July 31 – August 6, 2026Vol. 28, No. 8

Another Happy Ending

The flushed loon from her washed out nest and egg (circled).

by Dick Greenan

Are you up for another loon story with a happy ending? We are, and this one had us scratching our heads from the very beginning! On June 17, we received a call from a concerned Great Pond’s North Cove resident of a distressed loon on a nest washing away on their small beach. Particularly concerning, was that renters were coming in the following day — with two dogs! The missus and I went down that evening and sure enough, there was a nesting loon on a tiny residential beach next to a few boat docks. What were these loons thinking???

The newborn chick shelters under the parent’s protective wing. (Photograph courtesy of Lyle Widor.)

Then, if things couldn’t get any more interesting, we received a call a few days later from the homeowner that we now had 2 eggs!!! Not only did we not lose the first egg, against all odds, this intrepid pair laid down a second egg!!! Really, what were these loons thinking???

Our nesting loon with its new chick protected under the right wing! Note the absence of a typical nest bowl. — Our nesting loon with its new chick protected under the right wing! Notice the absence of a typical nest bowl.

Now, approximately one month later, our homeowner’s neighbor discovered a newborn chick under the wing of a parent while he/she continued incubating the second egg. THANK YOU, LYLE, for an incredible photograph and your dedication! Unfortunately, as often happens, the second egg was unsuccessful.

If you have a particular questions regarding our Belgrade loon population, please email your inquiry to , and we will try to answer your question either in this column or via email. Have a great summer enjoying the “call of the loon!” We are so fortunate to summer here in the Belgrades!

Dick Greenan is chairman of the Belgrade Lakes Association’s Loon Preservation Project.

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