{"id":96698,"date":"2021-10-26T06:18:04","date_gmt":"2021-10-26T12:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=96698"},"modified":"2021-10-26T06:21:27","modified_gmt":"2021-10-26T12:21:27","slug":"autumn-common-loon-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2021\/10\/26\/autumn-common-loon-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"Autumn Common Loon Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AutumnAutumn Common Loon on migration \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/4000, ISO 640, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost one year ago I spotted a Common Loon floating on the Bear River after a somewhat disappointing morning for birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a>. Other than photographing a hatch year Great Blue Heron on the flats and a long distance Ruddy Duck the morning had been a bust until I saw a black and white water bird floating on the river on the way back to the interstate. Once I saw the massive, dagger-like bill I knew that I had found a migrating Common Loon.<\/p>\n

I don’t see loons often in northern Utah but I have very fond memories of seeing and hearing them as a young girl on small lakes when I lived in Michigan. The calls<\/span><\/a> of these loons delight me. This loon did not call, it was actively foraging for prey in the river.<\/p>\n

\"MigratingMigrating Common Loon on the Bear River \u2013 Nikon D500, f7.1, 1\/5000, ISO 400, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I was thrilled to photograph this Common Loon as it floated and foraged on the Bear River. I could wish that the loon had been a bit closer but I was simply delighted to have it in my viewfinder for as long as I did.<\/p>\n

Windy, cloudy, and rainy weather has kept me home bound for several days now and as I near the anniversary of my Common Loon sighting I find myself anxious to head back up to the refuge to see if this loon could have stopped over on the river again on fall migration. The wind died down last night but the clouds and rain persist. It looks like good weather will reappear on Thursday.<\/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":"

Almost one year ago I spotted a Common Loon floating on the Bear River after a somewhat disappointing morning for birds at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96691,"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":[124,27,1148,3527,26],"tags":[970,4529,3528,4620,3529,10578,3531,3946,530,10579,3996,11838,4095],"class_list":["post-96698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-common-loons","category-utah","tag-autumn","tag-bear-river","tag-common-loon","tag-fall","tag-gavia-immer","tag-loon","tag-loons","tag-migrating","tag-migration","tag-nonbreeding-adult-immature","tag-water","tag-water-bird","tag-wetlands"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/common-loon-on-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-0490.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-p9E","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":75013,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/10\/31\/common-loon-in-an-uncommon-location\/","url_meta":{"origin":96698,"position":0},"title":"Common Loon In An Uncommon Location","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 31, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Bird photography was a little slow at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge yesterday morning until I spotted a Common Loon floating on the Bear River.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Loon floating on the Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/common-loon-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-0509.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/common-loon-nonbreeding-mia-mcpherson-0509.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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hatch year Great Blue Heron photo to share today because it showed the young bird taking a crap on the flats of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hatch year Great Blue Heron pooping on the flats, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/great-blue-heron-hatch-year-pooping-mia-mcpherson-0377.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/great-blue-heron-hatch-year-pooping-mia-mcpherson-0377.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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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, 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