Loon Family (Gavia immer)

[Rassie]

Common Loon couple with Junior.
Shot on the lake where we have a cottage in Ontario.
Fun fact: Common loons cannot take off from land. They therefore always have to be in or near water if they want to fly. They spend summers in Canada and migrate southwards before the lakes freeze over.

Nikon D7100 with Nikkor 200-500mm F5.6

You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

 

[Laurent Dieu]

Great shot, love the low level shot, and the depth on the tree birds, well done

 

[Hawkeshead]

Just shows how that lens in the right hands makes magic!

 

[Ralph]

Common Loon couple with Junior.
Shot on the lake where we have a cottage in Ontario.
Fun fact: Common loons cannot take off from land. They therefore always have to be in or near water if they want to fly. They spend summers in Canada and migrate southwards before the lakes freeze over.

Nikon D7100 with Nikkor 200-500mm F5.6

View attachment 5249

I love loons! Beautiful.

 

[Callie]

Love these guys, Koos! How big, about size of yellow-billed duck?

 

[Yezdi]

Great capture Rassie...

 

[Kathy G]

Beautiful Rassie

 

[Rassie]

Love these guys, Koos! How big, about size of yellow-billed duck?

Now that's a question I don't quite know how to answer. I initially thought smaller than an Egyptian goose but Wikipedia has the loon as the bigger one. The loons range from 66 to 91 cm (26 to 36 in) in length with a 127 to 147 cm (4 ft 2 in to 4 ft 10 in) wingspan. Weight anywhere from 2.2 to 7.6 kg (4.9 to 16.8 lb).

This is a heavy duck for its size because they have rather solid bones, not lightweight honeycombed like most birds. The solid bone structure gives them weight that makes it easier to dive and stay underwater for longer. I've seen them dive and then surface minutes later perhaps 100 meters or more away from where they went under. Fast, strong underwater swimmers. It's probably because of that weight that they need a long run on the water to build up speed before they can take off.

 

[Callie]

T

Now that's a question I don't quite know how to answer. I initially thought smaller than an Egyptian goose but Wikipedia has the loon as the bigger one. The loons range from 66 to 91 cm (26 to 36 in) in length with a 127 to 147 cm (4 ft 2 in to 4 ft 10 in) wingspan. Weight anywhere from 2.2 to 7.6 kg (4.9 to 16.8 lb).

This is a heavy duck for its size because they have rather solid bones, not lightweight honeycombed like most birds. The solid bone structure gives them weight that makes it easier to dive and stay underwater for longer. I've seen them dive and then surface minutes later perhaps 100 meters or more away from where they went under. Fast, strong underwater swimmers. It's probably because of that weight that they need a long run on the water to build up speed before they can take off.

Thanks Koos. Appreciate, never could place them size wise, never seen an image outside of water

 

[PhilM]

Beautiful "family portrait" Rassie.
I envy those that have (somewhat) regular access to photograph loons. Guess I need to plan an adventure north someday, after this current situation passes.

 

[Rassie]

Thanks, Phil. Depending where you are, these birds winter all along the west coast and east coast of North America. The loons from around the Great Lakes where I am, winter along the northern Gulf Coast.