I had so much fun learning about loons I thought I would research some of the other loon species we have in the NWT. We have four loon species that nest in the territory during the summer: the common loon, the red-throated loon, the pacific loon, and the yellow-billed loon. In Yellowknife, there are 3 of four species that nest right inside the city limits and as loons often nest in the same location, it is delightful to be able to check in on a loon family no matter what species!
The yellow-billed loon looks the most similar to the common loon but has-you guessed it, a yellow bill. It is the largest of all the loon species and if found much further north than its common cousin. One thing I found fascinating when I was doing research on these birds is that unlike other birds, loons have solid bones. They compress the air out of their feathers to allow them to float lower in the water. Both of these adaptations make diving easier.
The red-throated loon looks similar to the pacific loon in that they both have a grey head. The red-throated loon has a rust-coloured throat and the Pacific loon has a purple or green throat depending on the light.
Red-throated loons are smaller than common or yellow-billed loons and can take off from water or land. This means they can nest on much smaller bodies of water. Red-throated loons are the only loons that forage away from their nesting territory bringing food back from other lakes and ponds to feed their young. Their young never get piggybacks from their parents like other young loons probably because their parents will dive for food from the air similar to the way gannets hunt for fish.
The Pacific loon is the most abundant of North America’s loon species and even though it is similar in size to the red-throated loon, it is about 30% heavier. This means they can’t take flight as easily as the red-throated loon and require a longer runway to achieve flight; Pacific Loons can fly at around 60kph.
They are extremely territorial. Alaskan scientists have spotted Pacific Loons making performing threat displays at passing airplanes!
I hope you have enjoyed learning about loons as much as I have. I can’t wait for spring to see these magnificent birds return to the arctic. Have a great week everyone and we’ll see you here next Sunday.