Common Loons
A common loon in its nest.
Our three lakes have had loons and loon families for many years but for the last few years the baby loons have been missing. The local loons have returned each year to nest and raise a family but predation and other factors have caused their nesting success to diminish! Your Lake District has recently decided to help nature along and is working on securing and placing a loon nesting platform on one of the lakes. If successful, plans are to provide each lake with one to insure the success of our local loon population! On a brighter note, a loon nest has been located and now contains two eggs waiting to hatch! Keep our fingers crossed for a successful brood!
An adult loon, with two chicks on its back.
Several years ago, the St Croix Valley Bird Club sponsored an exceptional talk on Loons at the Hudson Library. Sam Lewis, from “LoonWatch”, spoke on his “72 Years of Listening to Loons”. Accompanied by his two young granddaughters, who provided commentary and visual aids, Sam’s presentation outlined the life history and behavior of this unique bird. We are very lucky to have lakes pristine enough to support family breeding pairs of loons so close to a large metropolitan area.
There are 5 loon species (Arctic, Pacific, Red-throated, Yellow-billed and Common) that inhabit the northern hemisphere but the only one we have locally is the Common Loon. The loon is considered one of the most primitive birds on earth and has been around unchanged for a million years. The first loon appeared about 25 million years ago and measured almost six feet from beak to tail. Our current loons now weigh from 8-16 pounds but can have a 5 foot wingspread. They can live from 25 – 30 years.
The common loon or great northern diver (Gavia immer)
The word loon comes from the word “clumsy” and the bird has very large feet that are set far back which aids greatly in swimming but is not conducive for walking on dry land. Sam noted that if a loon was the size of a human it would have the equivalent of a 52 size shoe. Loons can dive to a depth of 300 feet and can swim underwater for a quarter of a mile with one breath. Because of their weight and body makeup, they need to run on the water to become air-borne but once in flight can achieve an air speed of 70 miles per hour, flapping their wings 200 times per minute nonstop. Unlike most birds whose bones are hollow, loons have solid bones that aid them in swimming underwater. Loons consume primarily fish and small crustaceans and will eat two pounds per day. A family of loons can consume 900 pounds of fish in a season.
Loons have four basic calls and each loon has a distinct voice pattern. The yodel is a territorial call, the wail is a locator call, the hoot is a soft one note call used to call chicks or mates while the tremolos sound like a laugh and is used when loons are disturbed. I have heard all four calls and now understand a bit of what they mean. Next spring I will definitely listen closer to their vocalizations.
Our loons arrive on Wisconsin lakes as soon as the ice goes out and are nesting by mid-May. The eggs hatch in mid-June. Usually each nest contains two eggs. Each nesting pair is extremely territorial and need about 100 acres of territory per pair. Small lakes less than a hundred acres will have only one breeding pair. Single loons can be seen on most lakes and these are the young or non-paired up loons waiting to seek a mate and claim a territory. Loons usually breed at 4 years of age.
In the fall, adult loons migrate first, followed later by the young loons. Our area loons first go to Lake Michigan where they spend some time. They then migrate to specific areas on the Gulf of Mexico where they stay until the spring migration, returning usually back to the same lake. The young loons remain in the gulf until they are 3-5 years old and then return to the same areas, usually within a few miles of the lake they were hatched. Loons from farther east will overwinter along the Atlantic Coast.
Presently there are estimated to be approximately 4,000 adult loons in Wisconsin, 12,000 in Minnesota, 36,000 in the United States and 580,000 in Canada. We need to insure that these birds continue to thrive and expand their numbers so that their “call of the wild” will continue to be heard by future generations!