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I posted this over at ADK but I thought I might share here.
This happened on an overnight excursion in Saranac Lakes Wild Forest in the Adirondack Park.
Some of you may be thinking Loons? They are as common as mud puddles in ADKs this time of year. And we've all seen them... yeah I have and have been fascinated with them since I was little. I think the closest I have ever been without them diving away is about 50ft.
I had quite an experience with one this past week, I don't think it is common, as I have asked and shown as many people as would care to look at my pictures and they had never heard of such a thing.
We had two get VERY close to us on Fish Creek in Saranac Lakes WF. I mean CLOSE. I could have reached out and pet the more wiley one. I am assuming it was a mating pair but I don't know for sure.
We happen to pass them coming down Fish Creek and when approaching them I was certain that they would dive and disappear into the black waters... They did not.
The current carried us down past them and the more timid of the pair dove when we were about 5' away. The more brave stayed firm. I said hello to him as I passed.
At that point I told my wife to break out the camera and we looped back and did a little dance with them in the water.
The one from the pair in the above picture had some sort of fascination with our boat. I swear I think he thought it was a giant fish (think of the look of kelvar weave vs. fish scales - pretty similar in appearance).
He liked it so much he came right up to the side and snapped at it. I swear on my life!
Here is a picture of him right before or after he found out our boat wasn't edible (I can't recall the which). You can see the edge of our boat in the picture and sense how close we were:
I was still being very careful and slow with my movements until he snapped at the boat. He then approached my wife and she thought he might snap at her! He went by peacefully and we then decided we had gotten close enough.
At that point I couldn't say if he thought our boat was a giant fish or he was being aggressive and protective. I've never known Loons to be that way, but I could be wrong. Either way it was a magical experience. And it was pouring rain the whole time. If we had pulled over and set up the tarp we would have missed them.
Here is the spot on our boat where he pecked it. It scratched the decal and the gel coat. The beaks on those suckers are sharp!
The rest of the trip was nice except for the rain, which we paddled through for about 2 hrs before making camp.
And hey, they don't call me 'the bird' for nothin'!
This happened on an overnight excursion in Saranac Lakes Wild Forest in the Adirondack Park.
Some of you may be thinking Loons? They are as common as mud puddles in ADKs this time of year. And we've all seen them... yeah I have and have been fascinated with them since I was little. I think the closest I have ever been without them diving away is about 50ft.
I had quite an experience with one this past week, I don't think it is common, as I have asked and shown as many people as would care to look at my pictures and they had never heard of such a thing.
We had two get VERY close to us on Fish Creek in Saranac Lakes WF. I mean CLOSE. I could have reached out and pet the more wiley one. I am assuming it was a mating pair but I don't know for sure.
We happen to pass them coming down Fish Creek and when approaching them I was certain that they would dive and disappear into the black waters... They did not.
The current carried us down past them and the more timid of the pair dove when we were about 5' away. The more brave stayed firm. I said hello to him as I passed.
At that point I told my wife to break out the camera and we looped back and did a little dance with them in the water.
The one from the pair in the above picture had some sort of fascination with our boat. I swear I think he thought it was a giant fish (think of the look of kelvar weave vs. fish scales - pretty similar in appearance).
He liked it so much he came right up to the side and snapped at it. I swear on my life!
Here is a picture of him right before or after he found out our boat wasn't edible (I can't recall the which). You can see the edge of our boat in the picture and sense how close we were:
I was still being very careful and slow with my movements until he snapped at the boat. He then approached my wife and she thought he might snap at her! He went by peacefully and we then decided we had gotten close enough.
At that point I couldn't say if he thought our boat was a giant fish or he was being aggressive and protective. I've never known Loons to be that way, but I could be wrong. Either way it was a magical experience. And it was pouring rain the whole time. If we had pulled over and set up the tarp we would have missed them.
Here is the spot on our boat where he pecked it. It scratched the decal and the gel coat. The beaks on those suckers are sharp!
The rest of the trip was nice except for the rain, which we paddled through for about 2 hrs before making camp.
And hey, they don't call me 'the bird' for nothin'!
