I had two mornings to photograph a Common Loon at a local pond. These photos are from the second morning and they show more action from the striking loon. The first morning the loon swam around a lot but it didn’t provide me with many behavior images. I am not complaining about that first morning at all. I took many lovely images of the loon that day.
Spring Common Loon with its wings wide open
The second morning was different. The loon preened, stretched, flapped its large feet, slept, and flapped its large wings. It also went into alert mode when a Double-crested Cormorant swan by and had American White Pelicans swim up behind it. Additionally, it floated on its side for a bit and tipped its head back a few times.
Once again, I had a difficult time picking favorites. Again, I decided to just go through and share some of them in a gallery. Please click the first image in the gallery below to view them larger and you can scroll through them from there.
I tried to select photos of the loon that showed interesting behavior or poses. This waterbird species isn’t in my viewfinder nearly often enough for my tastes. Happily, I made the most of the time that I had with the loon. I have zero regrets for the hundreds of images I took of this lovely black and white waterbird.
Common Loon floating on its side
After spending about an hour with the Common Loon I decided to look for other birds. I’m especially glad I decided to hang around the loon that morning because after the 7th of April the loon took off and hasn’t been seen since. My friend, Shane, looked for it on the 8th and didn’t see it. Me and April looked for it on the 9th without any luck. I wish the loon a great journey as it heads towards its breeding grounds and I’m thankful that I saw it at all.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Common Loon photos plus facts and information about this species.
*All of the photos were taken using my Nikon D500 with a Nikkor 500mm VR lens and a 1.4x teleconverter attached. All were taken using my tripod as well. My ISO was 500, the aperture, exposure compensation and shutter speed varied.
What a great series of pics! These shots truly capture the beauty and spirit of Loons. Thanks Mia.
Nothing common about this beauty. Thank you. Muchly.
I’m not sure how common your Loon was… Such shenanigans! I especially like the one where he’s admiring his foot. Definitely an entertaining series. I had to chuckle at some of them. Glad you had fun with your Common Loon.
Loony! It would be great to see the mating dance, but it seems loons nest far north of Utah https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Loon/maps-range