entry smap 258: Common Loon

with the name Common Loon Gavia immer, you may think they are common. maybe they are some places but they are so rare in Norway that i have only seen them once in a national park by the border to sweden . so i was very happy when visiting New Hampshire i was able to see and hear one. i was in a kayak on Perch Pond in Lisbon where there is a nesting area. it is not allowed for humans to enter that area either by boat or by land but fortunately the adult loons are permitted to swim outside the designated zone. that is good because the fish that the loons need to catch in order to eat are not aware of any restrictions and may not happen to be found nearby the birds nest.

let it be known that loons are cool as well as strikingly handsome. they sit low in the water because they are heavier than other birds their size with solid bones. that makes them very well adapted to swimming underwater, in pursuit of fish. they need a lot of fish to survive which limits the lakes where they can survive. but being so heavy has it's disadvantages. in order to fly they need a long 'runway' flapping their wings and running on the surface of the water a long distance before taking flight.

but for me the coolest thing about these loons is their eerie call. i didn't hear this one but the time i observed them in Norway we were camping on the shore of the lake. in the evening their loud eerie calls carried over the water for long distances. as the daylight dimmed the calls made for a very special experience, both serene and unsettling at the same time.