The young loon seen here with one of its parents is 60 days old. It will stay with its parents until ready to fly away for the winter.

On September 10, Highland Lake’s baby loon turned 60 days old. He or she is now diving for his or her food but still stays pretty close to one of the parents most of the time.

By next month, the baby will be practicing to fly. As cold weather approaches, the loon father will leave the lake first and head out to the ocean.

The baby and mother will stay on the lake until much later. Eventually they, too, will leave and head out to the ocean.

This year’s baby loon will not come back to the lake for a few years until it reaches maturity.

Hopefully, the nesting pair will return again next spring. It has been a real treat for residents around the lake and visitors to the lake to watch this family throughout the summer.

Foot Bands

I was able to confirm the foot bands on one of the adults of our mating pair this year. Her foot bands were put on by Loon Preservation Committee (LPC) volunteer biologists in 2011.

On her left leg are green bands, and on her right leg is a silver band (closer to her body) over a blue band (closer to her foot). I was not able to see any bands on her mate.

After sending this report to John Cooley, senior biologist at LPC, he replied, “The male loon that was banded in 2011/12 was recovered on the coast as a mortality in one of the subsequent winters, so it’s likely that the new male is unbanded.”

So, it appears that our mother loon has been returning to Highland Lake for the past five years – maybe longer – while she has found another mate since the demise of her 2011 mate.