Common Loons

[gb_eh]

Lately I've been photographing some Common Loons . I have a behavior question for the group:

 Do loons swallow their prey (fish) under the water before returning to the surface? Do they ever bring up their prey like say a merganser to eat. I watched 4 individuals dive numerous times in a 3 hour period last night , and not once did I see them surface with a fish. So either they are really poor at catching fish (which I doubt) or the eat underwater.. Any ideas?

[GStuart]

According to the Animal Diversity Web site of the University of Michigan

Adult loons ingest most of their food items underwater where they catch them. They bring larger items to the surface before eating them.