Breakfast In Bed

This 4 day old loon chick is riding on mom's back while dad is bringing it tiny minnows and seaweed small enough for this little one to consume. This will continue for several hours each morning and then again throughout the day. Between feedings will be naps, learning to swim, and observing its parents behaviors. A chick will learn almost everything it needs to learn to survive on its own in 11 weeks before the parents head south for the winter. About a month or so later, after it too has learned to fly, usually on its own, the immature loon will also fly south.