Common Loon
Minnesota’s state bird is a superb underwater hunter whose haunting calls carry across northern lakes—but whose nest can fail after one careless wake.
Artwork inspired by Francis Lee Jaques
Loons are built for diving: dense bones, legs set far back, and powerful feet make them agile underwater and awkward on land. Their tremolo, wail, yodel, and hoot serve different social functions; the male’s yodel is individually distinctive and changes if he takes over a new territory.
A nest usually sits within inches of water because adults cannot walk far. Boat wakes, shoreline development, fishing line, lead tackle, and close approaches can destroy eggs or separate chicks. Observe from far enough away that the adult does not flatten, call repeatedly, or leave the nest.
- Dive
- Often under a minute
- Takeoff
- Long run across water
- Minnesota status
- State bird
Quick guide
- Identification
- Checkered back and dagger bill
- Ethical distance
- Use binoculars from open water
Find a loon without turning its shoreline into a disturbance zone
- Listen before scanning
- A wail or tremolo can reveal a bird hidden in glare long before plumage does.
- Check the posture
- Loons sit low and point a substantial bill; grebes look slimmer and ride differently.
- Back away from families
- A circling adult, repeated alarm call, or chick riding low near shore means your boat is too close.
- Choose lead-free tackle
- Lost lead jigs and sinkers poison loons that pick them up with grit or prey.
Good to know
A loon carrying a chick is not inviting a closer photograph; back-riding is an early survival strategy and the family is especially vulnerable.
Notice these
- black-and-white checkered mantle
- red eye and dark necklace
- low profile with rear-set legs