{"id":119283,"date":"2023-12-22T03:26:14","date_gmt":"2023-12-22T10:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=119283"},"modified":"2024-03-05T15:29:43","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T22:29:43","slug":"common-loon-checking-me-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/22\/common-loon-checking-me-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Loon Checking Me Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

This morning, I am not feeling up to par, so I am sharing a single Common Loon photo that I took in April at my local pond. They are gorgeous birds.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Common Loon checking me out \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/3200, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

In April, the lakes and reservoirs high in the mountains where the loons usually show up during migration were all iced over. The loons showed up in numbers down lower in the valley which gave me and other photographers the opportunity to take close up images of them.<\/p>\n

When I was a small girl I used to hear Common Loons on the lakes in Michigan.<\/p>\n

I did hear these loons at my local pond calling but they were what I believe were aggressive or territorial calls<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, on the Winter Solstice, I thought about these loons and some of the other birds I was lucky enough to see or photograph this year. Some were Eastern birds due to my extended trip to Virginia, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.<\/p>\n

If I start feeling better today I will try and work some posts up about them before we ring in the New Year.<\/p>\n

I think the recent inversion invaded my head, I have sinus issues, sneezing, coughing, and a sinus headache. I’ll tough it out.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Common Loon photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This morning, I am not feeling up to par, so I am sharing a single Common Loon photo that I took in April at my local pond. They are gorgeous birds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":119277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,3527,709,26],"tags":[4004,4053,12124,3528,3529,10578,3531,14611,11389,10698,1984,165,8018,3996,5123],"class_list":["post-119283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-avian","category-common-loons","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-checking","tag-common-loon","tag-gavia-immer","tag-loon","tag-loons","tag-me","tag-out","tag-park","tag-pond","tag-spring","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-waterbirds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/common-loon-adult-checking-me-out-mia-mcpherson-4110.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-v1V","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":127322,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/04\/07\/looking-back-common-loon-photos-from-spring-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":119283,"position":0},"title":"Looking Back: Common Loon Photos from Spring 2023","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It has been a year since I was surprised and delighted to be able to take tons of Common Loon photos at a pond close to where I live in Salt Lake County.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Loon stopping over on spring migration, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/common-loon-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-1274.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/common-loon-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-1274.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/common-loon-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-1274.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/common-loon-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-1274.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":138438,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/03\/common-loon-the-2025-aba-bird-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":119283,"position":1},"title":"Common Loon: The 2025 ABA Bird of the Year","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, the American Birding Association announced that the Common Loon is the 2025 ABA Bird of the Year, and I was so excited. I love these striking loons!","rel":"","context":"In "Common Loons"","block_context":{"text":"Common Loons","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/grebes\/common-loons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Migrating Common Loon stopping over, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/common-loon-aba-bird-of-year-mia-mcpherson-7951.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/common-loon-aba-bird-of-year-mia-mcpherson-7951.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/common-loon-aba-bird-of-year-mia-mcpherson-7951.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/common-loon-aba-bird-of-year-mia-mcpherson-7951.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":142718,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/07\/spring-common-loon-memories-the-aba-bird-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":119283,"position":2},"title":"Spring Common Loon Memories – The ABA Bird Of The Year","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I\u2019m sharing a spring Common Loon photo I took exactly two years ago\u2014on a chilly morning at a pond near where I lived back then in Salt Lake County, Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Spring Common Loon going into breeding plumage, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/common-loon-almost-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson1751.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/common-loon-almost-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson1751.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/common-loon-almost-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson1751.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/common-loon-almost-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson1751.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112705,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/18\/dark-and-moody-common-loon-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":119283,"position":3},"title":"Dark And Moody Common Loon Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The dark and moody nature of the Common Loon has made this bird species a popular subject of mythology and folklore.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Loon in a natural spotlight, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-adult-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-7445.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-adult-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-7445.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-adult-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-7445.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-adult-breeding-plumage-mia-mcpherson-7445.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112643,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/15\/crazy-about-common-loons\/","url_meta":{"origin":119283,"position":4},"title":"Crazy About Common Loons","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning I didn't go out looking for Common Loons. But I found two and they were fighting, calling, preening and getting up close and personal with me.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Portrait of a Common Loon in breeding plumage, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-3697.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-3697.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-3697.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-3697.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112910,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/25\/common-loon-seeing-red\/","url_meta":{"origin":119283,"position":5},"title":"Common Loon – Seeing Red","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning I'm sharing a Common Loon photo that I took two days ago. I enjoy how the red eyes of the loon were echoed in the reflections on the water.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Loon - Seeing Red, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-adult-seeing-red-mia-mcpherson-0065.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-adult-seeing-red-mia-mcpherson-0065.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-adult-seeing-red-mia-mcpherson-0065.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-adult-seeing-red-mia-mcpherson-0065.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}