Randy Stout
09-17-2015, 07:26 PM
This was captured this summer. It is not a great technical picture, but it shows a behaviour and odd coincidence that I have never seen before.
While floating around with this juvi and adult, the juvi suddenly paddled to the shoreline, scooted out of the water and up a small hill, went about six feet, turned around and then 'ran' back down to the waiting parent, who did seem a bit agitated by this activity. The general teaching is that loon juvis generally don't return to land after leaving the nest until the age of 4-5 years when they first mate.
I knew that I had captured the unusual behavior, but not until I was reviewing images did I notice the apparent fact that this loon had three legs! I had to look at it several times to figure out that it was a small broken off birch stick in perfect position to simulate a foreleg on the gamboling loon.
Makes me chuckle every time I look at it.
Cheers
Randy
While floating around with this juvi and adult, the juvi suddenly paddled to the shoreline, scooted out of the water and up a small hill, went about six feet, turned around and then 'ran' back down to the waiting parent, who did seem a bit agitated by this activity. The general teaching is that loon juvis generally don't return to land after leaving the nest until the age of 4-5 years when they first mate.
I knew that I had captured the unusual behavior, but not until I was reviewing images did I notice the apparent fact that this loon had three legs! I had to look at it several times to figure out that it was a small broken off birch stick in perfect position to simulate a foreleg on the gamboling loon.
Makes me chuckle every time I look at it.
Cheers
Randy