Welcome to the World, Feisty Little Loonlet 1!

The suspense on Looncam 2 has finally broken! After a long, sleepless night of chatters listening to muffled peeps and scratching from inside the shell, the newest addition to the lake has officially arrived.

The excitement began early in the morning when eagle-eyed viewers spotted the very first “pip”—a tiny beak poking through the membrane of the left egg at 9:52 AM. But this little loon made the community wait all day for the grand finale. Finally, during a 5:49 PM egg roll, the top half of the shell nearly detached. Then, at 8:10 PM, the chick made its highly anticipated debut! (A huge shoutout to chat member GailO, who won the community guessing contest by predicting the hatch time within just three minutes!)

Right out of the gate, this chick proved to be a feisty little alpha. Instead of quietly resting, the newborn immediately started wiggling around under Dad’s left wing, popping its little head out to check out its new world. Viewers were treated to adorable “bobblehead” moments as the chick tried to figure out how to lift its heavy head and navigate its big, ungainly flippers. It was even caught playfully peck-peck-pecking at Dad from the safety of his feathers.

Dad, who took an unusually long shift to oversee the hatch, proved to be an absolute hero. Barely an hour after his new baby was born, he had to jump up and aggressively defend the raft from a lurking Great Blue Heron (we think), successfully keeping the feisty little chick safe from harm.

While Mom has been out on the lake enjoying a well-deserved break, Dad and his brand-new, energetic bobblehead are holding down the fort. We can’t wait to see this little one take its first swim!