Loom Family 001

This week a friend of mine, Steve Van Kekerix told me that he saw a loon still on its nest on a little lake just outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This seems late for loons to still be nesting so I was wondering if the eggs were going to hatch at all

loonfamily

Loon Family 002

Early this morning I headed out to the lake to check on the nest. What I found was that the eggs did hatch. The little chicks were probably no more than a few hours old. Adult loons protect their babies from predators by lowering their wing and letting the little guys climb up to safety. Both chicks are under this wing.

loonfamily

Loon Family 003

This particular loon sees lots of people on the lake so it is used to boats and canoes. I could tell that it wasn’t bothered by my presence at all. You don’t want to approach a loon that gets worked up as the babies are very susceptible to predation by fish and turtles. During the first five days is when eagles, northern pike and turtles take many loon babies. These two were very comfortable on the moms back. In this one photo is looks like the baby is giving the mom a little hug for security.

loonfamily

Loon Family 004

I hope these two make it. It takes well over two months of development before baby loons can fly and these two are getting a very late start.

loonfamily