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Nature's Solace
Celebrating Nature in the Pacific Northwest
Common Loon - Gavia immer
Images taken on the Strait of Juan de Fuca waterfront in Port Angeles, Washington. This lone loon hung out daily near the wharf.
Common Loons generally eat small fish up to 10" long. They swallow small prey under water and bring larger prey to the surface. They are powerful predators underwater. Unlike most birds, loons have solid bones. This extra weight helps them to make deep dives of 250 feet. Propelling themselves with their feet, they shoot through the water following their quarry's even most sharp change of direction. They can turn 180 degrees in a fraction of a second! It takes patience to watch for them to resurface as they can stay under water for up to five minutes!
My first memory of the common loon takes me back to a canoe camping trip in the boundary waters in Nothern Minnesota. I consider the loon to be one of the most exquisite of seabirds. Their infamous "laugh" known as the "tremelo" may have been a defensive warning to us canoeists. Loons are known to have four main calls which they use to communicate with their families and other loons. Each call has a distinct meaning and serves a unique function. These calls have become a symbol of the wilderness.
Listen to the many voices of the loon - click here (Loon Preservation Committee)
The sighting of a loon is always special. Over the winter, there is always a few that hang out in the waterfront bay of Port Angeles. In Washington, they are classified as "sensitive species" with only twenty confirmed nesting locations in the state and they are vulnerable to a number of threats. Common loons can be found in lakes and taiga ponds in the summer and the habitats of larger lakes, bays and the ocean in the winter.
Non-breeding or immature common loon - Subadult loons may remain in basic plumage year-round. In winter, loons acquire gray plumage above and are white below. The red in their eye helps them to see under water.
Molting phase - transitioning from their striking adult plumage to their grey and white winter plumage.
Common Loons do not breed until they are 5 years old, and often not until 7 or older. This delayed breeding results in low productivity, making it harder for the population to rebound from declines. However, loons can live to be 30 years old.
Mating and Nesting - Loons are monogamous with pair bonds typically lasting 5 years. Common loons usually nest on lakes surrounded by forest that have deep inlets and bays. The lake needs to be adequately large to allow for a 100 - 600 foot "runway" in order to take off from the lake.
They build the nest together with the end product looking like a clump of dead grasses, always by the edge of the water since loons cannot walk on land. Two eggs are laid, incubated by both parents. The young leave the nest only a few days after hatching and can dive and swim underwater at 2-3 days of age. Both parents continue to feed and tend the young, which sometimes ride on their backs. Once a nesting territory is established, loons return to the same site each year.
Migration: Common loons winter on Washington’s coastal and inland marine waters, as well as the Columbia River and Lake Chelan. Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca hosts 3,000-4,000 wintering birds; most of these nest in Canada and Alaska. Washington may be the only known state where common loons overwinter on both saltwater and fresh water. Non-breeding loons may stay year round in their wintering grounds. Click here to see map of the Common Loon range.
ABJ and Fe, the World's Oldest Common Loons are still a Couple - after 25 years - and amazing Parents!
To see their picture and read this amazing and heartwarming story, check out this Audubon site
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