Loon Breakfast

This is the family of Common Loons (Gavia immer) on the pond in Maine where we are staying. There's just this one chick--last year they reportedly had two, which would be the maximum. It's fun to view large.

It was barely a half-hour after sunrise, still hazy. But the loons were very active--and far more vocal than I have ever heard them. I was around them in my kayak for perhaps 90 minutes, and for much of the time they were making a variety of calls--wails and tremolos, and even calling back and forth, which I don't remember ever having heard.

They are magnificent birds (called great northern divers in Britain)--averaging about 32 inches long (80 cm). They are built to swim and dive, with heavy bones and legs in the back of their body. They require a great deal of space to take off from water, and thus can only breed on ponds or lakes of a substantial size.

We're here three more days--with luck I'll be able to post a more colorful shot or two.