November 7, 2021: A Final Farewell to Coco and Jimmy

It's hard to watch your your kids grow up and leave the nest, but you know it has to happen, and it's for the best.  And it's especially hard when you don't know if you'll ever see them again, which is case with Coco and Jimmy.

I haven't seen either of them in over two weeks now so I'm assuming they have left the lake for their new home for the next five or so years on the Atlantic Ocean.  There's a good chance they will return to Lake Wicwas when they're ready to mate, but if the lake is fully occupied they will be sent away to find their own place to live.  Either way, we'll never know where they end up, but here's their life story as far as we know it.

Their story began when their parents first considered building a home on a small self-built hummock near the outlet of the lake.

May 3rd:  Scouting for a home near the outlet.

But ultimately it was deemed, probably by the female, not suitable for raising a family.  It's worth noting here that this female was a new mate to the male which has been here and nesting with the prior female for several years; it will be interesting to see what the mating situation is next summer.  Ultimately they selected a well protected spot on a small island in Marion Cove.

June 2nd:  On the nest.

The usual two eggs were laid in the nest soon thereafter.

June 18th: Two eggs observed during a shift change.

June was warm so the parents had to switch off frequently during the 28 day incubation period to cool off in the lake.

June 7th:  A parent returns from a dip in the lake.  Photo by Dave Thorpe.

June 10th:  Dad doing nest duty (note white band with black dot).  Photo by Dave Thorpe.

Then on June 26th, a little chocolate-colored puff ball appeared.

June 26:  Coco arrives.

When it was observed that both parents were off the nest and the second egg was abandoned, we thought Coco was going to be an only child.

June 26:  The second egg unattended.

But later that day a parent returned to tend to the second egg, and on June 27th, little Jimmy appeared.

June 28th:  Coco and Jimmy hitch a ride on the protection of a parents wings.

Under the dedicated care of both parents the chicks grew quickly in size, molting their first dark fuzz to their second set of brown feathers in a couple of weeks.

July 14th:  A new color of feather on the chicks.

A continuous diet of fresh fish and the occasional crawfish nourishes them for the rapid development needed to be able to fly by November.

July 19th:  Mom brings in some shellfish.

Note the red and yellow/black bands on mom.

In about six weeks they have grown tremendously, and white chests have emerged.

The family on August 1st.

This foot wag on august 14th shows they still have room to grow.

Another couple of weeks and they are molting their brown feathers for their sharp juvenile coloring.

August 14:  Mom with Jimmy, with just a few fuzzy feathers still hanging on.

August 20th:  Dad with Coco looking quite grown up.

As they grow, so does the food the parents bring them.

August 20th, one big fish goes down the hatch.

They are catching some of their own food at this point but are still dependent on mom and dad for most of their sustenance.  And the parents are providing well as they continue to develop quickly.

August 24th:  Spreading their wings - and showing off their new clothes.

They are now too large and similar to be able to tell them apart by sight.

August 24th:  Difficult to identify who's who.

But their behavior is much different.  One chick, Jimmy, is always at mom's side, while the older Coco other often goes off to explore on her own.

September 25:  Coco off on a solo excursion.

Dad is often absent now with mom taking care of both chicks which continue to beg her to catch food for them.

September 25:  Begging for lunch.

But everyone knows that soon mom will be heading for the ocean as well.  

My last sighting of the chicks was on October 21st.  

October 21st:  The last time I saw Coco and Jimmy.

I'm guess that was the last time I will see the two newest members of the Lake Wicwas family.  But when a new loon arrives on the lake five years from now, I'll always wonder, is that Coco?  Is that Jimmy?  

Lake Wicwas has now successfully fledged two chicks over each of the past three years, and a total of seven chicks over four years.  Many thanks go to the all the loon watchers and caretakers both on the lake and at the Loon Preservation Committee for this remarkable feat.

I'm sorry to report there is also another loss on the lake.  Coco and Jimmy were nested and hatched on a small island protected by the Harris family along with many acres of land along the shores of Lake Wicwas.  Joan Newcomb Harris passed away on October 23rd, two days after Coco and Jimmy were last seen on Wicwas.  Joan and Norm Harris were dedicated conservationists who committed much of their lives to protection of wildlife and its habitat, and to educating the public about the value of nature to all of us.  You can read her obituary here.  Joan will be missed by all who knew her, and appreciated by all who watch the loons, and paddle the shores of the Harris conservation lands.