Could they be young loons?

Flylady · 07-18-2014, 08:10 PM

Just watched a pair of birds fishing in front of my dock They were brown. they dove underwater and would come up with a fish there were no distinctive marks. I did notice that they fanned thier tail feathers as they dove under . Are their other birds that dive for fish thanks!

Just Sold · 07-19-2014, 06:19 AM

We saw an adult Loon with 1 young "brown" Loon teaching it to dive at the point of Denning Cove just off shore yesterday. The Loon nest was across nearer the north side of the bay. Was great to watch

GTO · 07-20-2014, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flylady

Just watched a pair of birds fishing in front of my dock They were brown. they dove underwater and would come up with a fish there were no distinctive marks. I did notice that they fanned thier tail feathers as they dove under . Are their other birds that dive for fish thanks!

Not the of the actual name of them but we call them red headed ducks for obvious reasons. A mother was by our dock yesterday and had about 10 babies. All at once they would all go underwater and when they resurfaced, at least 3 of them would have a small fish in its mouth as the other ones would chase them around trying to steal their catch

Newbiesaukee · 07-20-2014, 05:41 AM

GTO, they sound like Mergansers. Cormorants will also dive for fish.

Orion · 07-20-2014, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Not the of the actual name of them but we call them red headed ducks for obvious reasons. A mother was by our dock yesterday and had about 10 babies. All at once they would all go underwater and when they resurfaced, at least 3 of them would have a small fish in its mouth as the other ones would chase them around trying to steal their catch

So sounds like three conservative chicks and seven liberals.

tis · 07-20-2014, 07:46 AM

It sounds like merganzers to me too, Flylady. The do dive for fish. Most of the baby loons are not really fishing that well yet, they are just learning. And the parent loon would not be brown, so if you saw two it would have to be babies and two loon babies are rare though we do have them.

Greene's Basin Girl · 07-20-2014, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tis

It sounds like merganzers to me too, Flylady. The do dive for fish. Most of the baby loons are not really fishing that well yet, they are just learning. And the parent loon would not be brown, so if you saw two it would have to be babies and two loon babies are rare though we do have them.

We have two loon chicks quite often. We have two chicks now in Greens Basin. Often after a short time the strongest survives and the weaker dies. The stronger takes all the food from the parents and the weaker one can starve to death.

tis · 07-21-2014, 07:36 AM

We have only had two babies once. And one of them died at just about 4 or 5 weeks old.

07-18-2014, 08:10 PM	#1
Flylady Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: So. California & Lakes Region Posts: 256 Thanks: 225 Thanked 106 Times in 61 Posts	Could they be young loons? Just watched a pair of birds fishing in front of my dock They were brown. they dove underwater and would come up with a fish there were no distinctive marks. I did notice that they fanned thier tail feathers as they dove under . Are their other birds that dive for fish thanks!

07-19-2014, 06:19 AM	#2
Just Sold Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Suncook, NH, but at The Lake at Heart Posts: 2,615 Thanks: 1,083 Thanked 434 Times in 210 Posts	We saw an adult Loon with 1 young "brown" Loon teaching it to dive at the point of Denning Cove just off shore yesterday. The Loon nest was across nearer the north side of the bay. Was great to watch Attached Images __________________ Just Sold At the lake the stress of daily life just melts away. Pro Re Nata

07-20-2014, 05:41 AM	#4
Newbiesaukee Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Coral Gables, winter; Long Island, summer Posts: 1,354 Thanks: 949 Thanked 573 Times in 298 Posts	GTO, they sound like Mergansers. Cormorants will also dive for fish. __________________ "You're only young once, but you can be immature forever."

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pjard (07-20-2014)

07-20-2014, 07:46 AM	#6
tis Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 6,759 Thanks: 753 Thanked 1,462 Times in 1,018 Posts	It sounds like merganzers to me too, Flylady. The do dive for fish. Most of the baby loons are not really fishing that well yet, they are just learning. And the parent loon would not be brown, so if you saw two it would have to be babies and two loon babies are rare though we do have them.

The Following User Says Thank You to tis For This Useful Post:
Flylady (07-22-2014)

07-21-2014, 07:36 AM	#8
tis Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 6,759 Thanks: 753 Thanked 1,462 Times in 1,018 Posts	We have only had two babies once. And one of them died at just about 4 or 5 weeks old.