Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Farewell to Loons





September. The nights are cooler now, and the leaves are beginning to change. I visited No Name Pond one last time and waved good-bye to the loon family. We watched the chicks grow from tiny fluff balls in June, to nearly ready to fly adolescents. I worked on a picture book about them while listening to the parents call across the lake to each other in that incredible, haunting sound. The book is taking shape--not ready to go out as a proposal to a publisher just yet.

So-- here's the loon family, taken last week, and one of the chicks doing a little foot waggle. And a "farewell to summer" photo of the lake. If you missed my earlier post about loons, be sure to check out the wonderful work being done by the BioDiversity Research Institute in Gorham, Maine.

2 comments:

Curious City said...

Cannot believe how big they are. Goodbye little ones!

Tossing Pebbles in the Stream said...

I love it that you are fascinated with life around a pond. I assume you understand how important wetlands are and how full of life they are.

How lucky you are to have loons in your area. I understand they have disappeared from many parts of the US. They are vulnerable to the wake of power boats which drowns their nests near the shores.

Here in Ontario we have losts for loons and a vast number of small lakes free of power boats. It would be tragic to see them disappear as they, and their call, are as symbolic of the northern wood as the how of the wolf is.