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Doyboy · 06-11-2008, 10:36 AM

Last Saturday my 5 year old son and I were watching a mother duck and her seven ducklings swimming just off the end of our dock when out of no where two loons (looking like torpedoes I must say) came up from under the water and attacked them. The first loon grabbed one of the ducklings and held it under the water with its feet while standing up and flapping its wings and doing the famous loon call. This loon shook the duckling until it was dead and then just left it there floating. While this was going on the mother duck rushed the other six ducklings away. After 30 seconds of relative calm the whole thing happened again out a little deeper with both loons involved now. In the end there were only three ducklings remaining and I'm afraid that my son isn't quite as enamored with loons as he used to be (he was very mad at the loons). Everyone I've told this story to is very surprised so I was just wondering if anyone else has seen this. Do they eat the ducklings? I know that the loons are very territorial and I must say that they were very impressive to watch with their underwater speed.

06-11-2008, 10:36 AM	#1
Doyboy Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Wolfeboro, NH and Reading, MA Posts: 21 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	Is This Normal Loon Activity? Last Saturday my 5 year old son and I were watching a mother duck and her seven ducklings swimming just off the end of our dock when out of no where two loons (looking like torpedoes I must say) came up from under the water and attacked them. The first loon grabbed one of the ducklings and held it under the water with its feet while standing up and flapping its wings and doing the famous loon call. This loon shook the duckling until it was dead and then just left it there floating. While this was going on the mother duck rushed the other six ducklings away. After 30 seconds of relative calm the whole thing happened again out a little deeper with both loons involved now. In the end there were only three ducklings remaining and I'm afraid that my son isn't quite as enamored with loons as he used to be (he was very mad at the loons). Everyone I've told this story to is very surprised so I was just wondering if anyone else has seen this. Do they eat the ducklings? I know that the loons are very territorial and I must say that they were very impressive to watch with their underwater speed.