Hector and I went to Sandy Point State Park over the weekend.  When we got there, we decided to wade out to the lighthouse.  We had a lot of fun and we saw quite a few birds.  I felt particularly excited when we saw some common loons.

Common loons are diving ducks who begin arriving on the Chesapeake Bay every year at about this time. Some common loons will winter here and some will only visit for a while before continuing further south.

Common loons love to eat a type of fish called menhaden. I can’t be sure the common loons we saw were diving for menhaden to eat, but I can say it was likely. There are a lot of menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay.

Menhaden are very important fish in the aquatic food chain and are food for many creatures, including larger fish (like striped bass), whales, and birds (like common loons).