The Common Loon is still special, at least for me, even if becoming more, well, common on the lakes in New England and beyond. Loons have become established on Lake Megunticook, just inland from Camden, Maine, where Nature Conservancy lakeshore provides a nesting place. These pictures are from this lake, with the exception of the Pacific Loon, photographed in Monterey, CA.
Loons have a very distinctive call, and are audible on the lake during the day as well as at night. I used my camera one night late - 2am - to record the calls of at least several loons - some close by, some in a separate arm of the lake around to my left, and others in arms of the lake well in front of me. The calls of the loon are well described in the site of the Loon Preservation Committee (NH) - www.loon.org, on site page the voice of the loon, where four distinct loon calls are identified: tremolo, wail, yodel and hoot. On this night recording there is a very clear tremolo coming from at least two distinct locations, followed by a series of wails coming from different locations around the lake, both near and far.
During the summer the Loons do not often take flight - it is a rather cumbersome process for these birds. But in the fall flight is a more common sight.
A loon swimming and fishing close to shore.
A tripod can make a difference - even with high shutter speed. Here a similar photo of a single loon, swimming just off shore. Shutter speed is 1/1000, f/9, focal length 300mm (35mm Nikon D90 digital camera), as compared to the photo above, 1/800, f/9, focal length 122mm, same camera and lens. The details of the spots and striping’s around the neck are clearly sharper with the stability of a tripod mounted camera.
A special shot for me - a loon that has just surfaced, with water sheeting from the bill!
It is rare to see more than a few loons together. A pair is not unusual, maybe as many as four together. One morning after a significant storm, a "northeaster", there was a group of at least 13 loons grouped. No idea whether the storm was related or not to this event.
I live on the east coast, and so have pictures of the Common Loon. On a visit to the west coast I saw these Pacific Loons. My visit was in the winter, and so I saw the winter plumage. Markings are similar to the Common Loon during the summer - search on "Pacific Loon" - example from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Pacific Loon
