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Loons trapped in ice rescued from Lake George

Ice fishermen Nick Weis and Mattie Riley found and carried two Common Loons from the ice on Lake George to safety then called wildlife professionals to help.
Nick Weis
/
Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation
Ice fishermen Nick Weis and Mattie Riley found and carried two Common Loons from the ice on Lake George to safety then called wildlife professionals to help.

Twice this week the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation rescued loons that had been iced-in on Lake George and released them on Lake Champlain.

Ice anglers found two loons on Saturday and protected them from an attacking eagle, while a third was discovered on Tuesday.

The fishermen were able to carry the birds to a safe location and called the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation.

The rescued loons had lost their “flight feathers,” an annual molt before migration that leaves them flightless for about a month.

As the climate in the Northeast warms, loon experts say the birds are getting trapped in ice more often.

The rescued loons were checked, banded and released on open waters of Lake Champlain.

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