By Alice Martin

Special to the Dispatch

Do you think that any Minnesotan doesn’t recognize the call of our state bird, the Common Loon?  That iconic, haunting call has been incorporated into so many advertisements for vacationing in Minnesota and even in songs by Sam Smith, Calvin Harris, Doja Cat, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, just to mention a few.

The Common Loon’s long, low-slung body, black head, red eye, boldly checkered back, and black-and-white striped “necklace” make them easily identifiable.  The females are virtually identical to the male but are just a bit smaller.  They are highly territorial during the breeding season with both the male and female defending their territory.  A pair can take over a small lake or a cove or bay of larger lakes and drive off intruding loons aggressively to the point that there might be a fatality, particularly between the male birds.    

The Common Loons have a number of different calls.  The one that is probably the most familiar is that three note “wail call” which is used by mated pairs to communicate with each other over longer distances and, particularly, to advise each other of an intruding loon or a predator.   The other very familiar “tremolo”, known as the “crazy laugh”, is also a response to threats including humans getting a little too close.  Interestingly, it is only the male bird that makes this call and each one’s call is distinctive.  

We don’t hear the “hoot” very often.  It’s a short-range communication between members of the loons’ family and also between rival loons during low level territorial interactions.  And finally, there’s “cooing” which is used when the birds are close to each other, especially common when they are courting and when they are on the nest with chicks.  Those poor folks living near coastal areas, the Loon’s winter home, rarely if ever hear any of these calls and don’t see their beautiful plumage.  The birds go virtually silent and molt feathers so they are mostly just gray when away from “home”.

Loons are water birds, only going ashore to mate and incubate eggs. Their legs are placed far back on their bodies, allowing efficient swimming but only awkward movement on land.  In fact, migrating Common Loons occasionally land on wet highways or parking lots, mistaking them for open water.  They are, sadly, stranded.  If you should ever come across a Common Loon in such a situation, don’t approach too closely, keep pets away and call a conservation officer, a rehab center or law enforcement because the loon needs specialized care.  

Yes, they are water birds, but they are not particularly efficient when taking off from the water. Loons have dense, solid bones which add to their weight.  As a result, take-off requires them to flap their wings at the rate of up to 250 times a minute and run across the top of the water for at least 100 feet up to a quarter of a mile to gain enough speed for lift-off.  If a loon lands in a small pond, the runway for taking off may be too short, stranding the loon.  Again, if you should find a loon in such a predicament, contact the professionals.
If you try to give assistance on you own, you could suffer a bite from their sharp dagger-like teeth or the bird may suffer an injury. 

The weight of those dense heavy bones and the loon’s ability to quickly blow air out of their lungs and flatten their feather to expel air within their plumage, make it possible for them to quickly dive to depths of 200 to 250 feet.  Once under the water, the loon’s heart rate slows to conserve oxygen which allows them to remain submerged for up to five minutes. They are fast in the air and they are very fast underwater.  There are a number of videos online of loons swimming underwater and they are quite remarkable.  A quick look might make you think you’re watching a seal instead of a bird. 

Juvenile Common Loons don’t migrate in the fall until after the parent birds leave.  The juveniles gather into flocks and make their journey south a few weeks later.  Once they reach the coastal waters on the ocean, they stay there for two years.  They return north in the third year but don’t breed, on average, until they are six years old.  

The Common Loon doesn’t have many predators, but their eggs and chicks are extremely vulnerable to predation.  Bald eagles, raccoons, skunks, fox, mink, gulls, crows, and large fish like northern pike all like a little loon for lunch.  If the young birds survive, they can live for a long time.  The oldest recorded Common Loon was spotted in Michigan in 2016 having been banded in the same state in 1989.  She was at least 29 years and 10 months old. 

We’ll be hearing the call of the loon pretty soon. 

Til next time, happy birding!