Mother Nature Smiled and Gave us Loons

    It is late Spring here in the coastal marsh land.  It is my first Spring here in our new found paradise.  The opening bell was sounded by the dogwood bloom with it’s promise of more to come.  Next, Mother Nature’s paint closet exploded onto the rural roadsides that predominant our county with the most dazzling assortment of wildflowers I have ever witnessed.  I have always loved Spring, heck, doesn’t everyone?

         My neighbor to the south, the pearl called the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, provides a safe and bountiful winter home to a multitude of migratory waterfowl, songbirds and, of course, the Whooping Cranes that I previously wrote about. But this week I met a Loon.

      I hope each person who shares these words with me has had the privilege of hearing a Loon’s haunting, soulful call across the still water of morning. Man’s words could not hope to describe that sound as those who have heard it will readily agree.  To those brief encounters with these marvelous birds I wish to share an “up close and personal” encounter with my readers.

      Now, for starters, there is nothing “common” about a Loon. Up close these guys are as “common” as a 5 carat diamond and to my eye, every bit as beautiful.

     Starting with the pointy end, as I usually do in order to minimize the amount of my blood mixed with that of my patients, I can to tell you that  it is quite sharp, amazingly strong, and attached to a neck that, in a half blink, will gladly enable that beak to reach out and ouch someone. You will notice that “ouch” is “touch” without the “T” which is the last letter in the word you say when beak meets hand. 

     So, after  a small rubber band is placed on beak, my examination came to a screeching halt at the eye.  A deep blood red colored iris punctuated by a glossy black pupil. I marvel at the eyes of every creature I meet so I can offer an informed opinion that these eyes are “sho’ ’nuff” show stoppers, both at first glance and full slack jawed stare. If the eye is the window to the soul these birds are Ray Charles on one side and Louis Armstrong on the other.  My, my, my but I must move on.

     Their color pattern on their feathers is bright white spots on a shiny black background. The contrast and beauty is suggestive of a winter night sky. But the delicate arrangement of the spots commands your eyes to pause and appreciate. Somebody was just showing off when designing this paint job.

     Loon’s feed almost exclusively while diving underwater as much as 200 feet. That requires special adaptions in several areas. The eyes have to correct for underwater refraction differences and the  feathers which are quite densely packed – feel more like a dog than a duck. All are completely waterproof. When the Loon surfaces, he can fly, no need to dry off first.

     The feet of the Common Loon are set so that he is able to swim underwater well enough to catch fish.  Because eating is more important than walking the Loon cannot walk on land.  They sort of push themselves along and when they land they must “belly land” on water. If they land elsewhere they are often injured. It is for this reason that I met “Lilly”, the Loon.

     This latest Loon “Lilly” had started her return to the northern U.S. or possibly Canada.  The southern limit of her winter is a question that could only be answered by her but her trip north ended on US 98.  She apparently successfully completed a “wheels up” landing and skidded to a halt blocking traffic and catching the eye of a very kind vacationing couple from Jacksonville, FL.  Tim and his wife Jill, recognized the strange looking bird on the coastal highway and immediately stopped to investigate.  About that time one of my clients, Raye also stopped and, after a brief round up, advised them to take the apparently sick bird to our hospital, which they promptly did.

     My most notable memory of this young couple was their incredible concern for this bird. They asked question after question and I explained this bird’s condition as well as information about Loons in general.  After they left the clinic we went to work on the crash investigation – why did she go down?  Labs showed low protein and slight anemia. The X-Rays looked good.   I did a fecal exam and this bird was absolutely loaded with parasites.  Many of her worms were blood suckers. These worms do serious damage to the lining to the stomach and intestine causing blood loss as well compromising the bird’s ability to absorb nutrients.  Lilly had run out of gas with the greatest part of her journey still ahead of her.

     We started the treatment for her parasites and Chris took over her rehab and had her eating and drinking the next day.  She has made good progress and will soon be ready to release. Problem is, the weather is getting warm and she is too late for migration. We have two options. We can hold her over and release her in the fall which I would rather not do, or perhaps someone can help us ship her back to New England or some place north.  I just know there is a way to get her home.  We will soon have her well enough to travel.  I was hoping someone out there would like to meet and release a Loon named Lilly.