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History
The loon is the most primitive known living bird. Its existence dates back to the Mesozoic age, fifty million years ago when flowers, apes ad other large mammals began to appear on our planet. The dinosaur and the loon (and all other birds) are distant relatives since they all evolved from the reptile species. The evolution is still evident in the scaly skin of the feet and legs. Even our barnyard chicken is a good example of this. Its feathers were once scales.

The loons fly to their spring nesting grounds at lakes, rivers and waterways in all the northern states up to the Arctic circle in early spring -- April and May. They have just flown in from their winter home on the open sea along either the Atlantic or Pacific coast as far down as the Gulf of Mexico. Some loons have spent the winter on the lower parts of the Great Lakes which were not frozen over.

Mating Habits
The male and female loons start their courtship by swimming together in what often appears to be a search for food but is really a mating maneuver. After a month or more of courtship, the male and female loons become real co-workers in starting a family. This bond of the male and female loon is for life, which can be up to thirty years or so on the same lak, sometimes at the same nest location, year after year.

When planning a family life, the male and female loons work together to build their nest of grass, weeds and sedge. This is all matted together and built just inches from the water, preferably on a small island. If the island is well chosen they will have good observation all around for considerable distances, thus increasing the likelihood of their survival from possible attacks by a mink, otter or even other loons. The raccoon is, by far, the worst predator of the loon. It is reported that in some areas the loon population has been cut in half in the past 60 years by raccoons alone.

Loons are very solitary birds. If their nest is approached too closely by a human before the eggs are hatched, the loons will abandon the nest and eggs, never to return. With their nest so close to the water they can literally slide from their nest into the water as quietly as a leaf settling on the water and disappear without a sound or ripple in the water. They can stay submerged for several minutes and easily dive to 200-foot depths.

Parenting
The loon's nest has just two eggs, olive in color with a few dark brown spots providing good camouflage to deter nest robbers.

The male and female loons take turns sitting on the two eggs for the month-long incubation period required for them to hatch. The parents-to-be roll the eggs over from time to time to assure an even warmth for hatching the eggs.

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