Central Maine Loon Stuck in Lake Rescued by Monmouth Firefighters
Remembering this wonderful story from January, 2021
Firefighters from the Monmouth Fire Department were busy on Sunday afternoon as they worked hard to free an 'iced-in' loon from Tacoma Lake.
A loon had become virtually trapped in open water on the lake. This happens when a loon is in open water but there is ice all around that spot of open water. Loons become trapped because they don't have enough open water to get up to speed to fly over the icy portion of the lake, thus they become 'trapped' in the small portion of open water.
According to the Kennebec Journal, the loon had been trapped for quite some time. A volunteer for Avian Haven, Don Fournier, had been watching the bird for several days hoping it would be able to escape. When it couldn't, he solicited the help of local fire department.
The loon was just about a quarter mile out on the lake where the ice was about 5" thick. However, during the rescue, one of the Monmouth Firefighters fell through the ice and was in the water with the loon. Even with Lieutenant Luke Boucher in the water the bird still never dove down, allowing him to capture it in a net.
Fortunately it looks as though the loon is going to be okay.
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