Back home with the loons
Close encounter - swimmers and loon. |
Loon infested waters AKA a lake in Canada |
the whole time imagining him diving below me and popping up again. He uses his beak to stab fish you know) Turns out I wasn't completely wrong as when I got back to shore he pops up again right next to me. (see video as he swims under us and our friend thinks he's a big fish)
In four years here this is closest I've ever been to a loon. If you are going to get a close-up view I would feel more comfortable if he was in the water and I was on the dock. There's something about being close to him in his territory that is scary. Yet catching sight of the loon is one of the delights of lake life. We have spent happy hours gazing at the little blighters through binoculars.
Any loons? only us. |
There is always speculation every Spring - how many babies will our couple (they return to the same lake every year) have this time? We hope for a view of the babies riding on the adults' backs. A loon half a mile away is enough to stop our conversation dead. To see them is a real Canadian experience but to hear their wailing call at night as you lie in bed is the best. First nations people thought it was the sound of the souls of the dead rising to heaven.
When my uncle casually announces their beaks can slit you open from throat to navel I'm glad he didn't tell me this before my experience. Now before I get in the water I do a little loon check. Better safe than sorry. We wonder if he is just curious, having returned to our lake every year with his missus. He didn't seem annoyed. There was no calling. Or maybe he thought he saw a particularly fatty looking fish? I like my British friend's response. What's wrong? It's only a duck!
Look out -loon about |
Note for non-Canadians. The loon is known in the UK as a diver. He is about two feet long and a brilliant swimmer. His closest relative is the penguin. I can just hear my friend again. You're FRIGHTENED of a PENGUIN?
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