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Tag Archives: Common Loons

Loons of the Okanogan Highlands

I love to watch and listen to the Common Loons when I camp in the Highlands. For me, they represent a certain wildness that is not often present in my daily life. They are exquisitely beautiful birds with haunting calls. If a Bald Eagle approaches a lake with a pair of nesting loons, the birds will call back and forth to each other, as if keeping track of the arch predator, warning each other of the potential danger. Sometimes, it seems they call for fun or to welcome the morning sun or the end of the day. When other loons arrive on the lake, they call back and forth, perhaps in greeting?

I was lucky to see two loons on nests, one visible from a road and the other from my boat. They are sensitive to disturbance so I kept my distance from them.

Loons spend a lot of time preening to maintain their waterproofing and to line up their feathers. Read about that here. The most recent North Central Washington newsletter has articles about banding Common Loons in Ferry and Okanogan Counties. You can read that here.

Raising a (loon) Family

Baby birds need to eat a lot and eat often. They have a lot of growing up to do in a short time. By fall, these tiny babies need to be able to fly away to the ocean or maybe the Columbia River where they will find water and food and safe havens. Both parents feed the little ones, diving often to search for small tidbits to feed the babies.

How Do They Do That?

When I first arrived at the lake, I was delighted to see two adult Common Loons, each with a baby loon on its back! The little ones are subject to predation, primarily by Bald Eagles. Generally, loons lay two eggs which are also subject to predation by any animal that can get to their nests. So seeing two youngsters brought a smile to my face, especially seeing them on top of their parents. It was fun to see the baby get onto the parent’s back. Still not quite sure how they get a grip and pull themselves up. Loons are not agile on their feet.

Loons

These photos are from our recent camping trip. I love to watch and photograph birds from my kayak. Some birds, like Common Loons, will approach a boat if it is quiet and this family did just that. If I was close to the birds, I’d sit quietly in the boat and hope that they would come closer. They didn’t always. Early mornings and evenings were best. It was busier around the lake during the day and the birds tried to keep to themselves. The first day we saw the baby loons, they were not yet diving but by the time we left, they were diving and preening and acting like their parents. The youngsters have big feet, like a lab puppy and I imagine someone asking the parents, ‘do you think they will ever grow into those feet?’ Well, people still ask me that about Sky and she’s almost six years old, so no.

At another lake, I was able to look down at the loons and see them swimming underwater. They strictly used their feet for propulsion. I also observed this from my boat but they were too close for photos!

I know, this is a lot of photos but the birds are so beautiful.

Common Loons at Lost Lake

Common Loons are not so common in Washington, especially nesting Common Loons. Apparently they used to be common all over the west but not so much anymore. Threats to loons include loss of habitat, predators and discarded fishing tackle. Fishing line, hooks and lead weights are all potentially damaging or fatal to loons and other water birds such as Trumpeter Swans.

At Lost Lake, there is a pair of Common Loons that have nested in the same place for many years. They arrive in the spring from their wintering grounds and take up residence. Thirty days later, the eggs – there may be one or two – hatch and the tiny balls of black fluff are immediately paddling around the lake with their parents. They may also ride on the backs of the parent birds. Both parents care for the birds – feeding and protecting them from predators and gradually teaching them to forage for fish on their own. It takes much of the summer for the birds to fledge and be ready to migrate.

Due to shortage of good nesting areas, pairs in Washington are helped with the supplementation of extra four-inch fish added to nesting lakes by the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Also, sticks are placed around and leaning over the nest to protect it from avian predators such as Bald Eagles. Most loons are banded for further study. When the young are nearly grown, researchers will attempt to net them so they may also be banded. The male of this pair has always eluded capture and consequently has never been banded.

This male arrived at Lost Lake this spring with fishing line hanging out of his mouth. It is presumed that there is a hook embedded in his tongue or cheek – probably acquired when the bird ate a fish that had escaped an angler with the tackle in its mouth. You can clearly see the fishing line in the images I made on Wednesday with a loop of it hanging out one side of his mouth. On Friday, it appeared that he had both ends of the line in his mouth and it’s less easy to observe.

Wednesday I inadvertently, paddled right up to the nest. I did not know it was at the edge of the reeds. I was able to see the two dark eggs and quickly moved away in hopes of lessening any disturbance to the birds. Later in the day, we walked on the road on the east side of the lake where we had a clear view of the female on the nest. Friday when I was out on my boat I saw that the eggs had hatched and the two loonlings were out and about with their mother! It was very exciting for me.

All of these images were made with a 600 mm equivalent lens and I did my best to minimize disturbance to the loons.

Common Loon nest with two eggs
The fishing line dangling from the bird’s beak
The nest as seen from the road.
An interesting posture.
The fishing line cups the chin and is harder to see at this point.
You can see the line in this image and the next one too.
Loon babies
Loons are heavy with solid bones to help them dive for fish. This makes it harder for them to fly so they need to circle a small lake this several time before gaining enough altitude to clear the trees.