Rescued Loon Dammit Survives on Brant Lake

Anglers and lakeside owners in New York should keep fishing lures and line out of the water, since tackle caught on loons can trap them.

Updated on Oct. 31, 2026 in Wildlife

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of a loon floating on still teal water with a faint ripple and pine shoreline in the distance. — A rescued loon named Dammit, freed after a fishing lure was removed from her body, was re-sighted alive on Brant Lake in August. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

A rescued loon named Dammit, found stuck on Mill Pond in late October 2025 with a fishing lure caught on her body, was spotted alive and healthy on Brant Lake in August 2026. She had been released on Lake Champlain after rehabilitation, and a photographer's sighting of her leg bands confirmed her identity.

Why it matters

The re-sighting shows that a wild bird injured by fishing gear can recover fully and survive the following season, which matters for New York anglers and lake communities in the Adirondacks where lure-related injuries to loons have been documented. It also highlights how tracking leg bands helps wildlife workers follow individual birds after release.

Dammit fell more than 8 feet over a concrete dam into the plunge pool below Mill Pond, and the fishing lure had two treble hooks. She spent 11 days at the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences, consumed more than 80 brook trout, and regained 25% of her body weight before release.

The players

Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences (VINS)

A Vermont wildlife rehabilitation center that treated Dammit for 11 days, addressing her coccidia infection, wounds, and weight loss before her release.

Griffin Archambault

The observer who identified the re-sighted loon in Brant Lake as Dammit from her leg bands.

The details

Rescuers canoed to Mill Pond, netted Dammit, removed the lure, and assessed her health before transporting her by car to the Vermont Institute of Natural Sciences. During rehabilitation she overcame a coccidia infection and healed her wounds, then was banded on her legs with colored bands and released on Lake Champlain at Port Henry beach. The pond is too small for a loon to take off from the surface, which left her stranded and starving because the lure prevented normal swimming and diving.

Late October 2025: Dammit is found on Mill Pond with the fishing lure caught on her.
Autumn 2025: Dammit is rehabilitated at VINS for 11 days and released on Lake Champlain.
Aug. 5, 2026: A photographer observes five loons, one banded, on Brant Lake.
Aug. 7, 2026: The photographer sees the banded loon take flight and photographs its leg bands.

The Home Front

Loon rescues in the Adirondack and Lake Champlain region show how fishing tackle left in waterways continues to affect wildlife near lakefront homes. Lake communities across New York are increasingly seeing this pattern as shoreline residents share water with waterbirds.

If you live near an Adirondack lake or Lake Champlain, keep fishing line and lures out of the water and pick them up when you see them on shore. If you spot an injured loon, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator rather than trying to capture the bird yourself.

The takeaway

Dammit's recovery shows that a loon injured by fishing gear can survive and return to the wild when rescue and rehabilitation happen in time. Keep lures and line secured near lakeshores, and report any injured waterbird to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.