Project Loon Watch - Baby Injured


The surviving baby loon from this year's hatch may be injured, though the damage does not appear life threatening. You might be surprised by the possible explanation from loon experts.

As the fall color change begins, the baby loon growing up on Johnson Lake faces a lot of challenges. Learning to fish. Learning to fly. And perhaps, recovering from an injury inflicted by another loon. The photo below reveals the location of the apparent injury. Look just above the waterline on the white feathers. You'll see a circular disruption of the normal feathers which may indicate a healing wound. I sent the photo to the loon experts at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute. (Follow the link to learn about the institute's Project LoonWatch.) LoonWatch Project Coordinator Amber Roth called me back with the explanaton.

She says the injury appears consistent with an attack by a visiting, unpaired loon. These loons can try to weaken the bond between a nesting pair by killing their baby. Roth says these attacks typically involve the attacker swimming below the baby, then spearing the baby with its sharp beak. In this case, the wound does not appear to be bleeding, so we can hope for the best. Roth said this baby is unusual for another reason -- the wing feathers appear to be maturing at different rates.

Loons may be beautiful, but sometimes nature can be cruel. Survival of the fittest sometimes isn't pretty. And this is may be of those cases.



Baby loon stretching its wings. Photos by Jon Okerstrom, September 2005




A closer look at the injury site.

Posted: Mon - October 3, 2005 at 11:31 AM      

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