Hi Folks, I just returned from watching the Big Mac Pac Loon and it was diving frequently. Many of the dives were very short, 1 - 4 seconds. A few were closer to 10 seconds and one time when I got to 20 seconds I looked around and realized it had swum out of view while under. It was also spending a lot of time simply holding its head under. The clartity of the water was rather poor. You cannot see the bottom three feet from shore. There was just a slight breeeze and it was only making a ripple on the surface. I wonder if its behavior could be due to the water conditions rather than illness of injury?
I also found a City of Longmont doc which states that fishermen could expect to catch carp, walleye, and crappie. And the shoreline has always been popular with large waders like Great Egret and Great-blue Heron. Bob Zilly, Longmont On Fri, Aug 27, 2010 at 3:27 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > Nick et al.: > > While wing molt may not be the cause of the McIntosh PALO not diving, there > are any number of other possibilities, such as illness. However, it might > behoove us to know what it's eating, if anything. If nothing, that could > provide more suggestion in the vein of illness or other infirmity. However, > loons eat things other than fish, though usually considered obligate > piscivores. From the Common Loon BNA account (I couldn't get to the PALO > account) -- bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/: > > "Crustaceans—e.g., crayfish (Decapoda) constitute major part of diet when > fish are scarce or water is murky (1.0 m visibility), up to about a third of > diet for males and more for females (Barr > 1973<http://species/313/biblio/bib015>). > On some Wisconsin lakes, observed adults and chicks regularly observed > foraging on snails (W. Piper, pers. com.). Leeches (Hirudinea) are > occasionally an important food, and individuals that are stressed or ill > sometimes eat vegetation (Barr 1973 <http://species/313/biblio/bib015>)." > > Having no chance to go see the loon in question, others will have to > provide the data on the bird's foraging, or lack thereof. > > Tony Leukering > Villas, NJ > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Nick Komar <[email protected]> > To: [email protected]; [email protected] > Sent: Thu, Aug 26, 2010 11:47 pm > Subject: Re: [cobirds] Loon molt > > Many thanks to Tony Leukering for setting the record straight on > underwater wing-powered locomotion (or rather, lack thereof) among loons, > and also for sharing his vast wealth of ornithological knowledge with our > Colorado birding community, making us all wealthier (in knowledge, anyway). > I should have done some basic research before sticking my foot in my mouth > in a public forum like Cobirds. I have now done the appropriate homework to > learn more about underwater locomotion among diving birds. A number of bird > taxa including alcids, diving petrels, some shearwaters, and our Rocky > Mountain dippers use their wings to power underwater diving as well as > aerial flight, but not loons. Interestingly, I learned that some of these > species undergo very heavy wing molt and yet still dive during these periods > of wing molt. So, it begs the question (maybe Tony can answer this as well), > why is the Boulder Pacific Loon not diving as would be typical foraging > behavior for this species. > > Thanks again, Tony! > > Nick Komar > Fort Collins CO > > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<cobirds%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
