80 loons will be equipped with geolocator tags so they can

follow the birds migratory routes and feeding patters and learn whether the loons

survived the oil-fouled Gulf of Mexico” said Cadotte. This has only been done a few

times before, but is especially important this year as we are in the wake of catastrophe,

and we are the only ones that can help this precious species. In addition to helping the

loons, studying them will provide insight on what other species are going through.

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Cadotte quotes Craig in saying, “They’re so sensitive to the environment that they serve

as an excellent indicator of environmental health.”

The B.P. spill was a consequence of the oil platform, Deepwater Horizon, which

exploded. The ship was attached to a wellhead thousands of feet below sea level with faulty

blowout preventers. These switches shut down the system in a leak, but when they failed to do so

the well became further uncapped, gushing out more oil by the minute (Mcquaid 7). In June of

2010 just two months after the spill the estimated leakage was 127,000 barrels (Gerstein par 3). It

is now estimated at 4,761,905 barrels. That’s about the size of 3822 high school gymnasiums

filled to the brim with oil that has been released from the spill (Gerstein par 3). Even more

depressing is that these millions of gallons of oil, with all of their destructive power, would only

be enough to power the U.S. Economy for little more than six days (Obama 8). This mistake, be

it by B.P. or by somebody else, has and will have a horrific impact on our loon population and

the world that surrounds them.

All these numbers confirm the tragedy of the oil spill, but how are these numbers going

to affect our loons? Even the air is polluted by intentionally burned surface oil in attempt to

reduce the amount of oil on the ocean (Gulf Oil Spill par 5). This polluted air is going to be

breathed in by human and bird alike, latently to cause disease in both. The oil filled “polluted

water can become trapped in thermal layers and transported by undersea currents” said Powers,

“to impact large areas of the ocean”. These oil deposits may stay there for decades or more,

slowly releasing small amounts and continuing to let its toxicity kill marine life (“Effects of Oil

Spills” par 7). Some of it will make its way to shore in thick crude oil blankets to clog up

beaches with tar balls.

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To lessen the damage of the oil spill dispersants are being released, endangering

the loons further. “The nearly 2 million gallons of chemical dispersants used to fight the

spill have kept some oil from contaminating shores, but have also created potentially

drastic problems by breaking up the oil into droplets that may never be recovered” (“Oil

Spill” par 7). In addition to the impossibility of recovering the beads, wildlife, especially

fish, consume the oil and become poisoned. “We mostly worry about food chain

dynamics,” said Wilson, a volunteer of Michigan’s Loon Watch program. “The birds eat

fish; the big concern is some kind of poisoning” (qtd. in Seeley). Oil droplets have

already been found in “crab larvae harvested in the Gulf” (“Oil Spill” par 8). This means

that food contamination has already begun and is on its way to hurting the loons. “Oil

ingestion has been shown to cause suppression to the immune system, organ damage,

skin irritation, ulceration, and behavioral changes. . . . Oil also affects animals in

non-lethal ways such as impairing reproduction” (“Effects of Oil Spills” par 6). The oil

that doesn’t break into droplets is still dangerous, “physical contact with oil destroys the

insulation value of feathers, causing birds to die of hypothermia. . . . Heavily oiled birds

can lose their ability to fly and their buoyancy, causing drowning” (Effects of Oil Spills).

For a large portion of their winter migration period the loons are molting all of their

feathers at once, making them unable to fly. Loons molt because their feathers need to be

waterproof and strong for their migration and they become weakened after extended use.

Without every single one of their feathers they cannot fly, as they have a minimal

amount. They molt all at once to diminish their ground time. (“Common Loon”) They

normally place themselves in an area just off shore so that their food sources are plentiful.

The oil spill is killing off some of those plentiful food sources leaving the loons in a place

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with no wings to move and no food to eat. A loon needs 300 lbs. of fish per season to

survive, and without that, in addition to ingesting immune system suppressing oil, the

loons have a slim chance of survival (Craig). If the loons survive their molting period

without starving or contracting hypothermia and drowning to their death, because of oil

contamination of the water, they have another hoop to fly through. When not on the water

the loons nest in the shoreline grasses that are now contaminated by oil (United States

“Loons”). The more they have contact with oil the higher the likelihood that they will die.

This spill “could end 25 years of population growth,” said Craig (qtd. in Cadotte).

It’s not only the loons that are going to suffer; all aquatic species in the Gulf are going to

be battling for their survival. Species like the Laughing Gull who make their home year round

on the Gulf are going to have drastic decreases in population for years to come. In the past three

months about 3000 of these gulls have been recovered with 2500 of them dead or dying (United

States "Bird" 2). This is an example that is repeated throughout the ecosystem. “We have never

had a spill of this magnitude in the deep ocean,” said oceanography professor Ian MacDonald in

a story in The New York Times. “These things reverberate through the ecosystem. It is an

ecological echo chamber, and I think we’ll be hearing the echoes of this, ecologically, for the rest

of my life” (qtd. in Weflen). This issue will not just go away when the oil can no longer be seen,

it will stay here continuing to affect our world.

