Loons are often confused with ducks because they are about the same size and also swim like a duck.
In the remote northwestern corner of Maine is a large lake with a large name, “Mooselookmeguntic”. The word comes from the Abnaki and means “moose feeding place”. It is technically the sixth largest lake in Maine. It sits at 1,467 feet above sea level. The maximum depth of the lake is 132 feet deep. There is a lot of shoreline (~57 miles), and over 6,000 acres of preserved land surrounding Mooselookmeguntic Lake. There are islands that you can kayak to and camp overnight. The Stephen Phillips Memorial Preserve has 60+ waterfront campsites along the shore and islands of Mooselookmeguntic Lake. These are available seasonally (Mid-May thru Mid-September).
The first time I came to Mooselookmeguntic Lake to camp, I was with a friend. We were paddling out in the middle of the lake when a squall popped up that turned the lake into a sloppy, choppy, low-visibility situation. I was in an overloaded kayak, sitting not far above the waterline. If not for riding the waves to the shoreline, I surely would have taken on too much water and been in trouble. Fortunately, I was able to surf to the shoreline, and beach the kayak without getting flooded out. My friend I was with was towing a kayak with our firewood, and because of the setup he had to keep moving in order to not capsize the towable kayak. We had split up as the storm rolled in, but knew where we both were going to end up.
Once onshore, I knew I was somewhere on the western shoreline of Mooselookmeguntic Lake. After the storm passed, I was able to reconnect with my friend along the shoreline. We made the day even longer by going the wrong way from this point, paddling away from our campsite and downwind. After figuring out where we were, we turned around and paddled upwind, landing at our campsite as the sun set. We were able to make a fire and have a laugh about the experience. My camera equipment was fortunately in a dry bag and stayed dry, so I was able to do some astrophotography from one of the islands in this very remote dark area of the country. The next morning, we paddled out on a beautiful weather day and I took this photo.
The bird in the photograph is a loon. There are five species of loons, but the “common loon” is the most widespread, and is the species in this photograph. Loons are often confused with ducks because they are about the same size and also swim like a duck.
There are five species of loons, but the “common loon” is the most widespread
Listen to the sounds of a loon!
Did you know?
- Loons can live up to 30 years!
- Loons can fly as fast as 75 miles per hour!
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