The morning gathering ritual on Mary lake. Loons begin arriving around 7 A.M., one by one from different directions. They form circles and greet each other with hoots. Some days they feed together as a group and get quite excited if a school of baitfish is located. The gathering usually lasts for an hour. Then as quickly as they arrived, they begin their 100 yard run to take flight. One by one, just as they came, they depart.