Eastman Living Online Magazine

It was the joy of watching our loon chicks spend the summer on our lake before they successfully flew away in the fall.

Like a doting grandmother, I’ve anxiously awaited the birth of our little chicks each summer. Many of my neighbors in the North Cove area are also attuned to this miracle, since Loon Island is nearby. We’ve had the pleasure of hearing the loons hoot and holler with great enthusiasm as their chicks are hatching, as if to announce, “They’re here! They’re here! Come see!”

I’ve watched them take their first swim under the watchful eyes of their doting parents. I’ve recounted to anyone who’d listen how cute a loon chick looks riding on a parent’s back or safely tucked under its wings. I’ve listened to their little peeps as they have waited for their parents to come up from the depths with sustenance for them. Many of us in the community have observed, for hours on end, as they have grown from little black fluff balls into youthful loons. We got to see them play with each other and enter into their “teen years,” still pestering their parents to feed them, even though they were quite capable of doing it themselves! It was such a peaceful sight to see them as a family on the lake.

Alas, we didn’t have that pleasure last summer. For whatever reason, only one chick hatched and, then, disappeared within a week. I did get to see the one chick with the proud parents shortly after it hatched, but that was the only time I saw the family together. The next day, I spotted one adult with the chick tucked away in the shadows of a cove and thought it strange not to see both parents tending to the chick. A few days later, I observed as one parent was diving for food while leaving the chick alone and vulnerable on the surface. These two sightings gave me an uneasy feeling about the safety and future of our little chick. When it became apparent that we had lost the chick, I no longer had the desire to go out on the lake. How strange to have such a feeling of loss for a loon chick!

Over the years my summers have been defined by numerous kayak outings out on the lake, sometimes by myself but more often with friends who also delight in watching the resident loon family. I would always bring my binoculars to view them from a distance, but, quite often, the loons would pop up nearby, and we could just sit and watch in silence. We could always tell where the loons were on the lake because we’d see a circle of kayaks sitting still in the water. How fortunate we were to be able to watch them throughout the summer months. It was especially fun to watch the young loons practice their flying techniques in the early fall so that they would be able to leave before ice formed on the lake. They are definitely not graceful when they take off! Because they are such heavy birds they must “run” on the water for quite a distance before they become airborne. Watching them never gets old!

Of course I did get out on the lake again last summer because its beauty is hard to resist, and I was delighted see and hear some adult loons. I do find them to be fascinating, beautiful birds. Next spring, I will once again look forward to the arrival of our loons and the eventual birth of my “grandchicks!”