>And, unrelatedly...
>> I once found a dead red-necked grebe floating along
>> the shoreline with one leg hanging by a thread, the other
>> cleanly amputated. We have no snapping turtles, no
>> sharks. Hmm, makes those loons look rather suspicious.

>Maybe. Is there fishing at the lake? I've seen grebe legs nearly removed
after
>becoming entangled in fishing line.

This particular lake is not a popular fishing spot, although
someone may wet a line from time to time. I stop by there
often and have never seen anyone fishing.

I think there would still have been monofilament around the
partially severed leg if that had been the cause. We get
birds into the treatment center with stumps caused by
fishing line entanglement, so I've seen what it can do.

Chris Maack
Anchorage, AK
CMaack at compuserve.com