Loon died, climate change

I just called and the loon we took in to the rehab center died overnight the night we took it in. The body is in their freezer awaiting shipment to Tufts University for necropsy. Toxicology reports, et al, take time-I was told to call another number in November to find the cause of death.

Lead fishing gear has killed many loons-once the sinkers are in the gizzard, lead is absorbed causing neurological damage that is untreatable. X-ray evidence, physical evidence such as gizzard content, and levels of lead in the tissues (blood may still be obtained after death in some cases) can lead to a conclusion of lead poisoning, aspergillis will be confirmed or denied, feather condition such as waterproofing will be assessed, etc, etc.

So, although we are all very sad that the loon died, our act of turning it in to the right people might help save the lives of loons in the future.

On a brighter note, but also sad, I heard a loon calling on the pond in the wee hours.

*****

The world wide ocean temperatures for July 2009 set a record:

The global ocean surface temperature for July 2009 was the warmest on record, 0.59°C (1.06°F) above the 20th century average of 16.4°C (61.5°F). This broke the previous July record set in 1998. The July ocean surface temperature departure from the long-term average equals June 2009 value, which was also a record.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/?reportglobal&year2009&month7