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Loons are
long-lived, and territorial, often returning annually to the same lake to
breed, although they have been known to switch mates and territories. They
usually lay one or two (rarely three) large, olive-brown spotted eggs.
Nests are usually situated in vegetation on the edge of an island or on a
bog mat, adjacent to deep water, enabling a loon to slip into the water
virtually unnoticed if danger threatens.
Incubation
usually begins in May or early
 June,
although it may occur later, particularly if the first nest fails and the
birds renest. Incubation is shared by both parents and the black, downy
chicks hatch after 28-30 days. |
The chicks are
initially raised in a sheltered, "nursery" area of the lake, where they
grow rapidly, changing to a dusky brown down at three-four weeks of age.
The chicks gradually expand their use of the rest of the lake over the
next 2-3 months as the gray juvenile plumage eventually replaces the down.
However, the primary feathers are last to develop, and,
although they are the size of adults, the chicks are not ready to fly
until they are ten to twelve weeks of age, in September and October. Loon
chicks usually leave their natal lake after their parents, migrating to
the coast for the winter, where they will spend the next 3-4 years before
returning to the breeding grounds.
Looks like a
loon? Is it a loon? |
