The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-05
THE LOON AND HIS WAYS.
nm WITH A DEMONS VOICE
r,,T CAN DODGE 4 BULLET.

So. Friendly WIN W CAA-1NCNhAhss
,,te--A Loon in Captivity.
,I,ipe Letter i'll New York Sun.
,bo Gathered Inhabitants of the
.s,r, lakes the most Interesting and
-..i,-. bevond question is the loon. In
'''' .ison with him the wild goose is
and 7rosaic, and even the wild swan
''' bi- graceful beauty makes an i'm
B." nm The beholder less vivid and en-
.r~ There IS a reserve and mystery
tho loon. a wonder in his strange
,,. beneath The waves, his vanish
and resppearances, that set him apart
mo other birds of the air and waters
,r.s. him with a wierd interest. He
49,. none of the gregariousness of The 9th
utsrfowls. but swims by himself or
n..b hi. mate, and often the only token
=. hi. prcsence to the camper by the for
i,sc is his doleful, unearthly shrek
.-, tt, darkness, a sound that has been
,,,pared TO The cry of soul in hell-tire.
Soon saoat upon the water, The loon is a
.,.oi-lookirc bird, with colors scarcely
,,.,,..bed hv any other fowl in the combina-
i ,on of simplicity with striking effect. An
,,n,eri3l puphsh sheen crowns the deep
,,,sb-yrecu hue of head and neck, with
silycr band; the black bill, the splendid
,,5r.marllines in black and white, the
eerto keen eye with iris vivid red, the
,r,1d alert carriage of the head, are
,ioue and fitting features in this lonely
BANTER of the Northern lakes.
In building and protecting their nests
Bo looms display much judgment and gen
,rslshin The nest is made on the ground
In The tan grass of some low island or
4 .iersldo meadow, difficult of access from
the l3ndward side Grass, sods and weeds
are the materials used, and the structure
I4id in a circular form following to the
,enter IS lined with fine grass and moss.
From the nest several paths are made to
the waters edge and at the approach OF
danger the sitting bird leaves her esgs
ard concealed by the high grass, makes
her vay 10 the water, dives and is first
seen at a safe distance from the shore in
,cntlv watching the movements of The dis
,Urber If it be a swimming mink or
musllrat she does not hesitate 10 join bat
,la with it, attacking il furiously with
hoax and wings, and if it dives to escape
her onslaught the bird, through her su-
pcror swiftnesS under water, makes mat
,ers worse than before for the lnstruder.
Il surprised and cornered on the land The
loon VIII put up a fierce fight against what
advantage compared with her power of
warfare in the water.
In one of the ponds of the Buttermllk
chain of waters north of Sebec Lake,
New York man who pitched his tent for
the season on its shore passed frequently
in his canoe close by a looms nest with
oul once euspecting its existence. He no
tced throughout the entire month of June
MAT on approaching a certain low mea-
49, al rkra KrG to
he seen in the water off against it, and he
laid the birds constant appearance at one
sIot 10 The supposed fact that there was
unusually good fishing there. AS he drew
near the bird she would dive, and reappear
farther away but she always came back
to the first spot after he had passed. 1t
VAS not until he saw the loon swimming
one day with three, gray fluffy little ones
behind her that he absorbed the fact that
her nest had been all the time close to his
route of travel in the tail meadow grass
near the shore, and a short search reveal
ed it TO him with the freshly Clipped egg
shells scattered promiscuously about it.
the young looms had apparently lost little
time in making from the she'll to the wa
Ter. where they swan and diVed with a
facility approaching that of the mother.
They grew fast and learned soon to shift
for themselves in the way of making their
own living. Before The end of August they
were half the size of the parent birds and
they hshed about the pond quite independ-
emily OF them, though they still came to-
sother at times in a sort of family reunion
when fishing was dun or an hands were
satisfied with their catch for the day. The
male parent who had been in evidence
only occasionally during the incubation
OF the eggs, keeping aloof probably
through the instinct which advised him
mat his presence might draw attention to
me nest, joined his family as soon as they
appeared on the pond and remained with
mem constantly until the young ones had
struck out for themselves.
WhIe the loon is proverbially one of the
snyest of birds SO wary that il is next 10
impossible 10 get the drop on him with a
gun, he has an instinct of curiosity that
viii draw him very near to a boat at rest
on the water an which the occupants make
no movement to alarm him. The fisherman
with mis- boat at anchor or drifting idly
on calm water, is sometimes half startled
on looking suddenly round TO find loon
watching him intently with fiery eye a
lev yards away. Al his movement the bird
disappears, but il he remain quiet the bird
WIZ come again and stay near him for
hours During the present summer and fall
oaimon blanchard, who lives a mile above
oeoec village being afflicted with lame
ness which binders his working on his
I'In. mas been in the habit of fishing al
most daily from boat, which he anchors
OH me mouth Of Bear Brook Cove. In this
way he has come to make friends with a
,o2h that has regularly visited him and
sept ulm company at his fishing Though
le ora on the farmers arrival al the cove
may ne nowhere in sight, he sooner or
la'F appears, coming by the underwater
i'u,'' ana, taking his station a half dozen
V1t lengths from the boat, watches the