By Courtney Barley
Seney National Wildlife Refuge’s most famous pair has returned. The world’s oldest known loons, ABJ and Fe, successfully migrated back to the refuge this spring. Their arrival was verified by Visitor Services Specialist Jen Wycoff and Common Coast volunteer Dani Fegan.
ABJ and Fe’s relationship has earned them a large fanbase. They were the refuge’s power couple, choosing each other and raising chicks together for roughly 25 years. Their fidelity drew attention and inspiration.
Then in the spring of 2022, drama ensued between the pair, and fans tuned in to the soap opera playing out on the refuge’s pools. After first showing signs of preferring one another, Fe ultimately paired off with another male. ABJ spent the summer of 2022 alone on H Pool while Fe raised her 40th chick on I Pool with her new beau.
Why the breakup after so many years of successfully raising chicks together? In the last four years, ABJ and Fe were only able to hatch and fledge a single chick. Before this, they averaged 1.4 chicks a year, which is considered a highly successful rate of productivity. They also lost their usual territory on F Pool to another nesting couple. Since no one was able to observe their actual parting of ways, there are a lot of unknowns.
Last year, after a brief meet up on F Pool, the two once again parted ways. Fe went back to I Pool to breed with an unbanded partner, but the pair was unsuccessful. ABJ surprised many by nesting with a younger female, Daisy, on E Pool despite having a broken bill (likely broken in the earlier battle over Fe), then vanishing. Like Fe and her mate, however, ABJ and Daisy’s 2023 nesting attempt was unsuccessful.
Eyes are once again on the show pools and the world’s oldest loons to see what this season will bring.
“While it is possible that April tumult may lead to the reunion of the oldest loons, it is very likely that they will initiate their 2024 breeding seasons again apart,” said Damon McCormick of Common Coast Research & Conservation.
Interested in learning more about Seney’s loons? The second annual Loonapalooza is scheduled for August 9 and will take place at the Erickson Center for the Arts. The event is a great time to learn more about research involving loons, lakes, and Seney’s other migratory birds, while raising money and meeting others interested in conserving wildlife on the refuge.
