BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 25, 2023
When a loon check recently became stranded below a dam in Pushaw Lake in Hudson recently, a committed group of locals — all staunch conservationists — jumped into action to save it. Lou and Dorli Cloutier live at the lake during the summer. On July 17, they they came upon an adult loon frantically calling. Friends Dianne Kopec and Mike Beliveau, who live near the outlet and have a canoe, put in below the dam and attempted to capture the loon chick using a net, but initially they were unsuccessful. They finally coaxed it into the net, made their way back toward the lake, then paddled their canoe toward the two adult loons. The chick started making sounds. They let it go and within a few minutes it had reunited with the adults. High water conditions at the lake during the early summer may have flooded many loon nests, reducing this year’s breeding success. That makes the group’s recent efforts to save the loon chick even more important.