Loon Chick's First Flight

Gene Klco (pronounced Kelso) is a retired GM design manager. He has been taking photos since his college days in the late '60s. His excitement for loon photography began on July 4, 2007, when he was able to let the wind float his kayak into three loons on the lake. He took some interesting pictures as he didn't spook them with a lot of motion. That experience hooked him on loon photography, with most of his photos taken from a kayak. Many looning trips to lakes in northern Michigan and thousands of photos later, Gene decided to make a book from his photos the story of a loon chick growing up during the summer. Since the small lake their cottage is on doesn't have an island for loons to nest on, he made an Artificial Nesting Island (ANI) for them. It took four years before a pair of loons used it in 2013. This is the story of that loon family.