{"id":138438,"date":"2025-01-03T02:46:16","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T08:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=138438"},"modified":"2025-01-02T17:49:56","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T23:49:56","slug":"common-loon-the-2025-aba-bird-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/03\/common-loon-the-2025-aba-bird-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Loon: The 2025 ABA Bird of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

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!<\/p>\n

\"CommonCommon Loon close up<\/span><\/p>\n

Whenever I see Common Loons, I am flooded with memories of seeing and hearing them as a young girl in Michigan. Their calls, which some people describe as spooky or otherworldly, mesmerized and enchanted me as I stood on the shores of small lakes and ponds. I didn\u2019t know the name of those striking black-and-white birds with red eyes back then, but I knew they were special to me.<\/p>\n

\"MigratingMigrating Common Loon stopping over<\/span><\/p>\n

All of these photos were taken in April 2023 in northern Utah, when migrating loons were forced down to lower elevations because the lakes, ponds, and reservoirs in the high country of the mountains, where the loons normally stop over, were still frozen solid.<\/p>\n

The loons needed fuel for their journey, so they dropped down to areas with open water where they could hunt and consume fish.<\/p>\n

I was thrilled when several loons appeared at an urban pond just down the hill from where I lived in Utah. Since they were so close to home, I spent as many days as possible photographing the Common Loons before they continued their migration to their breeding grounds.<\/p>\n

I took thousands of photos of the loons and don\u2019t at all regret taking so many images of them. Why would I?<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Common Loon on migration<\/span><\/p>\n

The ABA certainly chose a handsome and fascinating species for the 2025 ABA Bird of the Year<\/span><\/a>. Personally, I am completely enamored by them.<\/p>\n

I still have a chance to photograph Common Loons in Arkansas and Oklahoma. They do show up here during migration, and I hope to see them sooner rather than later!<\/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":"

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!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138430,"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":[3527,709,26],"tags":[5592,4004,4142,3528,3529,10578,3531,3946,530,9413,10698,1984,4046,3973,165,14873,8018,30,3996,5123,5541],"class_list":["post-138438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-common-loons","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-aba-bird-of-the-year","tag-adult","tag-close-up","tag-common-loon","tag-gavia-immer","tag-loon","tag-loons","tag-migrating","tag-migration","tag-over","tag-park","tag-pond","tag-portrait","tag-salt-lake-county","tag-spring","tag-stopping","tag-urban","tag-utah-2","tag-water","tag-waterbirds","tag-willow-pond"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/common-loon-aba-bird-of-year-mia-mcpherson-7951.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-A0S","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":142718,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/07\/spring-common-loon-memories-the-aba-bird-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":138438,"position":0},"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":112910,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/25\/common-loon-seeing-red\/","url_meta":{"origin":138438,"position":1},"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":[]},{"id":112705,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/18\/dark-and-moody-common-loon-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":138438,"position":2},"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":127322,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/04\/07\/looking-back-common-loon-photos-from-spring-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":138438,"position":3},"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":119283,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/22\/common-loon-checking-me-out\/","url_meta":{"origin":138438,"position":4},"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":113406,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/13\/world-migratory-bird-day-2023-focus-on-water\/","url_meta":{"origin":138438,"position":5},"title":"World Migratory Bird Day 2023 – Focus On Water","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 13, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"World Migratory Bird Day is observed on the second Saturday of May every year to promote the significance of preserving migratory birds and their habitats.","rel":"","context":"In "Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Loon on spring migration, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/common-loon-migration-mia-mcpherson-7856.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/common-loon-migration-mia-mcpherson-7856.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/common-loon-migration-mia-mcpherson-7856.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/common-loon-migration-mia-mcpherson-7856.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\/138438","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=138438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}