Fall on the prairie is mostly a yellow experience, so as fall colors began to show the previous week I felt the draw of the Northwoods where fall foliage was more advanced and more diverse with beautiful shades of red, orange, yellow, and green leaves. But the real draw was the action during the prime fall migration period as a variety of birds were on the move – and in the back of my mind the attraction of loons is always a pressing interest in Minnesota. But during my extensive afternoon drive, no Common Loons presented themselves, even at my first destination, Bad Medicine Lake, not far from the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

A favorite image of a Common Loon that has nearly completed its molt into winter plumage in advance of migrating south (600mm zoom lens, f-11 aperture, 1/1600 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

Thursday morning, while watching the migration of a variety of songbirds – warblers, jays, robins, and more along the expansive east shoreline of the lake, but there was no sign of any birds on the calm lake waters. As I watched for the next flock of songbirds from my great friend Pat’s second floor deck, a single loud sharp cry broke the silence – a loon? I checked the lake but nothing showed on the water, yet a young Bald Eagle was suddenly sailing above the trees. Did it call, or did a loon call at the sight of the eagle? The single cry really could have come from either of these iconic birds.

A classic side view of one of the molting adults shows a mix of basic and alternate plumage, and an ongoing change in the color of its beak. Each of the 6 loons had a different look as their fall molt was advancing (600mm zoom lens, f-10 aperture, 1/1000 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

As I watched the eagle glide and circle above shoreline trees, a Common Loon suddenly surfaced fairly close in the water below me. Perhaps it was a loon call after all, and as I watched the Minnesota state bird through binoculars it dived below water, pointing in my direction. Hoping for a chance to photograph it, I took my camera and binoculars and headed for the ground floor and the shoreline down the wooded hill. At the doorway I met Pat, and after explaining I was hustling to the shore for a chance to photograph a loon, he grabbed a sweatshirt to join me. After an initial loon watch, we sat in comfy chairs on his dock to continue our visit from the night before while watching for birds – until I spied 2 loons swimming maybe a mile to the north, and then another loon near them. Pat became excited and suggested we hop in a boat to get some water-based photos; and so another loon photo adventure began.

The loons were mostly intent on diving for fish, and above water their activities were fairly limited to swimming, with an occasional wing flap. The 1/1250 shutter speed stopped the action in this photo, but the light meter probably over-emphasized the bright white plumage, thereby creating a darker background than in most other photos (600mm zoom lens, f-10 aperture, 1/1250 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

The water was a beautiful blue color with the faintest breeze adding light ripples to the surface and we quietly cruised in search of the loons, appreciating the colors of individual trees along the forested shore. In short order, we sighted 2, then 3, then 4 loons! No, there were 6 altogether! The loons permitted our slow, quiet approach and we spent the next hour shadowing their fishing activities as they split into groups of 3, 2, and 1 at times, eventually reuniting as a group of 5 another time to preen in a tight flock. It was a marvelous time, and Pat became so enthused about the photo experience that he lost track of time, which I’m used to when birds are in my camera frame, but as the CEO of an international aeronautics company, Pat was surprised how he became immersed in the action in the beautiful setting.

The 2 loons in this photograph are both in sharp focus within the wider f-11 aperture, and they show varied levels of molting, which is especially noticeable on their back plumage (600mm zoom lens, f-11 aperture, 1/1600 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

Pat also joined the club of being especially surprised at how long the loons could stay underwater when they dived for fish, and how far they swam beneath the water in the process. As always, it was a matter of catching up with the loons and trying to anticipate where they would surface next, while trying to stay between the birds and the sun and making sure we didn’t impact the loons’ activities. That’s when Pat turned out to be a great bird photography boat pilot during his first introduction to this aspect of birding.

The red and orange maple trees added a brown-red reflection mixed with sky blue on the water. This loon is clearly in the midst of its molt and its beak also shows an ongoing color change (600mm zoom lens, f-10 aperture, 1/1250 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

The Fall Molt

My impression was that all the loons were adults, now toward the end of their fall molting period. Their molt from alternate (breeding) plumage to basic (winter) plumage began in late August and would probably continue through October, judging from the mix of basic and alternate feathers. As a group, the loons were closer to their winter plumage, but still molting, and that's why it was such an opportunity to have 6 Common Loons before me in a variety of stages of molting. It gave me a chance to document and show the differences between the individual loons during their molt, a life stage that most people never see; and one that is rarely represented in birding media or even scientific publications.

This Common Loon shows the most complete molt into basic (winter) plumage, quite a change from the species’ iconic spring and summer colors (600mm zoom lens, f-10 aperture, 1/400 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

So there we were with the opportunity to photograph loons that may be on a temporary migration stopover to feed and rest a bit after flying south from similar habitat in central Canada, or they might be local loons that assembled and will eventually migrate south. They may even be a mix of these 2 scenarios, but where they came from, and how long they will stay on this lake could be a short-lived period – they could migrate away that night; although they could stay more days or weeks. With the sun beaming, the fall colors and the loons provided a variety of photo opportunities during an ample period of time; Pat and I had a lot of fun, and we hope that is transferred into the photographs shared in this article.

Another adult loon in the midst of its fall molt shows the changing bill color, and duller eye color too. Photos of loons during the fall molt period are very rare (600mm zoom lens, f-10 aperture, 1/1250 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

Actually, when the loons were swimming above the water’s surface, the reflected colors on the water varied dramatically under the blue sky and beneath the fall foliage. When we were closer to shore I liked to try to work in the reflection of orange or red maple leaves, but was a little surprised that the orange or red often reflected as a browner color in the water. Even so, the mix of blue and rufous or brown-red colors created some interesting backgrounds for the white and gray colored loons. The ripple effect on the water added motion to the photo backgrounds that sometimes morphed into a kaleidoscopic effect, which was much more obvious as I was taking the photos than in the still images created.

It is interesting to see the close proximity of these 4 molting loons, but only the closest bird is in focus. It is harder to create a wider area in focus when using a high magnification lens, although dialing a wider aperture would help, perhaps f-16 or so, while appreciating the change in aperture would reduce the shutter speed – it’s always a balancing act (600mm zoom lens, f-10 aperture, 1/1000 shutter speed, 800 ISO).

On the tech side, with ample sunlight I had plenty of shutter speed to work with while photographing, and the loons didn’t offer much action beyond swimming above water, aside from an occasional wing flap. So I mostly concentrated on getting a wider area in focus, using wider aperture settings of f-10 or f-11 rather than my standard f-8. That was especially helpful when I tried to get more than 1 loon in sharp focus. It worked quite well with 2 loons in the same location, but when 4 or 5 were in the same photo frame, most loons were out of focus. In hindsight I should have dialed an f-14 or f-20 aperture to get more loons in focus. But I’m really happy with the sharp images that show the details of the variations in each loon’s mid-molt plumage.

These photos were taken a month after the latest loon photographs I have taken before, and it is questionable how much longer Common Loons will be found on Northwoods lakes as October progresses – I’d bet most loons have left the state by now. Nonetheless, these photos represent a new look at Northwoods loons, in this article and in my bird photography files, thanks to the happenstance of finding this special fall flock of loons on a classic fall day with a friend who appreciated an introduction to a new outdoor activity surrounded by the beauty of the forest and lakes country of northern Minnesota.

Article and Photographs by Paul Konrad

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