The common loon and oil spills unfortunately have a recent history together, so

recent in fact that they are still recovering from it. In 1989, twenty-one years ago, a ship

called Exxon Valdez spilled oil all over Alaska’s Prince William Sound (“Oil Spill”).

Though a tremendous amount of oil was spilled and its effect is still being seen, it is

estimated that it was only “one 17th of that which has gushed from the Gulf of Mexico’s

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ruptured well” (“Oil Spill”). A stunning effect of the Exxon Valdez oil is that it can still

be seen today and in some places the toxicity level is the same now as it was the day after

the spill (Exxon Valley “Lingering”). Not only has the oil been found near the spill but

over 450 miles away as the oil spread with wind and water currents carrying it to where it

still lingers today (Exxon Valley “Lingering”). Though the B.P spill and the Exxon

Valdez spills are miles apart, their consequences will be very close in nature. Alaska

contains the largest loon population in the United States, with over 12,000 loons breeding

on its shores (Mcintyre, and Barr ). Fortunately only a little over 200 loon carcasses were

found from the spill (Riley-Daniels), though the larger picture effect can better be seen in

the population studies that were done in the years after the spill where a large decrease in

population resulted (Exxon Valley “Common”). If we were to equate the number of loons

that were found with the amount of oil that was spilled in Alaska we could hypothetically

calculate the number of loons that will die in the similar spill in the Gulf, that number

being 3,400 loons.

There are two sides to every argument. In this case only one side come to logical

conclusions and that is not the side of the Anti-Environmentalists. One of the anti-

environmentalist’s outrageous claims is that environmentalists planned the spill to

convince people that offshore drilling should be stopped. Gloudemn quotes Rush

Limbaugh, a traditionalist political commentator:

I want to get back to the timing of the blowing up, the explosion out there in the

Gulf of Mexico of this oil rig. . . . But this bill, the cap-and-trade bill, was

strongly criticized by hardcore environmentalist wackos because it supposedly

allowed more offshore drilling and nuclear plants, nuclear plant investment. . . .

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What better way to head off more oil drilling, nuclear plants, than by blowing up

a rig? I'm just noting the timing here. (Gloudman)

Limbaugh maintains that the environmentalists would cause tremendous, irreversible damage to

the ocean, the shore, the fisheries, the wildlife, and many other parts of the ecosystem all for the

sake of defeating the cap-and-trade bill. His words are provoked by the urge to be competitive, to

always be right, and the belief that that “environmentalists are evil and would stop at nothing to

further their unfounded cause” (Gloudemn). Another claim that has been made quotes Powers in

saying “the loss of a few loons in the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is insignificant

when compared to other losses.” One of the “other losses” being referred to is the oil that

escaped, in a sense making our oil dependency ( to fuel our cars and make plastic containers),

more important than the loss of a fellow species’ existence. What would people say if this was

happening near their homes, say on Lake Superior; if our fish population was killed off and the

touristic draw stopped, causing our economy to plummet? This is a possibility if we don’t use

this disaster as an example to change our laws and make restrictions on industries that could hurt

our environment.

"The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder

yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now" (Obama). Obama’s words hold

the plan for the future, one that we can all have a part in making happen. Craig’s is to

“use our power of voting to try to vote in representatives who will stand up to oil

companies and tax breaks and faulty well heads.” The constitution gives us the right to

choose our leaders, and if we choose the leaders who will help us to fight for the

environment and our wildlife, like the loons, “it would mean a much healthier population

for the duration of their (loons) lives” (Craig) and that we are filling our obligations as

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human beings; taking care of the planet we live on. “We should think about our own

dependency on oil and are there ways that we can minimize our needs, so that we are

only extracting from areas that are less ecologically sensitive,” says Craig. It’s a realistic

compromise, understanding that we need time to wean ourselves of our oil dependency,

in addition to changing ordinances to prevent catastrophes like the B.P. spill from

happening again, but we need to set our goal at ending all offshore drilling on the oceans

or near our own body of water, Lake Superior. Ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson says

that “they (the loons) can recover from disastrous population declines if people take

action to provide and restore a clean, healthy environment, including safe places to nest

and to winter, and provide protection from illegal killing” (United States “Loons”). There

is hope for our loon population, but only if we act with their futures in mind, looking

ahead to avoid restoration effort made now from becoming futile in the longer term.

Craig’s suggestion of “thinking about these things before they happen” is our “best bet.”

We have to think about the bigger picture and that “loons are only one of many species

that are being harmed by the oil spill , but they are a symbol of how the spill is not just a

disaster for the Gulf Coast states—it is a national and international disaster” (For Some

Minnesota). This is our issue too; the loons of Northern Wisconsin are in danger and

fighting for their very lives. Eradicating oil drilling is our duty and voting effectively

with the loons and our futures in mind is the only solution.

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