{"id":127322,"date":"2024-04-07T04:05:28","date_gmt":"2024-04-07T10:05:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=127322"},"modified":"2024-04-07T05:13:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-07T11:13:17","slug":"looking-back-common-loon-photos-from-spring-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/04\/07\/looking-back-common-loon-photos-from-spring-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking Back: Common Loon Photos from Spring 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Common Loon on spring migration \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was surprised because typically, this loon species is seen in high mountain lakes and reservoirs in Utah during the spring, not down in the valley. But that winter was particularly snowy and cold, so most of the lakes and reservoirs in the high country were still frozen over when the loons were migrating. At least, that is my own personal theory.<\/p>\n

My delight was that the loons were close to home, and on the pond, close to wherever I stood with my camera gear. I had a bird’s eye view of these loons most of the time.<\/p>\n

This particular loon stayed at the pond for a couple of days, eating, resting, and preening before moving on. A few more loons came to the pond several days later.<\/p>\n

\"CommonCommon Loon stopping over on spring migration \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f7.1, 1\/1600, ISO 500, +1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I could tell the loons apart because this individual loon wasn’t quite in full breeding plumage, whereas the other loons that stopped over at the pond were when they arrived.<\/p>\n

The urge to migrate in these loons and other migratory birds is strong. The loons wouldn’t have known that the reservoirs and lakes in the high country weren’t ice-free, but they made the journey anyway. When met with ice at those locations, the Common Loon<\/span><\/a>s dropped down to lower elevations to feed and refuel before they continued their migration.<\/p>\n

They are smart birds. I admire their ability to move forward on migration despite not knowing where their journeys might take them or what conditions they might find.<\/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":"

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":127316,"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":[4004,4053,3528,3529,10578,3531,530,9413,10698,1984,165,14873,8018,3996,5123],"class_list":["post-127322","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-common-loon","tag-gavia-immer","tag-loon","tag-loons","tag-migration","tag-over","tag-park","tag-pond","tag-spring","tag-stopping","tag-urban","tag-water","tag-waterbirds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/common-loon-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-1274.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-x7A","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":138438,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/03\/common-loon-the-2025-aba-bird-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":127322,"position":0},"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":127322,"position":1},"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":119283,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/22\/common-loon-checking-me-out\/","url_meta":{"origin":127322,"position":2},"title":"Common Loon Checking Me Out","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Common Loon checking me out, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/common-loon-adult-checking-me-out-mia-mcpherson-4110.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/common-loon-adult-checking-me-out-mia-mcpherson-4110.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/common-loon-adult-checking-me-out-mia-mcpherson-4110.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/common-loon-adult-checking-me-out-mia-mcpherson-4110.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":127322,"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":127322,"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":112844,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/22\/migrating-common-loon-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":127322,"position":5},"title":"Migrating Common Loon Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I went through more of the Common Loon photos that I have taken since the beginning of this month. I wanted to share more images of these beautiful birds.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Common Loon wing flap, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-adult-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-6161.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-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-6161.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-adult-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-6161.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/common-loon-adult-spring-migration-mia-mcpherson-6161.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\/127322","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=127322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}