The Call of the Loon in Vermont
June 26, 2026
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On the first anniversary of my brother Matt’s death, my sisters and I traveled to Sherman Reservoir on the Vermont-Massachusetts border. After a year of grieving this sudden, tragic loss, we felt ready to return to the place he died.
Prior to Matt’s kayaking accident in August 2024, I had never heard of this two-mile long reservoir along the Deerfield River.
When we visited Sherman Reservoir last summer to pay our respects, I heard a loon call. I happened to be recording a video of the water when I captured audio of the loon’s tremolo call.
At the time, I thought maybe it was a sign from Matt. Sometimes I still do.
The call made me curious. Last September, I contacted the Vermont Center for EcoStudies to learn more about loons.
-Sherman Reservoir, where my brother died in 2024. I recorded a loon call that you can hear in my latest podcast episode.
Loons Make a Comeback
Listed as state endangered in 1987, the Common Loon was removed from the Vermont Endangered Species List in 2005.
The return of loons in Vermont is from a collaborative effort to address the threats loons faced, including flooded nests, lead poisoning from fishing tackle, and human disturbance.
This conservation success story was made possible by the dedication of experts and volunteers, public education, and the tenacity of the birds themselves. Even places like Sherman Reservoir, where loons would typically fly over to go elsewhere, are nesting there this season.
-Eloise Girard and Eric Hanson monitoring loons on Colchester Pond in May.
An episode recording at Colchester Pond
In May, I spent time on Colchester Pond with loon experts Eric Hanson and Eloise Girard.
Hanson, a longtime biologist with the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, remembers when he moved to Vermont the lack of loons.
“I’d spend half my time visiting lakes that didn’t have any loons back then. And it’s only 25 years ago, which was like, ‘Oh, man, why aren’t loons here?'”
Today, Vermont is home to about 400 loons, up from just a handful of nesting pairs in the late 1970s.
But success brings new challenges.
“We see an increase of breeding pairs, but at the same time, we’re starting to see a slight decline in chick survival rate,” says Girard. “There’s more predation, more bald eagles, and not that many high-quality territories left for breeding.”
In this podcast episode, we talk about loon behavior, loon calls, the challenges they face, and their return to Vermont.
Have you seen loons in Vermont this year? Let me know at [email protected]
-Main photo: A loon I spotted on Hosmer Pond in Craftsbury in June 2026.