NEST AND EGGS
- nest is very close to water, sometimes completely surrounded by water
- nest must be sheltered from wind and waves, and hidden it from predators
- may nest on a small island, on a muskrat house, on a log in the water
or on a clump of water plants
- nest is made of materials that are close by (tree needles, leaves, grass,
moss, reeds, other plant matter and mud)
- two eggs are laid in June about a day apart
Common loon's nest with an egg; image : Beverly Labrecque (used with permission)
- eggs are greenish-brown (olive) with brown specks, difficult to see
- size - about 8.7cm long and 5.5 cm wide (photo - close-up of an egg)
- both male and female help keep eggs warm and turn the eggs over often
- hatch in 26 to 31 days, hatch a day apart
Mother Loon and Chicks photo by: Ken Watson, 1999
two day old chicks hitching a ride on mother's back (used with permission)
YOUNG BIRDS (chicks)
- chicks are covered in blackish-brown down
- first chick is often bigger and gets fed first if there is not enough food
- when two days old, do not return to the nest
- can swim right away but "hitchhike" on parent's back for about two weeks
- to get out of the cold water
- to rest (chicks are not strong enough to keep swimming)
- for protection from predators
- chicks are fed small fish and insects that live in the waer
- after 8 weeks chicks are able to dive for food
- young birds have greyish feathers, white belly, white under wings
(photo)
Loon and Chicks photo by: Ken Watson, 1999
(used with permission)
DANGERS
- Raccoons, skunks, otters, gulls, ravens and crows eat the eggs and chicks.
- Large fish and snapping turtles also eat the chicks.
- People with motorboats accidentally run over loons or
separate the parents from their chicks.
|
