It was a bit of a surprise. Not something you see every day. Maybe not even every year. Every four years, that could be possible. But I’m not sure they even can figure that part out.
Over the weekend, I just happened to notice a loon nest.
I have only ever seen a few. Loon nests are not easy to spot, except for the fact they have a rather large black and white bird lying on them. If it wasn’t for the large bird, you probably wouldn’t even recognize it as a nest. It’s basically a small depression in the ground, close to the shoreline.
But the rather large black and white bird with the checker board on it’s back kind of stands out. Camouflage is not it’s strong suit. Then again, a loon is not a small bird.
Four years ago there was a nest in almost the exact spot. At first, I though maybe the loon was injured. A friend of mine decided to check to see if it was alright. It was. He did make it back to his boat… barely. Again… loons are not small birds, and when they are defending their territory, can be rather fearsome. In fact, I have seen more than one eagle take a pass rather than take on a mother loon. Oh, they may try, but when it comes to a head to head fight, an eagle is likely to go for a big ol’ nope. Little ones can be snack food. Adults… not so much.
Anyway, I was floating by over the weekend, minding my own business, when I noticed a checkerboard lying on a shoal. If the checkerboard had not moved it’s head, I may not have even noticed. But there it was, sitting on a nest, trying to be unnoticed.
So I pretended not to notice. The picture is actually from four years ago. Same place. Maybe even the same loon. I didn’t want to bother it too much, so I just moved on.
I’m hoping in a few weeks there might be a little one… or two… riding around on mama’s back.
