Usually laying only two eggs per year, average nesting success is less than one chick per pair per year. There are probably less than 400 pairs breeding in the state of Michigan. Each chick is precious, and the loss of even a single chick threatens the species survival as a whole. The numbers of threats to the loon are many and increasing. During the past several years there been increasing numbers of reports of loons abandoning their nests, being frightened from lakes, or even being injured or killed by encounters with personal watercraft or high-speed boats.
Personal watercraft can easily enter the shallow coves that are favored by nesting loons.
The terrified loons may abandon the nest and never be seen again following a single, brief encounter. More than a 6-inch wake can in minutes swamp the nest and result in loss of the eggs. The timid loons don t easily tolerate close disturbances from curious onlookers in boats and canoes, and a Loon frightened from its nest exposes the eggs to predators that constantly watch for opportunity, or exposes the eggs to the baking hot sun. With a little understanding and care from humans, loons and people can share the lakes. Loons have lived on these lakes for thousands of years.