The Surprisingly violent lives of Loons

[ITD]

Who would've know that eerie cry at night is actually a battle cry. Sounds like loons are their own worst enemy. Their actions remind me of the speed limit debate.

From the article:

"Loons, those serene emblems of peaceful wilderness lakes, are emerging in modern research as bloodthirsty attackers that drive out or kill their neighbours and take over the rivals' families.
And that lovely, haunting call? It's often a prelude to a fight. Sometimes a fight to the death, if one loon can dive under its rival and stab that sharp beak up into its heart.
It only looks like the same pair of loons returning year after year to the same lake, says professor Charlie Walcott of Cornell University."

Read here:

http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/story.html?id=629798bf-edb4-495d-89ce-e3ea1ce3fedd&k=37575

[Pepper]

That's a very interesting article! Who'd have thought loons were such fighters. Wow.

[wifi]

Thanks, next time I hear one, I won't try to imitate it !!!

[Sunbeam lodge]

If they fight or kill each other frequently, how come we never find loon carcasses?

[Waterbaby]

"A loon that's scooped up in the middle of the night is not happy with this arrangement."

Maybe this quote explains why they get violent?

(Okay, okay, out of context, but I was a bit disturbed by this article....................)

[Resident 2B]

I have been watching the loons on our lake for years and I am a supporting member of the LPC. I read the article and it was a different and interesting article. However, it is completely different than almost every other loon article I have read.

I am not saying this article is wrong. I am saying that we need to hear from other experts in the field.

I am not at all qualified to establish any position in this area. All I can say is this article is different and that we need to "air it out" before we take it as fact.

R2B

[CanisLupusArctos]

R2B is right - I have heard from many reliable sources that loons are more community-oriented, calling out to one another as a means of "checking in" or taking roll call. What I've heard from their calls also supports it - I hear one call, and then others at distant locations respond. I had also heard that the chatter is a threat alert or distress call, which also relays from loon to loon over several miles until the "Stand down" comes. I have heard this, too, in the loon calls. I have never heard what sounded like two loons fighting. However, I have heard the sound of loons coming from the same location as ducks in distress, and have read that loons do attack ducks and their eggs.

Last fall I saw one example of a feisty loon. A bald eagle dive-bombed it on the water, and as baldy swooped down the loon reared up... the exchanged voices in a less-than-friendly tone, and then the eagle regained altitude and disappeared.

[SAMIAM]

Hmmmmm...I'm definately puzzled.We live right accross from a loon nesting area and have observed them for 30 years in the same location.I've never seen the behavior that professor Walcott describes.We have been able to pretty much track the loon population each season and have often had chicks disappear over the years,but rarely an adult.Matter of fact,we've never even seen agressive behavior among adults.They hang out in front of our place because the fishing is good...sometimes 3 or 4 adults at a time.
One point of interest....did you know that loons "fly" under water?
Some times they chase fish close in to the sandy beach where they are silhouetted against the sand and we have seen them actually flapping their wings for propulsion and direction.Cool to watch.

[Nagigator]

I've seen the loons "flying" underwater once, when we were anchored in shallow water in Salmon Meadow Cove at dusk. There were two, they went under the boat and we watched them go by on the other side. Definitely a sight to remember!

[Loony Singer]

We've never seen an out-and-out attack on one loon by another, but on a few occasions, we've seen one chase another. It's kinda humorous, but also impressive. They chase each other across the surface of the water, churning along and moving faster than you might think. And the chase can last quite a while...we've seen them go for a good 20 minutes or more, covering quite a distance.

We've also certainly noticed that ducks take a dim view of loons. Mama duck will take her babies into a shallow area near shore, or even up onto a rock, when there's a loon in the area.

On the other hand, loons are very wary of bald eagles. We heard a couple of loons making quite a ruckus in the middle of an otherwise peaceful day last year, and looks up to see Ol' Baldy cruising overhead.

