What’s black and white and heard all over?
A loon, of course!
A poor joke, I know. But, if you’ve ever heard a loon call, you might agree!
Loons are wonderful waterfowl that we have in residence on our lake in Northern Wisconsin. Their distinctive call has been heard over and over the last few days, especially at dusk and dawn.
Loons are native to the state of Wisconsin. They are migratory birds and appear in the northern part of the state in the summer on or near our numerous freshwater lakes. In the fall and winter, loons can be found in Mexico and the southern Atlantic states. If you live in the southern half of Wisconsin, you might be lucky to spot a look in the spring, stopping over on a lake in your neck of the woods
Speaking of necks, look at that distinctive plumage! The call of the loons this morning inspired my poem for Poetry Friday. A family of three was swimming and calling so long that I had to rush out to the dock to try and capture the conversation. Unfortunately, they were not close enough for photos, so I included some copyright-free images from Pixabay! On the lake, however, I saw three loons, swimming and calling between two boats – one at either end of the lake. It was a fun and welcome sight!
A Loon’s Day
Black and white,
Almost tuxedo-like.
Common Loon feathers,
stuck together make
a natural pattern
to instantly
recognize our
waterfowl friend.
Waking us at dawn with
a call that sounds crazy,
notifying its young to stop
being lazy.
The time is now to fish,
you see, the mother Loon
is as wise as can be.
Get on the lake, before the
fishermen rise, let’s beat them
to the grandest prize.
This lake is nice, says Mama Loon,
but let’s do our best to take our
food before the boats arrive and
scare us too. Back to the nest in the
rising day’s heat, we’ll wait for dinner
until the people are all beat.
Then we can swim again, on our beloved swell,Â
calling to other loons to join us and dwell.
On the lake, we’ll glide while the sun
sinks low. Happily, happily, we live on the go.
Today is Poetry Friday! This week’s roundup is hosted by A Word Edgewise blog. Thank you for hosting!
The Apples in My Orchard 
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