Polar Bear Blog - Moody Manitoba Tuesday - August 1, 2006

Nothing good comes from an east wind. For two days, you could see clouds building out on the bay before they finally arrived, bringing a marathon downpour that made it feel like we jumped straight from July to September.

Today, it is still raining and still windy and still gloomy. A good day for northerners to stay inside and drink coffee and more coffee.

So that's what I was doing when a nice surprise swam by the cabin. A couple days ago, I wrote about the Pacific Loon, my favourite bird, and about their territorial instincts. Well, I should have included that they are territorial in breeding season and while protecting their nesting lake. However, later in summer, they occasionally gather in small groups, possibly in preparation for the commute back to the Pacific Coast, maybe as far as Baja. Kind of like a going away party.

Three years ago, we saw a group of eight or nine loons, swimming, diving and splashing together. There were still displays of dominance and many 'territorial' chases but without the vicious consequences. Today, I looked out the window and saw twelve Pacific Loons swimming by, maybe two metres (six feet) from my front yard, their steel gray heads somehow gleaming in the mist.

I hope they come back for a party tonite or communal feeding or whatever it is but it really is the display of a lifetime. Actually, the second display of a lifetime but I am not complaining.

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