Interesting Facts About the Common Loon

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Truly gorgeous with a haunting call, the common Loon is a familiar and adored waterbird of the Northern lakes.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:39 Common Loon swimming underwater
01:06 Where can you find a common loon?
02:58 What is the common loon known for?
03:04 Common Loon Wail
03:14 Common Loon Tremolo
03:47 Common Loon Wail
04:07 Common Loon Yodel
04:35 Common Loon Tremolo

Common Loons spend a great deal of their day swimming slowly on the surface of the water, often sticking their heads below to scan for fish. If any are spotted they quickly dive down without much of a ripple left above.
Common Loons have solid bones, which makes them not so buoyant therefore allowing them to dive very well. An interesting thing is that When they dive into the water, their feathers are compressed and the air is forced from between the feathers and from the air sacs in the body. This loss of air lets them quietly sink below the surface and avoid danger.

Common Loons like to raise their young in forested lakes or large ponds throughout northern North America. One great thing about Common Loons is that since they need crystal clear lakes, their presence is a good indicator of water quality. A good population of small fish along with the ability to see them underwater is needed in order for a pair to take up residency. A small lake between 5 to 50 ha can sustain one couple. Lakes that have coves and islands are preferred, helping to provide them with cover while they nest or take a break.

Nesting takes place on land in a well-protected quiet spot hidden in the lake shore, like the lee of islands, or in a sheltered back bay. Walking is not their strongest attribute because the legs are placed very far back on their body. This makes them awkward on land. For this reason, nests are placed close to a bank that has a steep drop-off, permitting them to approach the nest from underwater.
Artificial nesting platforms are used by common loons as well, typically in places with a lot of shoreline development. They are known to reuse a nest site the following year. Fixing up the old one rather than starting all over again.
Typically around late June to early July, little dark brown fluffs appear on the water, the chicks. Only two eggs are usually laid, so there are just one or two babies, which are able to swim right away. Despite being able to navigate in the water immediately, chicks prefer to ride around on their parent's back a lot of the time. Where they are can rest, prevent too much heat loss since they are mostly down, and hide from large predators. Parents provide a great deal of care to their babies, feeding and protecting them in the early stages. As many as 70 times a day the chicks are fed, but As Summer nears the end the fledglings are capable of feeding themselves.

The most iconic thing about these birds is their captivating calls which have a way of creating a sense of peace and serenity. Common loons can be very vocal, especially in the late evening. After sundown, the north woods is described as reverberating with the echoes of wails, yodels, and tremolos. Their calls have an eerie yet beautiful aspect to them, especially the wail, a soulful cry that loons give back and forth to know each other's location. Another haunting call, the Yodel, is made by males who use it to claim territory. Not every male's yodel is the same, each has its own signature sound, and can change it if he moves to a new territory. Even tremolos which are usually used as alarm calls are quite something to hear.

Videos of loons underwater provided by
Curtis Lahr
MikeyFish3574

Thumbnail 1:
Original photo

Thumbnail 2:
Screenshot from video by
MikeyFish3574

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LesleytheBirdNerd
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My Grandfather took me to a log cabin on a wilderness lake in Maine during the summers. I'll never forget falling a sleep at night to the calls of the Loons.

barbiesboats
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I used to work at an animal rescue in Alaska and we'd get loons in sometimes. Something people don't seem to realize is, loons can't walk. Their legs are back too far and they can't hold up their front. They drag themselves onto land just to make nests. When they're in captivity (temporarily if they're in trouble) they need a towel under their chest or they get hurt because they're not supposed to be sitting on land that long. They float on water, that's 99% of their lives.

sminthian
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I recently spent a week canoe camping in the Boundary Waters of northern MN. The calls of the Loons was a daily treat.

dennislively
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I think that Loons are the most exquisite birds on the planet. Their feathers, markings and calls are perfection.

nancybusso
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Every summer in vacation I sit at the lake's deck at around midnight and wait for a loon's concert while looking at the stars. Best time of the year

jscrackwood
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Loons create some of the most haunting and beautiful sounds in nature. I have heard them in natural settings and they always stop me in my tracks with their lovely, captivating sound.

danieljakubik
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💜 Imagine living next to a lake that sings. 💜

gregorysagegreene
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I worked for 5 years in the Laurentian forests, and the sound of loons on the lake, at the end of a long hot summer day was the perfect lullaby.

Rangersly
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One of my favorites. Nothing says wilderness like the call of a loon

gettingold
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The gorgeous loon reminds me of family trips to New Hampshire, and the loon calls as the evening sky glowed with pink and purple.

juliej
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36 years ago my wife and I sailed our 25 foot sailboat to the North Channel of Canada for our 3 week honeymoon. At one point we were fogged in for three days in a small island cove. The only other residences were a family of loons. For those 3 wonderful days and nights we were serenaded by those amazing birds and their lovely songs; absolute magic. What a wonderful gift, and a happy memory. Thanks for reminding me of it; I’m smiling right now. Think I’ll find my wife, tell her I love her, and ask her listen to the loons.

klinej
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They have a beautiful call that I absolutely love. Their sound gives the same feeling that I get when I hear wolves or whales...haunting.

francineh.
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Right at dusk you can hear them across the lake and they are a good distance off ! Such character !

mrpearl
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Loons will always remind me of camping fishing trips in MN with my dad. He spent so much time up north he would come back with amazing pictures, stories and even mimicking loon calls

sy
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When they go underwater, they act like they're first cousins to the penguins! There's something about the Loons that bring a calmness & a feeling of nature as they call on the water.

bluesioux
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I have a cottage & I can definitively say that the loon calls are the best indicator of the arrival of summer; it is the most soothing sound to relax & fall asleep on the dock

mariaandharold
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Central and northern Wisconsin lakes is where I spend time listening to the loons. Their cries fill me with a serenity I can't describe.

bethmattson
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My absolute favorite..😍the boundary waters in MN is a hotbed of these beauteous buddies..such beautiful calls they Make..❤️

sorrycharlie
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Love the Loon’s calls too. Impressed also by their underwater swimming.

passinthru