With the first snowfall in the offing and adults and chicks feeding voraciously to steel themselves for migration, an odd and touching event has occurred. We have been able to track the local movements of a pair from their breeding lake to other lakes in the study area. This is not a traditional pair of male and female, but a father and his son who have remained together for an unusual stretch. Hatched on July 1st, the Fawn chick was attended closely by his father from the start. When his mother swallowed a fishing lure and anglers cut the line, leaving her trailing yards of monofilament, she abandoned her mate and offspring for several days to recover. Still his dad remained with the chick and increased his feedings to make up for the absence. (The female survived the ordeal and returned to Fawn Lake afterwards to resume parenting.) Dad continued to feed his son assiduously as he grew, matured and began to take flight. Two weeks ago, however, Fawn Lake was empty of loons. The sharp-eyed residents of Lumen Lake, right next door and almost touching Fawn, reported the sudden appearance of an adult loon and chick that turned out to be the missing father and son from Fawn. The two remained on Lumen for a week or so but then disappeared again. Judith Bloom, who for years has monitored several breeding pairs on huge Lake Tomahawk, e-mailed on Thursday to report that she had found (and ID’d!) an adult and chick feeding in a bay near her home that were not from any territory on Tomahawk (see Judith’s photos). Sure enough, the Fawn father and son had made another appearance in foreign waters. 

Now, it does happen that parents continue to feed their chicks at 13+ weeks of age.  What is unusual is that a parent-offspring pair has remained together on not just one shift to a foreign lake, but two shifts. Moreover, the second shift was a whopper, as the duo flew about 6 miles together to land on Lake Tomahawk. While it is tempting to view this event as a reflection of the trend that is becoming routine in human society — offspring remaining with their parents well beyond the normal age of independence — it might warrant scientific scrutiny. In fact, such “fawning” behavior by a father towards his son makes sense evolutionarily, providing Dad has improved his son’s chances of surviving migration and its first winter while still maintaining his own health. In three to five years, when this chick stands to reach adulthood, we will see if the father’s tireless investment paid off.