We didn’t have much violent weather this week; actually it was very nice and even summer-like. We did have some rain and I worked in it a couple days.
The loons just shook it off and so did I.
Rain was predicted one day I was checking loons…and the prediction was correct.
I was at my first lake picking up egg shells when I looked across the lake to see a sheet of water coming my way. I just let it run over me and shook it off a couple times.
There was a new loon family on the lake and it was a great way to start the day.
As the shower ended another loon flew in that was soon challenged by the loon pair on the lake. They came charging across the water and by their calls, the odd loon knew they meant business.
The pair had stashed their chicks and they were in for a fight.
The odd bird dived to the far end of the lake, came up and ran on the water for a quick take off to get out of Dodge.
The parents went back and picked up their chicks and all was calm again.
Loons have territories on the water just like some birds have on land.
If there is more than one pair on a lake and they cross into the other’s territory there will be a challenge and sometimes a fight.
One such fight occurred on Limekiln Lake over the weekend. I only heard of what happened and tried to find one of my banded birds that got beat up and put up on shore.
He was in his own territory but another that was bigger and better took it to him.
I looked for him the next day and saw a fight in the other territory there. It could have been the same two males going at it again.
They were first seen fishing together, then all of a sudden the male that was not that far from his nest took after the other male.
Both birds wing-rowed several hundred feet before each took a dive. I think they were looking for each other under water.
Luckily they came up far from each other and the fight was over that day. A male will go right up on the other bird’s back and sometimes stab the bird to death.
We lost the loon that I talked about in my column last week that had fishing line around its beak. It was found dead on Francis Lake on Sunday.
Please don’t just throw a wad of tangled line overboard. Put it in your pocket and take it home and put in your garbage.
Other birds beside loons can get tangled in this line if it’s left on shore.
Getting back to the rainy morning I talked about above, it was one of the best loon watching days I’ve had.
The second lake I went to also had two chicks which were nearly half grown and doing well.
The third lake I checked was all white caps and I saw a single bird out in the waves.
With her seemed to be two small black heads, then the male came up and fed one of the day-old chicks.
The female and both chicks came in the quiet bay where I was standing. I watched as the chicks were playing up and down her back as she went by not more than one hundred feet away.
I didn’t find a nest on this lake but they sure had one. They made it through the big weekend so this was a plus for sure.
The fourth lake I visited that day, I looked at the nest site with binoculars and all I saw were egg chips and inner sacks.
I looked out on the water and there was the pair which I believe was their first family of two chicks.
So, seeing eight chicks on four lakes was a great day in my loony world.
Now all we need to do is give them some space and they may all grow up to be as beautiful as their parents.
Other birds have been bugging over these lakes… but that’s another story. See ya.