Lost Loon

Land Girl and I were camping for part of last week. We camped four nights starting Sunday, July 31. Our  campsite backed up to a loon frequented lake. Well, not a lot of loons, but one family. Last June we saw a loon nest on this lake with three eggs. This week, however we had the opportunity to see the adult male and female loons and two baby or juvenile loons. We don't know what happened to the third egg, perhaps it did not hatch or it hatched and the chick  met a more calamitous end to its life. This story is not about the third egg, but a lost baby loon.

Loons with head down in water

The two adult and two baby loons had a tendency to occupy our attention. We could see them from the campsite or while kayaking. Frequently, they were near the boat landing, or off the end of the third loop of campsites (saw kayaking). They are amazing fowl, in my opinion. When the adult loons dive you never know when and where they will arise, and it could be over a couple hundred feet (at least it seems that way) from where they dove under. We have seen them tend to young on prior camping excursions to the same lake. But, the lake also has predators around. Perhaps the main predators we saw were an adult and juvenile bald eagles. One can hear different loon calls, some seem to call the kids, others the partner, and still others to warn of danger. 

Land Girl Kayaking

From Tuesday about 4 pm to about 4 am Wednesday we had rain with some severe thunderstorms particularly from about 11 pm to 4 am. What surprised me as I woke up and made my morning trip to the restroom was how quiet everything was. Overcast skies and the lingering effects of heavy rain put a damper (pun intended) on normal morning routines of the campers until about 9 am. Usually we hear loons in the morning, but I did not hear the loons early that morning. 

Adult loon going for a dive

It was rather fun watching the loons, particularly the mother feed the two young loons. One of the young loons was sufficiently brave to dive under the water and probably search for its own fish. The other loon stayed above water, apparently not wishing to brave the depths. It reminded me of my twin brother and I when we were young, as he was, and still is, a much better swimmer and diver than I. As I kayaked Wednesday morning, I did not see any loons until I was near complete with my route around the lake. The loons I saw were near a peninsula, the land of which I estimated to be about 300 feet from the pier at the boat dock. They were off the east side of the peninsula. As I entered the dock, Land Girl came down and took over the kayak. She was gone a long time, perhaps an hour and a half. I was growing concerned. So I hobbled from the boat landing to the car, twice actually, to get some binoculars to scan the part of the lake and picked her near some downed trees by the third loop. This put my mind at ease. She had her reasons for lollygagging down by the third loop.

Once I completed kayaking and she started, she was watching the same loons I had seen as I completed my circumnavigation of the lake. As I slowly made my way to the campsite, she saw an eagle fly toward the loons, and she followed the course of the loons south across the lake, staying a good distance away from the loons. Another kayaker, who Land Girl thinks puts her to shame in the world of the Land Girls, put in right before I got back, but she was on the other side of the peninsula so I did not really notice her. With Land girl cutting across to the watch the loons, this woman was doing a route around the lake. As Land Girl watched the loons, the mega-Land Girl caught up with her. Land Girl pointed out to the mega-Land girl the eagle she was watching in the tree, and the nearby loons, including the two young loons. This woman, who was at the last water campsite of the campground, had seen an eagle attack the loons and the loons put up quite the fight. Eventually Land Girl made it back to the campsite after watching the loons and talking to the this mega-Land Girl.

Adult loon with two children

As evening closed in on the sunny and beautiful day in northeast Wisconsin we saw the loons yet again between the peninsula and the boat landing. We went over to watch them. What was immediately noticeable was that there was only one young loon and one adult. The adult was feeding the young loon. It was after a short while that Land Girl changed to her Mom mode and was now concerned with the second young loon. She commented, as we watched, that she has never seen a young loon away from a parent for so long. We wondered if it was with the other adult loon. Time went on and Land Girl grew increasingly concerned with the lack of the other young loon. Her concern carried over the campfire that evening. She later commented that she should have kept guard of the loons and wondered if the eagle had grabbed the young lost loon. I mentioned that perhaps nature was taking its course. Here the Mom Bear came out again and she asked if one of our boys had died would I have thought the same way--nature taking its course. I noted that I am not vested in the loons as I am our own sons. I think she thought my remark was rather crass, and uncaring. Who am I to dwell on the wilds of nature? Up until the sanitary revolution in the late 1800's many human young died of disease and starvation. Yes, it is sad that the loon was missing, and that got us wondering what the infant mortality of loons tends to be? It appears this adult pair of loons already lost one, and now to lose another would be heartbreaking.

Loons viewed from our campsite

As one would expect, given her general nature and specifically her thoughts of the loons, Mom Bear was wondering if loons had feelings and realized their loss. I noted that many mammals care for their young and make efforts for protection, pointing to how mom bears are rather dangerous, in being protective of their young.  Certainly, the mega-Land Girl's story pointed to how the loons attempt to protect their young. Hence, I would think the loons have some sort of sense of loss, given how they were caring and protecting their young.

Adult with child 

If by chance we get back to that lake this summer or fall, it would be nice to see the two young loons together, but nature, or predators, may have had other plans. I suspect the loss of a young animal is felt by the parents, although like our ancestors they may expect to deal with a certain amount of loss. The lost loon of 2022 will be engrained in our camping lore.