Authorities offer $6,000 to find poacher who shot family of loons in Washington state

Washington state wildlife officials are trying to get to the bottom of an unusual poaching case involving a family of collared loons that were shot and abandoned over the weekend. They say the protected birds were killed in Okanogan County, in the northeastern part of the state, where only 12 known breeding pairs remained according to the latest census from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Washington State. The recent poaching incident brings that number down to 11.

Several conservation organizations, including Delta Waterfowl and the Washington Waterfowl Association, are supporting WDFW in its investigation. Collectively, the six groups are offering a $6,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

Authorities say they recovered the dead loons on June 22 after a member of the public found the bird carcasses floating near Beaver Lake in the Colville National Forest.

“With the assistance of several concerned community members, officers recovered two adult loons and a chick. A second deceased chick was reportedly seen in the lake earlier in the day,” WDFW said in a news release. “Several witnesses reported hearing gunshots in the area the night before.”

In addition to being federally protected as a migratory nongame species, the common loon is listed as a sensitive species by the state of Washington. Killing one is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and fines of up to $500 per offense, and the WDFW says it can add restitution penalties of $2,000 per bird if convicted.

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Although these birds have made a comeback in recent decades, they were thought to have been nearly extinct in Washington state by 1979. According to the WDFW, this loss was primarily due to habitat loss and poaching, partly due to negative public perceptions of the fish-eating birds. Today, the leading cause of loon mortality is lead poisoning from fishing gear, according to a study published in the Journal of Wildlife Management. Research shows that loons often eat lead weights by mistake when they ingest rocks to aid digestion.

Biologists have been closely monitoring the bird populations, which have been steadily increasing since 1995, when there were estimated to be only four breeding pairs in all of Washington state. As migratory birds, they spend their winters in coastal estuaries and move inland to large reservoirs in the spring and summer, where they mate and raise their chicks. A few of those breeding areas are west of the Cascade Mountains, according to WDFW, but most are in the remote northeastern part of the state, where officials counted 12 known breeding pairs earlier this year.

WDFW encourages anyone with information about the poaching incident to contact the agency by email or by calling 877-933-9847. Members of the public can also submit anonymous information through the WDFW website.