July 18, 2010 - Baby Loon
Read MoreThis year we again had a pair of Common Loons nesting on our lake in northern Minnesota. Last week the eggs hatched and we now have a baby Loon. I was on the lake Friday morning and one of the Loons was still sitting on the nest. I looked out again around dinner time and both adults were off the nest. I thought I could see a baby swimming near the adults so Diana and I went out in our pontoon and confirmed that the baby was there. The Loons had two eggs but we are not sure what happened to the second egg.
Here are both adults with the baby. They actually made two attempts at nesting this year. Because of our early spring, their first set of eggs was due to hatch around June 10-12. I got to the lake on the 10th and both adults were off the nest, no eggs were seen, and there were no babies. We’ll never know what happened, but the loons laid two more eggs that weekend and started incubating again.
You may have heard that Loons are very powerful swimmers but extremely awkward on land. Their legs are positioned very far back on their bodies. While this gives them a real advantage when swimming, it makes them so unbalanced when they are out of the water that they are virtually unable to walk. In this photo you can see the baby’s legs right at the back of its body.
earlorfphotos
on July 19, 2010Hi Linda,
I'm glad you liked that photo. When the loon went in among the lily pads I thought the green leaves and yellow flowers would add a nice touch but I wasn't expecting the color of the water to be so dramatic. The water can either reflect blue from the sky or green from the trees that surround the lake. When there are small ripples on the surface you get a mixture of blue and green.
Linda
on July 19, 2010Earl, the colors on the water in the second to last photo are beautiful!