Loons look for home:
If a bird can’t go home it tries to approximate it. (Familiar Nest Sites Beat Better Lakes NATURE vol. 499 no. 7456 July 4, 2013 page 8 reviewing Proc. R. Soc B 280, 20130979 (2013)) It is observed that loons that grow up in small acidic lakes will prefer small acidic lakes to settle in, which seems strange to those studying them. Larger sweeter lakes support more chicks. The choice is attributed to the bird being familiar with the kind of fish it can catch in the more familiar lake.
But of course you, if you are an ardent follower of this site, no quite well what I think. They seek lakes that resemble home because they are more likely to find kin there from the same lake seeking the same conditions. The fertility advantage of mating with the right kin swamps all other factors.
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