For me, summer normally means traveling to Maine to see family, friends and nature! Growing up, one of my most favorite birds to hear and see was the Common Loon. The sound of a Common Loon can instantly transport me to a lake in Maine. Although I won’t be visiting Maine this summer, I surely enjoyed this video, created by the Laman Family during the pandemic summer of 2020 and published by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, about Common Loon families of Mount Desert Island, Maine.
Experience a loon hatchling take to the water for the first time (@1:55), an adult male yodel (@2:35) and loon parents feeding their young (@5:23). While I won’t see the Common Loon this summer, I look forward to our winter here on Seabrook Island, SC, where I can often see them in the ocean just off the shore of our beach.
Learn more about the Common Loon here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Loon/overview
Submitted by: Nancy Brown
It may seem strange that among the more than 10,000 bird species in the world today is a group that literally cannot fly or sing, and whose wings are more fluff than feather. These are the ratites: the ostrich, emu, rhea, kiwi and cassowary. How and why these birds abandoned flight has puzzled scientists since Darwin’s time, but DNA and dedicated research are helping to solve these mysteries.
After a local farmer left a bowl of eggs on Joe Hutto’s front porch, his life was forever changed. Hutto, possessing a broad background in the natural sciences and an interest in imprinting young animals, incubated the eggs and waited for them to hatch. As the chicks emerged from their shells, they locked eyes with an unusual but dedicated mother.
Deep in the wilds of Florida’s Flatlands, Hutto spent each day living as a turkey mother, taking on the full-time job of raising sixteen turkey chicks. Hutto dutifully cared for his family around the clock, roosting with them, taking them foraging, and immersing himself in their world. In the process, they revealed their charming curiosity and surprising intellect. There was little he could teach them that they did not already know, but he showed them the lay of the land and protected them from the dangers of the forest as best he could. In return, they taught him how to see the world through their eyes.
Based on his true story, My Life as a Turkey chronicles Hutto’s remarkable and moving experience of raising a group of wild turkey hatchlings to adulthood.
You are invited to a Zoom meeting.
When: May 11, 2021 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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