Common Loons

I have always associated Loons with Northern lakes. I have seen and heard loons in Canada, Alaska, Maine, Northern Michigan, Northern Wisconsin and in the New York Adirondaks. So it came as a surprise on 4/1/10, when I was walking around Bauman Park in Cherry Valley, IL, that a Loon was in the lake. This is a very busy Park and Loons generally like solitude.  Over two weeks later (4/17/10) after I returned from a trip to London, it was still there (assuming it was the same Loon). I thought how cool it would be for a pair of Loons to nest in Cherry Valley, but a couple of days later there was no sign of it, in all probability it continued its migration North after scouting out Bauman Park as a possible nesting area, and rejecting it. Too bad for us Northern Illinoians.

The top picture below was the Loon at Bauman Park on 4/17/10. The bottom photo was taken at Seney Wildlife Refuge in the Upper Pininsula of Michigan (5/27/07).

An unusual sight of a Common Loon checking out the lake at Bauman Park, Cherry Valley, IL; 4/17/10.

A Common Loon, Seney Wildlife Refuge, Upper Michigan; 5/27/07.