Somes Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary
The Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary is dedicated to conservation, research, and education in the Somes Pond-Long Pond watershed and beyond
Closeup views here of the immature loon we watched Saturday afternoon in Bar Harbor. The loon drifted while resting and swam slowly towards our group on the pier where we were right over the top of it. It appeared very calm and undisturbed by our presence. We don't often get such good views from above.
Most of the images show the posterior leg positioning of loons. The view of their morphology from above shows why loons cannot walk on land, with their center of mass well forward and legs way back. They are specialized for fast underwater pursuit and the ability to change direction quickly by throwing a leg out with foot open to do a sudden turn – a very effective rudder. All the better to catch fast moving fish.
The specialization is a limitation when out of the water and they have to push themselves along on their chest with their legs or pull with their wings – neither is a good option for anything but very short movements. Because of this, loons nest immediately along the water's edge of a shoreline so they can jump off the nest, ideally into deep enough water to swim away underwater from a source of danger (eagle swooping down, mammalian predator, human disturbance).
Nesting along the immediate shoreline has obvious hazards of course, including vulnerability to big waves and boat wakes that can swamp the nest and wash eggs out and possible visibility and subsequent attractiveness to close approach from people/ease of stumbling onto a nest inadvertently while paddling or walking along shore that can cause them to flush. If you see a loon on a nest in a crouching posture with neck extended, that is a definite sign of disturbance and of not wanting to be detected. Any size dog nearby elicits this response as well.
The overall brown plumage and feathers on the back with light tan edging of an immature is typical. Young common loons molt into their 1st breeding plumage feathers entering their 3rd summer. Many immature loons spend all year on the ocean, along with some non-breeding adults.
Wow was it ever cold yesterday afternoon for our loon watching walk in Bar Harbor! The north wind overwhelmed the warming of the sun. We were rewarded for our effort however, with very close views from above of an immature loon who swam slowly our way on the pier. There aren't many opportunities to watch a loon from this perspective.
After a winter that has been cold and pretty snowy since Thanksgiving, these may not be images that everyone here would like to see in "spring," but we know there are more weeks of going back and forth to come. A different story than what's going on out West with record heat. We're supposed to have nightime low temps in the low teens later in the week.
