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One of my favorite activities at the lighthouse is to walk down the hill to what we call the “lighthouse loch” and watch the red throated divers. They spend a lot of time feeding and sleeping in the loch. I have been disappointed over the years that we never had a breeding pair in that loch. A little over a mile away are two lochs that do have breeding pairs. I often make that walk when the female divers are on their nest.
If you are not familiar with the red throated diver, it is in the same family as the North American common loon. The diver is the same shape as the loon but has totally different coloring. Their habits are similar including the eerie call that is really their trademark. (The Shetlanders call the divers “rain geese” because they call constantly when it is stormy or foggy.)
Both birds nest right on the edge of the bank because they are extremely awkward when out of the water. After their chicks are born they carry them on their back until they are big enough to take care of themselves.
We have a lake house up north in Michigan. Among the residents is a beautiful pair of loons. Their nest is quite near to our house so we get to watch them up close with a spotting scope. Last year, we even got to see the loon pair put one of their babies in the water the day after it was born.
This year the female sat on her eggs but something happened because there were no chicks. Either a predator or the extreme weather killed them.
It reminded me of a walk I took to see the red throated diver’s chicks from a hidden viewing point far from the nest. Divers are very shy and you cannot get too close to them or they will abandon their young. (It is even against the law to take a picture of them up close without a permit.) While I was watching, a huge gull suddenly swooped down and picked up one of the chicks and flew away with it. Tears came to my eyes as I watched this tragedy taking place.
The thing that struck me was these magnificent water birds are related and so similar in habits but living on different sides of the Atlantic also have the same struggle in raising their chicks. One of my friends often says that “Nature is cruel.” It is not cruelty but a carefully designed plan based on the survival of the fittest and maintaining a balance of species.
What I do not like is witnessing this happening to the bird
I consider mine!
This story appeared in the
August 2006 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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