A SYMBOL OF THE NORTHWOODS

Common Loon, Beers Lake, Maplewood State Park, Minnesota

Two fantastic paddle trips are already behind us . We had great opportunities to watch and listen to birds, often in our campsite, were we use the Merlin App to identify them even if we can’t see the birds high up in the canopy of the trees. On the water I’m always thrilled to see the Common Loons, the Minnesota state bird, and we saw them and heard their distinctive calls on almost every lake so far. I have been in Norway, Sweden, and Finland many times and it is easy to understand why so many Scandinavians have settled in Minnesota after they came over to America years ago. The glacier shaped landscapes with thousands of lakes and dense forests are very similar in many parts of the country and the settlers must have felt right at home.

I have been brave despite Beers Lake was a little choppy yesterday and took the camera and long lens with me in the kayak. Well, I forgot to take the teleconverter off but that turned out not to be a bad thing with and 840 mm focal length allowed to fill the frame quite often with the beautiful Common Loons.

Nikon Z6 III, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x…@ 840mm, 1/1250s, f/9, ISO 1000

MINNESOTA NORTHWOODS - #6

Common Loon, Eagles Nest Lake No. 3, Bear Head Lake State Park, Minnesota

It is always a thrill to hear the call of the Common Loon, mostly early in the morning, and finally watching them while paddling the lakes up in northern Minnesota. The lady at the ranger station at Savanna Portage State Park wasn’t sure if they had started migration already but we found loons on all of the bigger lakes we paddled. Common Loons spend the winter along the ocean coasts of North America.

They are such cool birds to watch and for me it’s always worth the risk taking the camera with long lens in the kayak and being rewarded with some good photography. This bird is not always shy and it may happen that they pop up right next to the boat after diving for fish.

All photos: Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S,

NATURE CLICKS #344 - COMMON LOON

Mijinemungshing Lake in Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada

If there was one photo I really wanted to make during our tour around Lake Superior, it is this one. Up north you can hear the calls of the loon at many forested lakes or ponds. They often call at night and I think it is one of the greatest sounds in nature. Getting close to the bird and making the click is a big challenge if you sit in a kayak. The loons eat mostly fish and forage by diving from the water surface and chase down their prey underwater. They can dive up to 65 meters (200 feet) below the surface and the eyes of a loon can focus both in air and water. For a photographer it is not really predictable where the loon will show up next and I’m glad you couldn’t hear me cursing many times…

The photo was made during a paddle tour on Mijinemungshing Lake in Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. There was no other car in the parking lot next to the boat landing and at the end of the gravel road, means we had the lake for ourselves. Paddling doesn’t get any better than that!