This common loon swam right by us as we were kayaking in a lagoon just off the Pacific Ocean. While not quite as flashy in the winter as in breeding season, I found this loon to be a beautiful bird nonetheless.
Photographed along the Northern California Coast.
nature has no boss 
I like that red eye. I watched some diving near the shore of Lake Superior. They stayed down at least 2 min at a time. That would make my eyes red, too. 🙂
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Hi I’m and boy I just realized two weeks have gotten away from me in replying to comments. I might have been a loon and stayed down too long or so it seems. Anyway loons are wonderful to watch and it is always a fun game to predict just where they will surface after a dive. Have a great week and thanks again for all the feedback as we really appreciate it.
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You have a lot of visitors. Not a problem. Don’t let it make you loony. 🙂
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The loony happened long ago but I hope it has manifest as a kind of good loony.
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Nice capture of the eye
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Hi and thanks. It was fun to seem this loon at eye level in the kayak and it did make for a nice close shot.
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This is the beauty of kayaking, being so close and at their level. Wonderful photo, Mike — such a joy to come upon a loon.
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Hi Jet and sorry for the tardy response here. I agree the kayak is a great place to photograph water birds and adds an extra layer of fun along the way. Hope your doing well and have a great week ahead.
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Thanks for posting. I think it is my favorite bird!
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Hi and thanks. They are magnificent birds and we only see them every so often so it was a great treat for us. Hope your doing well and have a wonderful week.
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Thanks, Mike!
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Beautiful photo. I love the reflections.
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Thanks, hope you have a great week.
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Wow, it’s red eye really stands out. I’ve never seen a common loon yet. They’re very beautiful birds!
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HI and we only see them every so often so this was a nice treat. Hope you see on in the future and have some time to watch them fishing and diving. Amazing and just as wonderful is hearing them call. Have a great week and hope you have some time to get outside.
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Thank you!
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Beautiful bird, love the red eye. Super capture, Mike!
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Thanks Eliza, hope your week ahead is a great one.
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Thank you, Mike, same to you!
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They are so beautiful, and I like how they sit so low in the water.
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HI and it is so neat how they sit so low almost like a sped boat so to speak. You can tell they developed a design for a very different purpose than say a Mallard.
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We spotted our first Common Loon just today on the coast, though only a juvie. I would love to see a fully grown individual. That red eye!
When you kayak with your camera gear do you dry bag your goods? I’d be scared to death of dumping it all into the water me included. Great level for shooting a water bird, Mike.
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HI Shannon, we have two solutions for camera gear and the kayak. The first is indeed a dry bag and the second a small pelican case. We usually use our older camera and an older somewhat cranky zoom lens. Shooting from the kayak is tricky as even calm water has some movement that makes wildlife photography a bit of a challenge.
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