[Pine Island Guy]

We did witness quite a loon skirmish a few years back. I was at Misty Blue's place in Braun Bay and a loon pair was on the water with a week old chick. They had been paddling around all day close to the shore, and we been admiring them just off his dock. Late in the afternoon, a third adult loon seemed to be taunting them, coming in close and the loon ‘parents’ would put up quite a ruckus and get it to back off. After a few hours of the squabbling, a thunderstorm swept in (it really looked like something out of a movie), and as we watched, the ‘rogue’ loon dove under and came up under the baby and grabbed it and dragged in under (never to be seen again). It was quite a display of nature!!!

PIG

[Rose]

Maybe the population in the Lakes Region isn't high enough to warrant fighting for territory. Or maybe the Wisconsin loons are just cranky because, well, they live in Wisconsin...wouldn't that make you cranky too?;)

Kidding, kidding, kidding!!! U. Wisconsin at Madison has a great meteorology program.

[Sunrise Point]

For the past two years, we have had loon families (parents and 2 babies the first year - parents and one baby the second year) in the cove in front of our camp. The only aggressive acts that I have witnessed was one of the adult loons taking exception to a cormorant landing in the cove. Each time, the loon dove and absolutely erupted out of the water right under the cormorant. It was a very impressive display. The cormorant didn't return after the second time.

I also wonder a little about the facts put forth in the article. I know that nature can be ugly at times but this seemed a little extreme.

[ITD]

I don't know if the article is true or not, but this guy has been studying them, he claims the information about intruders comes from banding information. I did see a loon stalking a Merganzer duck and her babies last summer. I noticed the loon swimming very low in the water then saw the duck and her baby high tail it out of there. The duck wanted nothing to do with loon. I've always wondered what happened to the Merganzer duck broods which start out with about 10 babies in the beginning of the summer and are usually down to 1 or 2 by the end.


Mr. Walcott is into loons, read here for another discovery on the male loon yodel: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/04/0411_060411_loon.html

".... a new study has found that when a male loon .... changes territories to find a new mate, he changes his call, too. Why this happens is a mystery."<!--- deckend --->

[Rattlesnake Guy]

I've always wondered what happened to the Merganzer duck broods which start out with about 10 babies in the beginning of the summer and are usually down to 1 or 2 by the end.
<!--- deckend --->

Large mouth bass?

We have seen a loon chasing ducks from the area before.

There is a great accidental underwater loon shot in the movie "On Golden Pond". Hearing the conditions of the chance filming on the DVD makes it even more enjoyable. I just remembered, we have not done our annual OGP winter viewing this year yet. Running out of time. Perhaps we will watch on the island some night soon.

[CanisLupusArctos]

I've seen the loons "flying" underwater once, when we were anchored in shallow water in Salmon Meadow Cove at dusk. There were two, they went under the boat and we watched them go by on the other side. Definitely a sight to remember!


A couple summers ago I was lucky to see this while swimming underwater with a mask on. The loon cut across about 5-10 feet in front of me. At first I didn't know what kind of fish it was, but when it was close enough so I could see its markings I knew I was looking at a loon and not a fish. It looked like a dart going through the water, very elongated, with its feet way in the rear, paddling like crazy. It passed into the dark distance in 2 seconds flat. I surfaced in time to see the loon surface about 50 feet away. An amazing experience.

[Sunrise Point]

I think that many of the young birds are also taken by snapping turtles. Years ago I took my son and a friend "fishing" at a local pond and we watched a large snapper grab an adult duck and drag it under water. My son has never forgotten that.

The ice is quickly disappearing from our cove. We saw a pair of Merganzers there this weekend...the loons should be back soon.

[Steveo]

".... a new study has found that when a male loon .... changes territories to find a new mate, he changes his call, too. Why this happens is a mystery."<!--- deckend --->[/QUOTE]

I was under the believe that a loon mate for life. We have had one in front our camp for years that has always been alone.

[sa meredith]

It almost seems like we've been duped (sp?). These wonderful birds we admire and go out of our way to protect, actually swim around trying to stab each other in the heart. Who'd have thunk it....
RattlesnakeGuy...
When in the movie is the scene you wrote about?????

