As reported yesterday, the ice is breaking up fast on Post Pond, and today 
the high wind sent huge sheets of dark crystalline ice slamming into each 
other, which trapped one of the loons 3-4 hundred (or more) feet away from 
open water.  I first noticed it frantically trying to pull itself across 
the ice- a loon version of the butterfly stroke, using it's wings as sort of 
oars while pushing with it's feet and arching it's whole body forward.  It 
rested every few minutes, but was clearly getting exhausted.  Eventually it 
got into a small patch of open water between the ice sheets, but that was 
getting squeezed smaller every minute.  Then I noticed another loon out at 
the edge of the ice, in open water at the point closest to the trapped loon. 
The second loon then dove under the ice and came up in another pocket of 
clear water about half way to the trapped one.  They both found their way to 
clear water, but the whole thing took over 45 Min.!
    I did happen to get a good look at some bands on the second loon who 
came to the "rescue".... for some reason it flopped up onto the ice at one 
point, with it's hind legs splayed out on either side, facing away from me. 
It had very clear wide colored bands on it's left leg, about 1" in diameter, 
orange on the outside, green on the inside.  And an even thicker shiny 
silver band on the left leg.  Do any of you more experienced birders know if 
individual loons are "color coded" for visual id?  Or if I should report 
this somewhere?
    Thanks,
    John Quimby
    Lyme, NH

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