June 3 - Loons

Once you've heard a loon's wail resonating across a quiet lake, it is forever fixed in your mind, a sonic souvenir of summer in the north woods. The long, rising moan sounds mournful, but of course, it's just the way the birds communicate. They also have a yodeling laugh that sounds, well, loony. The first time I heard it, I thought it was a child making funny noises.

Common loons breed in forest lakes in the northern U.S. from Washington to Maine and in Canada. The aquatic, duck-sized birds are black with white spots, with a black head, a distinctive black-and-white "collar" and red eyes.