Saturday, while walking the trail around Spring Pond, we heard the unique haunting call of a bird, echo over the water. In the break of the icy water was, what we believe to be a Loon, an ancient small bird and Special Concern species listed on the Natural Heritage Endangered Species Program. I am not an expert, but comparing the images and 'wail' sounds... this bird resembles a Common Loon in it's winter dressing. We watched the bird float and dive for food for a while.
The old Ice House piers can be seen beyond the Loon, on the Peabody side. Click to view...
Returning to the trail, we came across chickadees singing in the pines. A man walked by and said there were 2 Great Horned Owls towards the Peabody side. The seagulls found their way here too, and black crows were watching from the trees in a distance.
Yes, as I thought, it is a loon. Not a small bird though--it's 32 inches long. They prefer quiet lakes and ponds--like Spring Pond. They are migrating to coastal regions now. They need open water to dive and fish. (Unfortunately, they frequently ingest (fishing) sinkers and that can lead to lead poisoning.
ReplyDeleteYes- small bird compared to the dinosaur age, since its an ancient bird according to other sources. Should have made this clarification. Nice lookout Leslie!
ReplyDeletesoo cool!
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