[meteotrade]

I've always wondered what happened to the Merganzer duck broods which start out with about 10 babies in the beginning of the summer and are usually down to 1 or 2 by the end.

Last summer I saw a loon hunt down a baby Merganser who had been separated from her pack.

[Smitty1]

Saw 5 loons in Meredith Bay this morning!

Spring/Summer must be coming....

Smitty

[CanisLupusArctos]

Saw 5 loons in Meredith Bay this morning!

Spring/Summer must be coming....

Smitty

Are you sure they weren't Mergansers? They can look very similar unless you get a close-up look at them. I've seen many mergansers since the water opened up in front of the house, and each time I thought it might be a loon, but binoculars revealed it to be a merganser.

[Smitty1]

I am pretty sure they were loons. The way they were diving and coming back up. Profile looked like loons.

A freind mine said he saw about 15 of them on Lake Opechee last week as well.


Smitty

[Grady223]

Mergansers are diving ducks.

[Justenuff]

We have a place in Ossipee that is on a lake that has at least one resident pair of loons. They nest on one of the rocky islands or outcroppings. The area is very small, and the loons are only there because of the abundance of fish and crayfish in the lake.
Several times we have heard some very odd calls in the night from the loons. We thought that the loon nest had been invaded by a fox or otter or something, but it very well could have been another loon.
Last year, a pair started the season, with a third loon appearing after mating season. After a couple of days, there were two again, but only after some major night screaming. Sadly, there were no babies last year.
I would not be surprised if parts of this article are right on. They are beautiful birds, tender with the young, but I can imagine that they are very territorial in nature.

[CanisLupusArctos]

I am pretty sure they were loons. The way they were diving and coming back up. Profile looked like loons.

A freind mine said he saw about 15 of them on Lake Opechee last week as well.


Smitty

If your friend saw 15 of them close together, then they were most likely mergansers. Those birds have been grouping together on Winni for the last couple weeks. I have never seen loons group together. That doesn't mean they never do it, but that it's rare. All my life I have seen hundreds of loons, always solitary.

A couple years ago I was certain that I saw loons flying around in winter when we had open water. I took a picture and it looked for all the world like loons, so I sent it to the Loon Center. One of their biologists determined it was mergansers. Since then I have gotten much better at spotting these "loon impersonators."

Last year, as the April 16 storm was just getting started with snow and high winds, I saw what I thought HAD to be a merganser in the open water of Black Cat Shoals. I didn't think that would be enough open water for any loon. With the long lens on the camera I saw a more loon-like pattern on the bird's markings. I was still suspicious. The bird itself finally put the issue to rest when it sang out -- the telltale loon song. Then it took off into the snow, heading southeast.

We endured quite a damaging storm after that, lost power for 30 hours, but a week later we were in the low 80s, iceout was declared, and the loon was back, singing back and forth with others in the distance that I couldn't see.

I always remembered that one because it was as if the loon had come to announce that although this major storm was only beginning, the season of song was going to begin as soon as the storm ended. It was as if the loon knew, "Things will get worse but then they'll get a lot better and stay that way."

[Orion]

I have never seen loons group together. That doesn't mean they never do it, but that it's rare. All my life I have seen hundreds of loons, always solitary.

The loons do gather together in the fall when getting ready to migrate. I've seen them several times as large groupings at that time of year. But as you say, generally not in large groups most of year.

[Merrymeeting]

The loons do gather together in the fall when getting ready to migrate. I've seen them several times as large groupings at that time of year. But as you say, generally not in large groups most of year.

My experience would concur with Orion. I've never seen more than 3-4 together at any time of year other than Fall. But I have seen large groupings, as many as 20, on Merrymeeting in the late Fall. These are definately loons as I've often been able to get pretty close to the group by boat.

[Sunset Bob]

I took this picture 8/11.07 on Sunset Lake in Alton.
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=11657&ppuser=15