COMMON LOON. This loon is floating around on the tranquil waters of Mississippi Lake accompanied by a dragon-fly. He appears ready to receive company after spending several hours grooming and splashing around. (See also next photo). This is a different loon from the ones with the young previously shown. The ones with the young are at the far end of the lake/River. I call this one our resident bachelor. He has been frequenting our bay over the past three years, always alone and always preening, splashing, showing off, just floating around and eating. He often approaches our dock to within 50-100 feet, even with people on the dock. He is therefore relatively easy to photograph. At times he seems to attract company; however, he doesn't seem to have hit it off with a mate yet. There are plenty of loons on our lake, so one of these days/years he may just get hitched and dissapear or perhaps start a family near our shore.