Tales from Little Partridge Lake: Larry the Loon

Poor little Larry the Loon. For the first several weeks of his (or her) life, he was safely tucked between his gorgeous parents. A few weeks ago, his Dad took off for greener pastures - or bluer waters, as the case may be - leaving him in the loving wings of his devoted mother. The mother/chick pair were rarely apart - eating, sleeping, and just generally floating around together - day and night.

This morning, however, everything changed. Big Daddy-O flew in to reconnect with his lovely wife. After a heartwarming reunion and a little mutual fishing, the pair bid a fond farewell to Larry and took off into the great blue yonder. Sans Larry.

Apparently, that is the way it goes in the Loon world. The parents just up and go - leaving the chick to his or her own devices until he or she is able to fly. 

Larry is pretty close to taking wing. His flight feathers are almost in. I would imagine that within the next few days or weeks, Larry will make his inaugural flight. He'll flap his way over to a larger lake where he will hook up with a bunch of other hipster chicks. They'll hang out like a bunch of rowdy teens until it is time to fly south.

Poor Larry. He looks a tad forlorn out there on Little Partridge Lake all on his own. Good luck with those flight feathers, bird man! 

We'll be sad to see you go.