Ontario girl finds her calling

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Kisani Frechette is an Ontario girl who has the call of the wild.

Frechette, from Atikokan in northwestern Ontario, recently won the coveted loon calling trophy at Loon Days in Mercer, Wisconsin.

Frechette was the only Canadian entry in the national event and took first place in her age category and first place over all.

Frechette is only 10 years old, but is already a seasoned mimic of the wilderness' most noted birdcall, said her dad, Glen Nolan.

Kisani has spent years fine-tuning her talent, and has had the best teachers - the loons themselves.

Nolan and wife Carrie Frechette are park rangers at Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park and their daughter has spent many summers living with them at the ranger station. Living hand-in-hand with the wildlife and the ceaseless calls of the loons, Kisani just began to copy it, said Nolan.

"She's actually very good. I'm not just saying that as a parent, but as someone who is blown away by her ability," he said.

Kisani has become somewhat of a celebrity in her community and especially at the park because of her calls, said Nolan, a member of the Missababie Cree First Nation.

"It comes in handy in the sense that some people have never heard a loon before," he said of visitors and tourists to the park.

The real mark of her talents isn't from the judges at the Loon Day competition, or the tourists she performs for, it is the reaction from the loons themselves. Her call is so life-like, the loons actually respond.

"I can bring them right into the dock," she said.

Kisani can make all the sounds of the loon. Yes, there's more than one loon call.

"There's the hoot, the wail, the yodel and the tremolo," she said.

The wail is her favorite.

Starting when she was only six, Kisani said she still isn't sure how she has been able to duplicate the sounds of the loon.

"It's like a howl or something. I don't know where it comes from," said the shy Grade 6 student.

The loon talent runs in the family, Kisani said. Both Kisani and her dad have taken home prizes for loon calling.

In a competition in Ely, Minnesota, Kisani won first place in the girl's category, and dad came out with a second place finish in the men's event. Father and daughter don't share many secrets of loon calling, as each has a different technique. While Kisani uses her mouth, Nolan uses his hands to duplicate the loon-song.

You'd think the father and daughter duo of bird callers would drive mom 'loon-y,' but it was Carrie Frechette who encouraged her daughter to compete. Frechette was the one who found the big competition in Mercer. After several people suggested the young girl should be in a competition for her talent, Frechette started looking around.

"I took her down to Mercer because we didn't find any competitions in Canada, and that's where they have this big loon calling competition, " said Frechette.

Kisani beat out more than 60 other competitors from across the states to take the championship at the Aug. 6 event.

While she loves making the sounds of the birds, she is a little shy when it comes to the attention she is now receiving.

Already the young girl has had offers from American television shows and several radio and television interviews.