61 degrees Overcast Calm
Just another quick update.
The whole lake is still. Like a mirror. The early morning fog has lifted.
And way out near the middle of the lake one of our loons floats with two little chicks. The first chick now almost exactly two weeks old. Weeks that have gone so fast since it first pecked its way out of its sheltering shell.
While I am watching, the other adult loon appears a little ways away. Or is it one of our loons?
The loon with the chicks dives and comes up over by this other loon. It may be an intruder loon. I am not sure.
And now the chicks are swimming all by themselves. It had been such a relief when I saw them. It always is. To know that they are still ok. The chicks are doing some diving of their own. They are able to stay down for about 5 or 10 seconds before they resurface.
But now they look so all alone and vulnerable swimming all by themselves while one of the adult loons swims out to this other loon.
Then yet a third loon comes flying in and lands a ways away from the other two. OK, now ONE of these loons is not "our loon". But which one? Or are two of them not "our loons"? Sometimes I just wish they would wear nametags or something! It would make it so much easier to identify them.
There is no fight. But there is some excited diving. And yet sometimes they seem to just swim together peacefully. So many things that raise questions. There should be a big fight. There isn't. The chicks swim all by themselves over there swimming in closer to shore.
Now when I check on them half an hour later, there are five loons - yes, you read that right, FIVE loons - swimming together out in the middle of the lake!
There still is no fighting that I see nor any alarm calling that I hear. But there is a lot of diving and a little bit of splashing. So it is not an entirely peaceful "congregation".
I have often wondered if some of the "extra" loons that we have seen this year are the young from previous years. But there is no way of knowing for sure. Does that explain the lack of an all-out fight? Or is it completely unrelated? So many questions. So few answers.
I don't see the chicks at all now. So my level of concern rises slightly but I have no reason to believe that they are not ok. I assume that they are just swimming somewhere in the rushes off to the left.
Anyway, through all of this I can report to you that our chicks were healthy and active a little bit ago. And that I think they are still ok. But the activites are just enough to raise the level of concern slightly. Sometimes I wish I didn't see as much as I do. Or at least when I see activity, that I knew without a doubt exactly what was going on. But such certainty is not to be always found in real life.
Stay tuned! I will try to periodically give you an update on what I see. And to hopefully tell you with each report that the chicks are thriving! And for anyone else on the lake, feel free to post what you see in the Chat Room. That is helpful to all of us. More eyes, more information!
Questions or Comments? Post them here or in the Chat Room or send them to LoonCam@yahoo.com