PELLSTON, Mich. — People who live, work and play on Douglas Lake have a unique opportunity this summer to observe and learn from wildlife behavior — from a safe distance.
Marilyn Gates, who shares a cottage on the lake with her sisters and is the daughter of former University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) director David M. Gates, used her camera to capture an unusual moment this month.
A newly hatched gosling rode on the back of its surrogate parent: a loon!
“I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Gates said.
The bird photographer grew up spending summers on Douglas Lake. Her dad, Dr. David M. Gates, was the director of UMBS from 1972 to 1986. The lecture hall bears her family name.
Carrying a legacy of love, respect and curiosity for the natural world, Marilyn lives part of the year in the Philippines but enjoys photographing the wildlife around Douglas Lake from her kayak. Since she was a little girl, she has been fascinated by loon behavior.
What she witnessed on Sunday, June 7, 2026, was extraordinary.
From a distance, Gates used an 800mm lens to observe and photograph one particular nest in North Fishtail Bay where she heard goose eggs were sharing the space with loon eggs.
“I kayaked to North Fishtail to observe the unusual occurrence of a Loon incubating two Canada Goose eggs as well as her own,” Gates said. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a gosling on the nest with the female Loon. They slid off the platform, into the water, then swam in tandem for a few minutes. Then even more incredulously, the gosling climbed onto the Loon’s back! I’d been anticipating the hatching of the Loons, which hadn’t happened yet, but I was certainly not disappointed with experiencing this unusual sight!”
“This is certainly a remarkable event that we’ll remember for a long time,” said UMBS Resident Biologist Adam Schubel.
UMBS is a research and teaching campus nestled along Douglas Lake since 1909. The historic field station consists of more than 10,000 forested acres, with cabins, laboratories and classrooms on the shores of South Fishtail Bay.
For more than a month, the Douglas Lake Improvement Association (DLIA), a nonprofit organization made up of property owners, had been remotely monitoring the two Canada Goose eggs that were laid on an artificial loon nesting platform in North Fishtail Bay alongside two Common Loon eggs.
The DLIA Loon Committee has worked for 34 years to maintain artificial loon nesting platforms, or floating islands, in several bays along the shoreline to keep loon eggs and loon chicks safe from predators and people. It’s part of the committee’s loon preservation program to conserve the charismatic northern diver known for alluring, distinctive calls.
Holly Gedert, a member of the DLIA and proud “Loon Ranger,” called loons “the rock stars of Douglas Lake” last year at a UMBS seminar featuring a loon biologist.
“We care so much for the loons we hear and observe every year and are eager to learn more about them and ways to help them,” Gedert said.
Over the last century, the breeding range of the Common Loon has sharply regressed to Canada and the northern U.S. as loons also face declining reproductive success (having fewer offspring), increasing mortality and decreasing survival.
This week the committee contacted UMBS for insight on the unusual situation of loons raising the orphan goslings; the safety of the still-unhatched loon eggs; and the survival concerns of the goslings being fed fish instead of plants — among other concerns about human interference with the nest.
Schubel passed along guidance from the DNR. Loons, as well as ducks, geese, their nests and eggs are all protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and must be left alone.
He said the behavior is not unprecedented, passing along news articles about a similar occurrence of a loon and a mallard duckling in Wisconsin seven years ago. Here is one of the stories from Audubon magazine.
UMBS researchers, students and staff at the campus on Douglas Lake are fascinated to learn the consequences of the different parenting styles and feeding behavior of the waterbirds.
Geese are grazers, and loons are divers. Loons are famous for their underwater foraging — they can pursue fish 200 to 250 feet deep in the water.
The “mismatch” captured the attention of Dr. Francie Cuthbert from the University of Minnesota, who is a legendary waterbird researcher stationed at the U-M Biological Station each year during the spring and summer. Her decades of work has famously helped bring Great Lakes Piping Plovers back from the brink of extinction.
“This situation is extremely rare and behaviorally complicated,” Cuthbert said. “Loons eat fish and capture fish to feed their young. Canada geese feed on vegetation and the goslings feed themselves. Young loons ride on their parents’ backs but goslings swim behind the parents. These are major differences. In the Wisconsin case, the loon parents fed the duckling fish all summer until all three left on migration. Did the duck ever learn to eat vegetation? Almost certainly it did not continue to feed on fish.”
Reflecting on the blended family on Douglas Lake, Schubel told the DLIA, “It’s a unique and spontaneous opportunity to observe effects of nature and nurture on the development of young. As indicated in an article about the mallard raised by loons, as the goose matures, we expect it to become increasingly ‘goosey.’ Our nature is a powerful force, and I assume this goose will develop a hunger for plants. But who knows! Life often seems to advance by weird, random occurrences. If this goose survives, it may acquire a unique and valuable skill set.”
This week Gedert alerted Douglas Lake homeowners to “maintain a distance of at least 200-500 feet, move away immediately if adult loons begin splashing (a sign of distress), and avoid approaching them by kayak or other watercraft.”
Follow the activities on all of the loon nesting platforms stationed on Douglas Lake and learn about the history of the loon preservation program on the DLIA website.
The University of Michigan Biological Station serves as a gathering place to learn from the natural world, advance research and education, and inspire action. We leverage over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.
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