A few birds from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
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Common Loon:Common Loon Tuullek My son Steven and I were canoeing recently on the headwater lakes of the Delta Wild and Scenic River. As we approached the river, I noticed an unusual black shape on the shore. After glassing it with my binocs, I gestured for Steven to steer the canoe closer to shore so we could get a better look at what I thought might be a Common loon brooding its young. Sure enough. With her wings spread over the chicks, and her head bent down as if in prayer, the loon didn't move a muscle as we paddled closer and closer. I was even able to take out my camera and snap a few photos of her before we moved on down the river. We had heard the wild laughter and yodeling of these magnificent loons the night before and in the early morning, and we marveled at the rich variation of their calls. I had even tried to imitate them, but failed miserably compared to the boys who had taught me how to do it in Marshall, the Lower Yukon village where I taught for ten years. Steven wasn't very impressed with my attempt either. The name I learned in the Lower Yukon for Common loon was Tuullek, and when you pronounce it right you can hear why it is so called. As with many other bird names, it takes the moniker of one of the sounds it makes. The English name, however, has a much different origin, and comes from the Scandinavian, lom, meaning a lame or clumsy person, in referenceto the Common loon's clumsiness on land. Its scientific title, Gavia immer, comes from Latin gavia, meaning sea smew, and the Swedish word immer, which means dark ashes, relating to the black plumage of this loon. Tuullek is one of the most ancient of bird species, dating back more than 65 million years ago, which might explain not only its rich repertoire of calls but also the wonderful array of its other characteristics. For example, it is one of the most proficient of all the diving birds, sometimes diving to depths of up to 240 feet. Try it sometime. You won't even come close. On the surface of the water they are also powerful swimmers. But on land you are a much better walker than this loon. Here it can barely hold its body erect and shuffle along a few clumsy steps at a time. The reason they are able to dive so well is because many of their bones are solid rather than filled with air spaces, as with other birds. Their specific gravity is near that of water, and they can lower it even more by expelling air from their lungs and at the same time compressing their feathers next to their body, thus allowing them to sink slowly and ever so quietly below the surface, leaving hardly a ripple. They are able to stay underwater for up to three minutes because they have large amounts of myoglobin in their muscles. Myoglobin is a substance in the blood that allows them to store greater amounts of oxygen for underwater use. Even on water this loon must be able to run across the surface with its wings beating for all they're worth for more than 20 yards in order to take flight. That's why they take their time in Spring to return to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta from their wintering areas on the open coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean. Their arrival is perfectly timed to the melting of ice on the large freshwater lakes in the Delta where they will make their nests and raise their families. They return to the same place where they were born, although they don't usually mate until they are two or three years old. After the male lays claim to a nesting territory by flying in circles over it and yodeling both in the air and on the water, courting begins. If you have the privilege of being present at this time, you will see some absolutely fascinating behavior, including repeated dipping of bills in the water; splash-diving; "penguin dancing," where the two birds rear into a vertical position with wings partly outspread; and racing side by side across the surface of the water. The few times I have seen this I have been spellbound. A rudimentary nest of matted grasses, rushes and twigs is built by both parents next to the water, then mating quickly takes place and usually two, brown-spotted olive-green eggs are laid and incubated by both mom and dad for almost a month. Although the eggs hatch at different intervals (asynchronously), the downy chicks leave the nest within one or two days after hatching. Amazingly, they can already dive and swim underwater by the time they are two or three days old! In any case, in order to rest and dry their downy coats, they will ride on their parents' backs. The young are tended and fed by both parents. Even a one day old chick is fed small whole fish, crustaceans, bits of water plants, etc. At night or when it's cool, small chicks may be brooded by their parents, as I saw during my recent river trip with my son Steven. By two weeks of age, the young are proficient at diving and can catch their own food, which in the Delta includes larger fish and crustaceans, snails, leeches, frogs, and aquatic plants and insects. They are not able to make their first flight, however, for up to eleven weeks after hatching, which takes them very close to winter in some parts of Alaska. This means they have to be careful not to wait too long to start their migration south. If there is a sudden freeze-up on their pond or lake, the position of their feet so far back on their body simply doesn't allow them to take off on a hard surface, so they are doomed to starve or to be shot and included in someone's next meal (half-cooked, from what my friends in Hooper Bay told me). The calls of the Common loon have always fascinated me. If you listen closely, you'll hear four basic types: the wild tremolo, or laughing call (which gave rise to the expression, "crazy as a loon"); the infinitely variable yodel, heard usually during the night or early morning; the wail, or long call; and talking calls of simple, often one-syllabled notes that seem to be equivalent to human conversation. Common loons are also found in Europe and Asia, where in English they are referred to as great northern divers. A few of their other English and American names are: big loon, black-billed loon, call-up-a-storm, ember goose, greenhead, guinea duck, imber diver, ring-necked loon, and walloon. Some of their foreign names are: polyarnaya gagara (Russian); colimbo mayor (Spanish); Ijsduiker (Dutch); plongeon huard (French); eistaucher (German); and strolaga maggiore (Italian).  |
