Love of the Loons

The saddest part of the coming summer season is that the beautiful loons that have been here throughout the winter and spring months will soon disappear until next fall. With the possible exception of bird watchers, it wasn’t until the movie, “On Golden Pond”, that most people ever noticed loons, and up until a few years ago, none were seen in our area. For some unknown reason, however, these mysterious visitors from the North start showing up around mid November and remain now until late May.



For those unfamiliar with this magnificent waterfowl, some facts are in order. The common loon can fly nearly sixty miles per hour, swim faster than most fish, can remain under water easily for five to ten minutes, and their haunting song penetrates the morning fog on Lake Lanier like the beam of a powerful searchlight!

Loons are divers that are normally twenty-four to forty inches in length and have an elongated body and sharp, pointed bill. They are strong swimmers that propel themselves when diving by using their radically webbed feet. Their legs are attached far back on their bodies, a characteristic that permits ease of movement when swimming, but causes great difficulty when attempting to walk on land. Loons are unique among living birds because their legs are encased within the body all the way to the ankle. They are great fliers, but become airborne only after an extensive run along the top of the water.

In keeping with their uniqueness, loons rarely live or feed in areas that have been polluted by the extravagances of man. These gorgeous creatures are also very family-oriented, and always mate for life. Often, we at Lanier are privileged to observe parts of their courtship, but they fly back to their homes in Canada, Alaska, or other extremely northern areas of our country before actually laying eggs.

These northern nests are placed on uninhabited land near the water's edge or on small islands. Usually two eggs are laid, and both sexes take part in the incubation of the eggs and eventual care for the young. In fact, both the mother and father loon can often be seen carrying the young chicks on their backs while swimming.

When the loons first return to Lake Lanier in November, both males and females usually appear rather drab with lots of white showing around their heads from the recent summer molt. As they feed throughout the winter, however, the color and sheen starts to return to their feathers. In fact, before the loons depart, the male’s head becomes almost jet black, and both genders grow a colorful, iridescent, green band of feathers around their necks.

Because of their interaction with striped bass, while feeding on Lanier’s abundant shad schools, most fishermen have also developed a warm feeling for these interesting birds from the cold North. As a guide on Lake Lanier, bird watchers have often hired my services to locate, study, and photograph our transient loon population.

As always, it will be a sad morning when I go out on Lake Lanier and don’t hear that high-pitched, lonely song that has warmed my heart throughout this past winter and spring. Nevertheless, I know that summer’s madness of boats and mass humanity will pass, and that when the lake again welcomes the cool breezes of late fall, the loons and sanity will again return to Lake Lanier.

Bill Vanderford has won numerous awards for his writing and photography, and has been inducted into the National Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Guide. He can be reached at 770-289-1543, at JFish51@aol.com, or at his web site: www.georgiafishing.com