My computer is very demanding and, from time to time, we have a serious discussion as to where my loyalty resides. Today was one such occasion. With a steady rain overnight and continuing well in to the morning and temperatures in the mid-fifties, it was surely a day when the computer and I could reestablish our relationship. The urge to go birding was equally strong and so a compromise was entered into. Two hours of birding and no more!
So here I am a few hours later, together again with my trusty computer and with a story to tell.
The weather at Kent Pond was no better than that down in the valley. The rain could not make up its mind from which direction to blow! First one window on one side of the car was opened and the rain came in. Then the window on the other side was opened and the rain continued to come in. Not all was lost. Through the curtain of rain drops a single Common Loon was seen in the center of the pond and from time to time a familiar song managed to seep through whenever a window was opened.
It was time to venture to the western side of the pond from which the loon nest could be viewed using a scope or binoculars. The island looked quite diminished. The rising waters had submerged a goodly portion of the limited real estate. My eyes strained to focus through the obscurity of rain, but no loon could be seen in or near the nest. It was difficult to gauge but surely no more than two inches of elevation separated the nest site from the rising waters. Probably a surge or the constant battering of waves from the exposed southwest had done their worst and all was lost!
Not so! From around the north side in a rocky enclave an adult loon appeared and then a second. Closer and closer together they swam and, joyously, from between them, bobbing in the water a little black chick appeared. It was joined soon after by a second. Together the family group trod water, remaining close until an invitation from one adult enticed one chick on to its back to be followed by its sibling. With the raising of one wing both chicks disappeared into the embrace and warmth of the familiar not to be seen again.
One adult then left the area, mission accomplished! The second with the chicks safely and securely embedded, patrolled the westerly periphery of the island. Strategically, and to this observer, surprisingly, the adult then clambered back on to the nest site now almost completely obscured through the rain and opaqueness of the foliage. In a short while after some further movements and shuffling by the adult loon its head appeared and in its bill an egg shell could be seen only to be ceremoniously and defiantly tossed upon the rising waters.
It had been in the nick of time!