Learning More About Our Loons

 
How To Identify A Loon With A Leg Band vs Fishing Lure And What To Do
 
By Julie Meloy, TSLPOA Loon Watch Coordinator
Sept. 2026
 
Photo By Linda Grenzer
 
Walter Piper is a professor at Chapman University in California. He has been researching and banding loons in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota since 1993, including the two pair of returning loons that have been nesting on Two Sisters Lake. 
 
I have found that it is easy to mistake a leg band for a fishing lure or something else and want pass on what I’ve learned.  
 
The picture below shows all the different colored leg bands that researchers use.  Many fishing lures are made of these same bright colors. 
 
 
 
 
A loon’s legs are placed far towards its rear, unlike other water fowl. That means their legs and their leg bands are much easier to see while they’re swimming or diving.
 
 
  
 
In addition, it’s not unusual for a loon to hold its leg completely out of the water, twirl it around like a baton, or have it tucked next to its side, sometimes for hours and even days.  Sometimes a loon will roll on its side, exposing its leg(s) and underside. 
 
 
 
 
 
The two pair of loons that have been returning to nest on our lake have all been banded.  Each loon has two bands on each leg, which makes a total of 16 different bands.
 
Below is a list of the colored leg bands on the two returning pair of loons on TSL provided by Walter Piper of the Loon Project. It is not my intent that you memorize the bands on each loon, but only to illustrate how many different colors are on their legs. Of course, all these bands mean something to researchers which is beyond the scope of this article. 
 
 
East Lake Pair/Tamarack Bay                          West Lake Pair/Eagle Bay
                       
Male:                                                                  Male:                                                                  
Right Leg:                                                             Right Leg:
  Blue & white stripe/upper                                       Silver/upper
  Gold & red stripe/lower                                           Green/lower
 
Left Leg:                                                                Left Leg:
 Orange/upper                                                         Red/upper
 Silver/lower                                                            Copper & cream stripe/lower
 
Female:                                                                 Female: 
Right Leg:                                                              Right leg:
 Silver/upper                                                           Silver/upper
 Green/lower                                                           Gold & red stripe/lower
 
Left Leg:                                                                Left Leg:
 Copper & cream stripe/upper                                   Blue/upper
 Green/lower                                                           Blue/lower
 
 
 
Below are photos of the male loon from Eagle Bay that I took in June, 2026. In the zoomed in photo, you can see the solid red band on its upper left leg and the copper and cream striped band below it. This corresponds to the banding done by Walter Piper of the Loon Project.  
 
 
From a distance, however, it looks like something is stuck to its side. The leg itself is not really visible.
   
 
 
Bobbers and Lures
 
There have been legitimate cases of loons getting hooked by a lure or entangled in fishing line, etc. This can happen to any loon, banded or not. This would definitely necessitate a rescue. The picture below is of the loon that was rescued on Two Sisters Lake in 2021 that had a lure hooked to its leg. It was successfully rescued, rehabilitated, and returned to the lake. 
 
 
 Photo By Linda Grenzer
 
What to Do/Who to Contact if You See a Loon in Distress
 
I have spoken with Linda Grenzer who does loon rescues throughout the state. She is an expert on any and all things loon related. Loons are very difficult to capture and it’s very stressful to the loon. So, it’s important to first determine if a rescue is necessary.
Below are the steps we want to take on Two Sisters to ensure we’re not stressing the loons and we’re using the limited loon rescue resources wisely:
          1.  Take pictures/videos of the loon and their behavior. Are they hooked or entangled? Could it be a leg band? Are they  able to dive? 
          2.  If it’s not an immediate emergency, contact Julie Meloy (414-520-2626, julie@meloy.net) I can help determine if a rescue is needed.
          3.  If it’s a clear emergency, in addition to item #1, Linda Grenzer @ Loon Rescue Inc. suggests the following before contacting her: Also, please contact me so that I’m aware of the situation.  
 
“Pictures are very important. If a caller feels it’s a true emergency, we ask them to very slowly approach; like 5’ as that is how close we need to be to net this bird.
If truly hooked and entangled, we need a picture and video when the caller is  approaching to determine how well the loon dives or not dives. That would help
us determine if we can rescue during the day or need to attempt night capture.”
 
Want to Learn More, Do More to Protect Loons?
 
In addition, I encourage you to visit the Loon Project website, www.loonproject.org,  It has a wealth of information. Recent research has shown that territorial pairs are surviving at a high rate, which is good news, but that the survival of young adults has plummeted by 60 % in the past 25 years.  This means as the older loons gradually disappear, there will not be enough younger loons to replace them. The following is a quote from the Loon Project  website: 
 
“The northern Wisconsin loon population is already producing far fewer young adults than necessary to replace breeders that do not return from the wintering grounds. In the next decade or sooner, we expect to see breeding pairs disappear from one and then another breeding lake in the state, owing to this dwindling of young replacements.”
 
Research is ongoing. Donations are much appreciated. We as lake property owners need to be vigilant in protecting our loons! 
 
Julie Meloy
julie@meloy.net
414-520-2626
 
Linda Grenzer
Loon Rescue, Inc.
715-966-5415