June 30, 2011

Lake Wicwas has a new resident:  a new baby loon!  One chick hatched some time over the last few days, but we first saw it today.  Linda took most of these pictures from the deck, as the new family spent most of the afternoon fishing in the cove.

Every now and then one of the parents would come up with a tiny fish in its mouth and feed it to the chick.

Bringing a fish

In the evening only one parent was babysitting, while the other must have been out getting some private time.  The chick would ride on the parent's back until the adult dove, leaving the chick looking very small and vulnerable, floating all alone in the middle of the lake until the parent popped back up.

The Proud New Parents:

I heard reports of two eggs on the nest;  I will post more information as I get it.  The last time we had a successful nesting on Lake Wicwas was in 2007 - that year there were two.