Taking off at dawn
Just a bit after the sunrise a loon sprint for a takeoff. I could anticipate his take off and position myself in his line of 'runway', with the sun just behind him.
A loon is very well adapted to flight apparently, even though it has solid bones unlike other birds. The loon has been clocked at speeds over 100 mph during migration. It takes approximately 250 flaps per minute to achieve that speed.
The hardest challenge for loons is getting up in the air in the first place. In order to get lift, they need a lot of air rushing beneath their airfoil wings. Even running as fast as they can is usually not enough. They also need the boost of wind. So first they feel which way the wind is blowing, and then run straight into it while flapping powerfully. The stronger the wind, the shorter the "runway" they need to takeoff.
www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/loon/Flight_Loon.html
..
Taking off at dawn
Just a bit after the sunrise a loon sprint for a takeoff. I could anticipate his take off and position myself in his line of 'runway', with the sun just behind him.
A loon is very well adapted to flight apparently, even though it has solid bones unlike other birds. The loon has been clocked at speeds over 100 mph during migration. It takes approximately 250 flaps per minute to achieve that speed.
The hardest challenge for loons is getting up in the air in the first place. In order to get lift, they need a lot of air rushing beneath their airfoil wings. Even running as fast as they can is usually not enough. They also need the boost of wind. So first they feel which way the wind is blowing, and then run straight into it while flapping powerfully. The stronger the wind, the shorter the "runway" they need to takeoff.
www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/loon/Flight_Loon.html
..